SALVAGE VEHICLE

When you dismantle, destroy or change the character of your car so that it no longer is a complete car, you must surrender your Certificate of Title to the Clerk of Courts for cancellation.
When you sell your car to a salvage dealer, you must surrender your Certificate of Title to that dealer with the assignment completely executed.
To convert a Salvage Title to a Regular Title, a HP 106 inspection must be made by the State Highway Patrol. A fee of $50.00 is charged. The HP-105 <NOBR>application</NOBR> for the inspection may be obtained at the State Highway Patrol.In the State of California a Salvage Title is just that, it exists for a specific reason. A vehicle is assigned a Salvage Title because the car was written off as a loss by the <NOBR>insurance</NOBR> company. There are various reasons which would cause this to happen. A Salvage Title does not always mean that the car was involved in an accident. It may have been a theft recovered vehicle, it may have water damage, it may have been in a fire, these are just some examples of why a vehicle may receive a salvage title. The State of California does not distinguish between different salvage types as some states do. Once the car receives a "branded" title there is no legal way to wash the title in the State of California.

This is part of an article I found to have the title converted not sure if thats the same in Iowa, also I've researched before and it looks like if they do allow full coverage on it in Iowa the payout of toal loss is anywhere from 25%-40% less than a clean title

 

Ok thanks, I found a really good deal on an S10 a few months back that had a salvaged title from being keyed and vandalized pretty bad and was a total loss or something. Can't remember for sure but they were basically giving it away, I went and checked it out and it ran really good but my parents said not to get something with a salvage title so I had to walk away... I feel like that would have passed an inspection easily since all the damage was cosmetic.

 

My grandparents use to freak on me for even considering them so I usually never did. When I was looking at a 04 LS my first monte the guy faield to tell me it had a salvage title and I felt i drove 40 miles for nothing. So I said if youre willing to drive 40 miles to let my mechanic check it out on a lift I'd feel more comfortable or else theres no deal. Anyway he did bring it there and I told my mechanic I was skeptical of the title and he told me not to be if it was rebuilt correctly, come to find out hes owned a few salvage titles himself. Anyway he checked it out and all was well.

 

some of the only issues I've found with Salvage titles is some dealer wont even give them a look on trade ins. Theyre great to get because of price but thats only if you intend to keep it for a long time IMO anyway and pending that the damage is minimal and worth putting the money into. I was so sad about a month ago in Fredricksburg a town not far from where I live there was a 2004 Supercharged SS with 55k for $2,400 and all it needed was headlights, front bumper new radiator possibly and a couple front end parts. I couldn't afford it at the time

 

My first car had a rebuilt title. 95 Camaro. 3.4L with a 5 speed. Never had a problem with it and got excellent gas mileage. Sold it to get a truck in the end but if I hadn't gotten my 04 Monte and had gotten a truck instead at that point (the Monte was my HS graduation present) I probably would have kept it.

 

That was a good website, copart.com. Lots of rebuildables, if only I had the cash and experience.

 

My Monte is/was a salvaged car... No problem with our insurance company, I have full coverage on it. I just wish that I could give that car a new vin. You cant tell that it had been in an accident, and when I tell people that it has been they think im yanking their chain...

 

I know some of the salvage titles feel like a slap in the face. One I had was because the car was severly keyed and the estimate of the paint job was high so they salvaged it. Another car I had was sideswiped and the bags went off which was akward. Saw the pictures and everything damage was not bad. Car looked perfect zero wrong with it yet salvage title due to that

 

Lol yep those silly airbags. Once they deploy most insurance companies just total the car out... When I got in an accident in my moms 03 Mazda 6 both airbags deployed and completely tore up the whole dash. Passenger side windshield was busted from the airbag, the only good things that came from that was me being ok and getting rid of that problem collector. I still cant believe I walked away from that accident without a bruise. My mom picked me up from the scene and took me straight to work lol. She dropped the wrecked car off at my job and I drove it home when I got off. That mazda went through hell and high water but never once quit on us. Then there was the time I wrecked my brothers 96 or 94 Z28 camaro. My parents were out of town and I was like they wont know if I take the camaro to grab a bite to eat (brother was in Iraq). I picked up some food and on my way home a guy swerved into my lane and I tried to aviod him only to spin out and go into a ditch snapping a telephone pole in half and hitting a concrete column. The telephone pole hit the car right behind the front drivers door and in front of the gas tank... The t-tops were busted out just the frames. the back windshield was completely busted out and the drivers door wouldnt open. The passenger side door was stuck against the side of the ditch. I climbed through the back window and people came running from everywhere to see if I was ok. The police came and I filled out the accident report and had a flashback and looked around and didnt see the car I almost hit no where in site. They filed the accident as me hydroplanning since no other vehicle was on the scene. Police took me home (no ticket!!!) and I was sooooo scared to call my mom and tell her what happened. 15 minutes later she called and asked was I ok and I had to tell her what happened. I have never been more scared in my life!!!Walked away from that accident with only a small kickie on my forehead and went to work that same day lol. Whoa ok I see that I got a little carried away with my story

 

My 1998 Monte Carlo has a salvage title. I bought it from Copart.com. All I had to do to get it back on the road was replace the driver side tie rods and get it aligned. Then I took it in for a standard state inspection. After that I went to the DMV to get it registered. It still has a little cosmetic damage on it but I'm not worried about the way it looks too much at this point. I have had it for almost a year now and it drives great. I have had to do a little maintenance along the way like replacing the EGR valve, a battery, light bulbs and windshield wipers, but those types of things are not from the accident it was in which totaled the vehicle out. I bought another Monte Carlo (1996 model) just for the body parts so I could replace the door, hood, fender, driver side headlight and front bumper. I don't have any fancy tools or machines to do body work with so the gap between the driver door and the front fender is not perfect, but it opens and closes just fine with no clearance issues. All it took for the part swap was a basic tool kit. Screwdrivers, wrenches, pliers and a ratchet/socket set. Oh yeah, and a jack stand to hold the door up while I bolted it back up since I was a one man show for this project. The tires on the 1996 were just about brand new so I swapped those out as well. A spoiler has been added and the entire car is just about sanded and ready for a fresh paint job. I plan on painting it white with red racing stripes, tinting the windows, installing an aftermarket stereo with all new speakers and also getting a dual exhaust put on it. It's not my main car so I have just been doing a little bit here and there when I have some down time. Check out some of the progress I have made...