How to Make the most of a Salvage Vehicle Buy
A salvage vehicle is a vehicle that has been damaged beyond its actual cost or else has been deemed ‘lost’ and later recovered after the insurance pertaining to the car has been paid to its owner. Once a vehicle has been labeled as a ‘salvage vehicle’, it will remain the same even when the car has been fully repaired and restored to its original condition. This would mean that the value of a vehicle labeled as salvage would always be lower when compared to a car of similar nature even when the salvage car has been restored to showroom condition.
However,buying a salvage vehiclecan be a bargain if you take precautions and follow few simple steps. Although these steps are seemingly simple, having a good understanding of vehicles and the potential repair costs can be advantageous when making a risky decision to buy a vehicle labeled as salvage.
The options
When buying a salvage vehicle, you have two options. One is to buy a totally repaired and restored salvage vehicle. The other is to buy a vehicle in its damaged state in hope of repairing the same yourself. The decision to buy either repaired or in damaged condition would depend on your knowledge, finances, experience, the type of vehicle, the time you have to spend for repairing as well as the saving that you would make when buying damaged as against buying a fully restored vehicle.
Obtaining the services of a professional
During the process of buying a salvage vehicle of any condition, you need to obtain the services of a qualified mechanic who you can trust. You should not rely only on the reports provided by the car sales agent or else a mechanic associated with the car sales person. In some instances, with good enough knowledge, you yourself should be able to make an initial inspection. However, the best approach would be for an independent person to do the assessment as he or she would not be biased to you or else to the sales agent.
During the inspection of a damaged vehicle, the most important aspect would be to check for frame cracks and for metal fatigue. If present, it is better to avoid buying such a vehicle as the time and the cost involved in the repair, may not be worthwhile. In a repaired salvage vehicle, you should specifically ask for the presence of such damage and inspect any records available, which indicate such possibility.
Obtaining the best possible deal
If the inspection generates a favorable report, you should then look into other aspects including insurance, warranty, financing, registration, claims as well as resale. While most of these aspects may not be favorable for a salvage vehicle, you should look to the possibility of obtaining the best possible deal.
Deciding on the price to pay
The purchase price is another aspect that you need to look and in general, a fully restored salvage vehicle should only cost around 60% or less of a vehicle which is of the same make, model, year and engine capacity and is in tip top condition with clear papers. However, if the salvage vehicle is not fully repaired, it is likely that it will fetch only a lower price than the usual 60% mark. Thus, you should be aware about the repairs done, if any, and the potential repairs left, for the vehicle to be brought to its showroom condition both in appearance as well as in its working capacity.
Restoration standards
When buying a restored vehicle, you should also consider the restoration standards undertaken by the repairmen before making a final decision. In certain situation, you may have to obtain information such as who restored the vehicle in order to obtain registration and insurance if the sales agent has not done the same. Furthermore, you should also check whether the airbags, seatbelts and other safety features are fully restored when buying a restored salvage vehicle.
Buying from the right place
Lastly, when buying a salvage vehicle, it is important for you to decide from where you would make the purchase. It is always useful to have a person known to you on the other side of the table during the deal. However, this may not always be the case. Thus, you should inquire into the reputation of the car sale as well as the credibility of the sales agent who will glorify the salvage vehicle in order to make you buy the vehicle without giving it a second thought.
