BRANDED/REBUILT TITLE LOW MILEAGE VS CLEAN TITLE HIGHER MILEAGE

Hello,

I am in search of a new truck (4x4, crew cab, short bed). I have a Frontier that is probably worth $10K as a trade in.

I am debating between a rebulit/branded title with crazy low mileage on a 3rd gen, <30K miles but rebuilt title and a clean title tacoma, but with 120K+ miles.

Hoping to snag one for less than $30K. Want to make sure I am making a good call. I know salvage titles can be sketchy, but with 3rd gens, wondering what kind of luck you can have there.

Examples:

Clean title, higher mileage: https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/inven...iewInventoryListing.action?#listing=332023427

Salvage title, lower mileage: https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/l-Used-Toyota-Tacoma-d311#listing=332935232/NONE

Thank you all!

 

I'd personally go for the higher mileage option.

 

Got it. Even with 120K miles, still good for another 100K+ I'd hope vs what I would see in a salvage title, it'd be more of gamble eh?

 

It is absolutely crazy that there is so much paranoia about rebuilt titles. I bought a rebuilt '08 Corolla and love the car. Loved it so much I bought a wrecked Tacoma and rebuilt it myself. Liked that truck so much I bought another and rebuilt it. I sold the first rebuilt Taco so now I'm driving two rebuilt title vehicles.

They were cheap enough that I don't insure them for collision and I expect to get as many miles out of them as any other vehicle on the road.

I've seen people here on these fora do more damage to their vehicles by doing mods than what was done to mine being in an accident.







I drive this truck like any other truck. Haul loads, back roads, it doesn't matter... and I spent less than 11K for it including repairs with 68K miles.

 

I'd prefer the higher mile one. It's also listed as a Sport but appears to be an Off-Road.

 

That's my thought process on it.

 

If you are planning on driving this truck until the wheels fall off, then does salvage title really mean anything... if you only plan on a couple year ownership then move on. If you plan on keeping it, then ask what the damage was. If the damage was body panels and rad support.. these aren't really much to be concerned about.. if it was folded in half and straightened out, then maybe it isn't the right vehicle.

I have owned and personally repaired a couple of salvage title vehicles. It was nothing I was concerned about.

If you are looking long term... I would look at low mileage...

 

For buying a rebuilt title it needs to be a considerably better price-maybe 25% less than low retail. When you go to sell it, same buyer will be looking for that better price. Or if you're trending like the 3rd gen crash threads and you do have an accident insurance will value it considerably less. Its your word against theres, there is no rebuilt title market to really value the vehicle. In college some woman totaled my rebuilt title Acura integra, they offered me like 1/3 of what the payout should've been, got screwed on that one.

Plus, you are paying cash, very few people can do that with $25-30k.

 

Like many others before me, I vote for the 120k mile Taco. You'll get that many more miles out of it. A salvage title can be so....iffy. You don't know what you're going to get (because it's a new title). If it was a 10yr old vehicle with a salvage title, I would lean the other way.

 

I owned a salvaged ‘69 Camaro long ago. I did not care since most cars of that vintage with clean titles have had floors and quarter panels replace anyway. The car was fine while I had it.

When I went to sell it, was when I had problems. Many would not talk at all after hearing about the salvage title and others could not get financing due to the title.

Personally, I will never knowingly buy another branded title vehicle.

 

Salvage title is a no go for me. To many what ifs. A salvage vehicle from 10 + years ago is way different that a salvage vehicle from the last 3 or 4 years. Way more tech, electronics and shit to go wrong on newer vehicles.
Some Tacoma guys can't even swap out a grill without the computer going nuts.

Going for another 100k is not a guarantee. I would only buy a 3rd gen with 120k if it had good service records.

The market is cooling on these trucks. Wait a bit longer, spend a bit more and get a low milage SR5.

 

The first question to ask is will your insurance write a salvage title.

