How much money do you spend buying new cars and trucks? Chances are that it’s a lot more money that you’d like to be spending! If you want to cut costs on your next vehicle purchase it may be well worth it to buy a salvage car or truck.

You might be a bit wary of buying wrecked vehicles. However, there are many great reasons to buy them. One of the most important is that they are a lot less expensive than purchasing something that is new or even used.

You see, the insurance companies write off wrecked salvage vehicles as worthless. They will not pay to fix the vehicle if the damage that was done will cost more than three quarters of its fair market value. When that happens the owner has the choice of rebuilding the vehicle themselves or selling it off.

As a consumer, you have a great advantage here. There are really great salvage vehicles that are fun to rebuild. You’ll have to figure out what repairs the vehicle needs in order to see if the benefits of buying the car outweigh the costs.

Sometimes, the damage is purely cosmetic. Even if the insurance company deems the vehicle as being worthless, it can still hold a lot of value for you. Be careful though, sometimes the opposite is true. A car can look absolutely perfect but it is actually a dangerous mess.

Whenever you buy a salvage vehicle it is a great idea to check its history. It’s not worth it to save money when you’ll end up paying more for it in the long run. You can go to the DMV website at http://www.dmv.org/vehicle-history.php and request a history report using the VIN number of the vehicle.

If you’re hesitant to buy a salvage vehicle because you’re not sure what happened to it in the past you might benefit from shopping at this site online. You will be able to see the reputation of the seller and ask questions. Check the feedback ratings so you can get an idea of the character of the person you are dealing with. A seller who doesn’t have great feedback might neglect to mention severe damage. Always contact the seller and ask questions. Since it’s a big purchase it’s a good idea to get the sellers phone number and call him/her. If they are reluctant to communicate with you then move on to the next auction.

This car can be fixed up to look like new. Check it out here: Mazda6 Salvage Car for Sale

If this car is already sold click on: Salvage Mazdas for Sale to see more like this one.

If this Audi is no longer available for sale you can search for similar cars like it, click here: Salvage Audi for Auction or look at the column to your right for more options.

If the car or truck to be rebuilt is less than 5 years old, it must be brought to a DMV Inspection Station for completion of the Authorization for Vehicle Restoration. Vehicles may not be restored, titled or registered unless this has been completed. This is not necessary for vehicles six years old or older.

Garages, body shops and rebuilders must repair vehicles to the common standards published and applied in the automotive repair industry. Air bags and seat belts must be repaired to the standards set in federal law. The business must keep records of the repair including any identifying information of parts.

When the reconstruction has been completed, the Certificate of Inspection must be completed by a Nevada registered garage, licensed body shop or licensed rebuilder.

The vehicle must then be brought to a DMV inspection station for completion of the Certificate of Inspection. Once this is accomplished and all other registration requirements have been met, the vehicle may be registered and titled. The vehicle may be sold once the new title has been issued.

All future titles will be a normal Nevada Certificate of Title but will be “branded”, which means the title will be labeled with the word “Rebuilt” or other appropriate term. The brand cannot be removed.

Rebuilt Cars – not salvage title:
Vehicles which have had certain repairs must be titled as Rebuilt even if they do not meet the definition of a salvage car. This applies to any vehicle that has had one or more of the following major components replaced:

* Cowl assembly;
* Rear clip assembly;
* Roof assembly;
* Floor pan assembly;
* Conventional frame coupled with one additional major component
* Complete front inner structure for a unibody

These vehicles must be inspected by a licensed garage or body shop and the DMV using the Certificate of Inspection for Rebuilt Vehicles (Not Salvage). The existing title must be surrendered to the DMV, which will issue a title branded “Rebuilt”.

A vehicle for which the only change is the installation of a truck cab assembly is not considered a rebuilt or salvage vehicle.

Need more info? Contact:
Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles
Central Services and Records Division
Salvage Unit
555 Wright Way
Carson City, NV 89711
(775) 684-4785

Up for auction this week is a salvage title 2007 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon that had interior fire damage with a little over 24k miles. This Jeep is a 6 cylinder 4 wheel drive and would make a great project to rebuild and use as a 4 wheeler, rock crawler or to put back on the road again. This Jeep is available for sale in Orangevale California but you can bid online from where you are. Buy it now price is $10,900 or make an offer.

Featured this week is a wrecked 2002 Lexus IS300 for sale in Philadelphia PA. This car was in an accident with front end and side damage but does have a clean title. According to the seller it does have some mechanical damage too, it will need a new radiator but the motor still runs fine. This Lexus has 43,700 miles on it. Great project car to rebuild or use for parts if you can get it for a good price. Starting bid is $200

Featured this week is this slick 2006 BMW 530I 5 Series sedan with a salvage title. This car has 37,051 miles on it and is located in Paterson, New Jersey. The auction ends on Nov, 20th 2008 and has a starting bid of $200. The market value on a car like this for a clean title is around $25k. The car has some side damage and requires some repairs to make it drivable again. This BMW is rebuildable and has some great potential. If you’re looking for a luxury car to fix up and save potentially thousands then this may be a good choice. Read thru the auction carefully and be sure to ask questions. The auction listing is pretty thorough and has tons of large photos. They also tell you exactly what needs to be done to repair the car.

Update: this auction has ended but you can search for more salvage BMWs here.

Wow, this 1969 Corvette had only 33k original miles on it when it was restored to like new condition.
Check out this video of a restoration on this sweet car.

and here it is now, tearing up the road! Great job bringing back this classic Corvette.

Search for a project Pontiac Trans Am to restore for yourself like this one.

honda accord salvage title for sale new york

Auction ends November 4th 2008

More No Reserve Salvage Auto Auctions