Sonny - Things have gotten considerably tighter in the last 10 years. It is rare that a title escapes being branded today. Oh, and I had one that the state neglected to label as salvage, but it was still considered salvage on state records and on CarFax. Tough to escape it.
Peace, Ben Received: by 10.220.60.140 with SMTP id p12mr1792688vch.177.1270343376308; Sat, 03 Apr 2010 18:09:36 -0700 (PDT) Received: by 10.231.193.1 with SMTP id ds1cs109765ibb; Sat, 3 Apr 2010 18:09:36 -0700 (PDT) Received: from majordomo by krusty-motorsports.com with local (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from <[email protected]>) id 1NyEL9-0006NI-R6 for [email protected]; Sun, 04 Apr 2010 01:09:27 +0000 Received: from krusty-motorsports.com (krusty-motorsports.com [192.94.170.8]) by mx.google.com with ESMTP id 30si21491773vws.35.2010.04.03.18.09.35; Sat, 03 Apr 2010 18:09:35 -0700 (PDT) Return-Path: <[email protected]> Reply-To: <[email protected]> From: <[email protected]> Sender: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Subject: [alfa] Re: Stolen car update Date: Sat, 3 Apr 2010 20:09:25 -0500 Message-ID: <6046363.1270343366001.javamail.r...@elwamui-darkeyed.atl.sa.earthlink.net> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Mailer: EarthLink Zoo Mail 1.0 Thread-Index: AcrTk33vRaoUSQ1tREq6VPFz62NtEw== Marty wrote "You might reconsider buying the car back. It will have a branded title because it is being sold as insurance salvage." I tried to look into the California DMV regulations. As far as I can tell, an recovered stolen vehicle does not meet the conditions for a salvage title merely by virtue of being stolen and declared a total loss by the insurer. http://www.dmv.ca.gov/otherser/eir/eir_retentions.htm Even when cars are taken over by the insurance company in the context of a constructive total loss they sometimes end up without salvage titles. I had a 1985 BMW 325e in Arizona that was totaled in 1998. The damage could probably have been fixed for about $2,000 (retail) so normally I would have tried to negotiate keeping the car but as I was about to leave the country I elected to accept a total loss settlement. Of course, the insurance company got the car in exchange. It was an Arizona car in very nice condition so I was pretty sure it wasn't going to the crusher. A few years later I looked up the VIN on Carfax. A few months after the settlement, it was registered in South Carolina and still running there. No mention of a salvage title. I suspect insurance companies have little interest in having a car they have acquired being labeled as "salvage" if they can avoid it, as it reduces the revenue they will be able to get for it. Sonny 1991 164S Baltimore -- to be removed from alfa, see http://www.digest.net/bin/digest-subs.cgi or email "unsubscribe alfa" to [email protected] -- to be removed from alfa, see http://www.digest.net/bin/digest-subs.cgi or email "unsubscribe alfa" to [email protected]