The second question to ask is will your financing firm of choice make a loan on a salvage title (assuming you need financing)

The 3rd thing to know is that salvage title is worth 50-60% of retail in most markets because of those issues.

Now then. Assuming you are past those hurdles, what caused the salvage, how you will use the vehicle and how long many years you plan on keeping it are all deciding factors.

I personally have no problem with the 'right' salvage situation, but that doesn't make it right for you.

 

This truck will be my main form of transportation for years to come -- not as much as a fun vehicle. Looking to have this truck for the next 6-8 years, or as long as it can hold together. That is why I believe the mileage piece is important, but don't mind the salvage title if I am able to get 100k+ miles out of it the next few years. I drive around 10K miles a year, so cant imagine getting a truck with 120k miles will be that big of deal for the foreseeable future either. I also have a good habit of staying on top of normal maintenance things, and would be easier to do so when it's a truck I am committed to (compared to my old frontier I am taping together lately lol)

 

Depends on whether it was a flood truck or not. Wrecks are one thing. Water damage is something else entirely.l

 

It sounds like you already have your mind made up. Why make a thread lol.

You are crazy not spend a few thousand more and get a low milage, clean, non salvaged vehicle.

 

In my experience an asking price on a salvage title vehicle is highly negotiable. One of the other benefits of a salvage/rebuilt title.

You should ask to see pics of the damage, look closely at the repairs, and low ball them with a ridiculous offer... and see what they come back with.

Cash talks. If the truck would blue-book for whatever amount you might get it for 2/3 or less with some negotiating. I'd start at 1/2 price. You can always offer more.

Edit: I see hiPSI brought up flood damage. I would buy a salvage/rebuilt title truck for the right price... but probably not flood damage and especially leery of salt water.

 

Bought a salvaged title 06 mercedes cls 500 for 12k in 2010. Repaired the body work for 1k. Cost me 13k total. The car now has double the mileage at 140k. Still going strong. Have had only 2 issues with the car thus far. One was a sensor that shops were telling me would cost $5k+ to fix. I did some research and found out if you have long hands you can do it without pulling the engine just by reaching into the back of the engine. Luckily I have long hands. Took me less than 2 minutes to fix. Next issue was brakes suddenly stopped working. Had it towed to Mercedes where they told me they would charge $200 diagnostic fee but if it turned out to be a recall they would fix for free. It turned out to be a recall. Picked up the car 2 days later and they washed it and filled it up for me too.. At this point the car was a salvage title car of 10+ years and they still honored the recall and like I said, they washed and filled it up for me too. For all the people believing rumors (myself included) that a german car (salvage title at that) is too problematic.... this car has been the epitome of reliable for me. All I've done is routine maintenance like tire changes and oil. The only time it left me stranded (for 10 min) was the already mentioned brake incident.

I'm not saying any of this to justify (un)reliability of German cars or make any particular statement. Just figured I'd share my experience in case it might help anyone out. Besides that, I've owned 3 other salvaged cars (Toyotas and Hondas) and all 3 of them were flawless after being fixed. My dad's first car in the US was a salvaged title 85-87 Camry. It had like 100k miles when he bought it. And it survived another 250k+ miles until eventually it wouldn't pass smog and wasn't worth the $ to fix the emission system.

 

Back in the late 80's I bought my 1985 Toyota XTra Cab as a salvage/rebuilt title. The mechanic had photos of the original body damage, and of his repair process and was totally transparent about everything.
Still miss that truck, I drove the wheels off of it off roading in the Colorado mountains for much of my early 20's and it never once let me down (except for one or two things that were my own stupid fault). I only sold it to buy a 4-runner as my wife was pregnant and we needed back seats.
Honestly, I'd do it again in a similar scenario (good data on why it was a salvage, etc) without hesitation.

 

My problem isn't so much their overall reliability, but when they do break they are expensive to fix.

 

Probably, but not in my case.

Edit: I was probably very lucky. In general though, I agree. German & American cars can be much more expensive compared to Japanese or Korean.