how to sell a vehicle with a rebuilt title?

Question

I have a 2004 chevrolet truck that was wrecked before and it has a rebuilt title but you cant tell the truck has been wrecked i took it to a body shop and they couldnt tell either but a car dealer would only give me half of what it is worth because of this i live in alabama are the laws different in each state

Answer 1

It doesn't matter if you can't tell by the naked eye whether a vehicle has been totalled.Regardless of why, you are required to disclose the info to your buyer. Most people don't want to buy a rebuilt/salvage car, and with good reason, the first being the one happening to you right now, you cannot get full market value, basically you are upside down on this purchase. Now for someone that enjoys working on cars and rebuilding, they might be interested, again for less than value. I ended up the owner of a rebuilt, because I didn't ask if it had ever been totalled, and at that time in Washington, the dealer only had to disclose, if you asked. Mine had caught on fire from a cell phone plugged into the cigarette lighter, after learning this, it all made sense why the interior was in such good shape, and the motor compartment was spotless. I got the record of my car through the DMV, records department. You can get your entire vehicle history through them, you don't have to pay through CarFax or Vehix.Com. I had nothing but trouble with that vehicle, expensive trouble. You can find out all about the laws regarding disclosure through your DMV office. Good luck.

Answer 2

Did you buy it with a rebuilt title? Some states will not let you resell a car with a rebuilt title. For expample in NY a NJ car coming into the state with a rebuilt title has to be processed by NYS police. NY will not let you install used air bags where NJ will. The age of computers is here. The states have access to all the salvage information on the car. If they feel something is not right they will not let you registar the car and they might even keep the car or title. I have seen it happen here in NY. That is why a rebulit car is only worth 1/2 book because no matter who rebuilds it and who buys it there is this huge chance that a stolen part was used or the car may have future electrical problems from prior flood damage, or just might not meet that states rebuilding guide lines. There are thousands of "katrina" cars hitting the lots in the US. They run and drive fine now but as the water damage starts to corode the electrical componants all kinds of problems will crop up. We buy rebuildable wrecks and use them in fleet service. Usually our customers just use them till they drop like as Taxis or parks service, local town vehicles etc.

Answer 3

I wouldn't take a salvaged title vehicle to a dealer. They wouldn't even give you what it is worth even if it wasn't salvaged. I would just put an ad in the paper. Don't mention that it is a salvaged title until someone comes to look at it. Just reassure the potential buyer that the truck has been restored to its original state and runs perfectly fine. Probably a inspection report from a mechanic saying its in good shape would help out too.

Answer 4

Well if someone where going to purchase your car and do a Carfax report by the VIN number, they would find information that the car was wrecked. This would definitely hurt the private party sale since you were dishonest. If someone buys the car and later on finds out that there was a wreck and they were not informed, there is a chance they could take you to court and win the case. I say be upfront and honest if you are trying to sell it. Good Luck

Answer 5

sell it privately but let people know it has a salvage title