So as I've posted last week, insurance is totaling my rig based on cosmetic damage. Frame is confirmed undamaged. I could buy it back and fix it and have $2k in my pocket. My concern is that in the future if I want to sell it in a couple years, will I be able to? How much of a depreciation should I expect from a salvage/rebuilt title? What would you do?

Do it! You'll get roughly 1/2 value for a salvage title when you go to sell it, but who cares, I would drive that thing till the wheels fall of now. You'll have $2K in your pocket, and you'll save on insurance now since there's no sense in getting anything but liablity on a salvage title. You'll still probably sell it down the road for more than what you buy it back from the insurance co. for too.

+1.

Make sure you take plenty of "before" pictures, so if you ever do sell it, you can have an explanation as to why the insurance company totalled it.

Years ago, I had a friend that owned a Civic. At the time it was only 2 yrs old. He changed his own oil, and forgot to close the hood all the way. It flew up, broke the windsheild and put a pinky sized dent in the top of the windsheild frame. Insurance comany totalled it.

What year is your truck and how bad is the cosmetic damage? If it isn't too bad, you might be able to get the insurance company not to total it if you can convince them the trucks fair market value is more than KBB reflects. I would only go this way if you are really planning on selling in the near future. The $2k you can pocket now will probably be more than the difference between clean vs salvage title a few years from now anyway.

I say pocket the 2k and drive it to the ground like posted above.

But if you do think you might want to sell in the near future, salvage title cars and trucks are hard to sell and are worth alot less...

i say keep it, pocket the $2k and use if for mods. also depending on your state and how the DMV works in your state you can "clean" the title, by titling it in another state, tell that state that you lost the title and want a new one, don't tell them that its a salvage, and they will give you a clean title, then with that clean title bring it back to your original state and title it there again with the "clean title". -now i say this with reservation, its deceiving and kinda shady. but make sure you check how your state keeps records, as some states keep records of ever vehicle ever registered(i know Oregon keeps at least every salvage title permanently) so it cant be "cleaned". i only say do this if all that is damaged is just cosmetic. further more, just cause a vehicle is a salvage or "branded" or "rebuilt" doesn't mean its a bad vehicle, i would buy a salvaged vehicle if it had been back on the road for a few years, that shows me that it was rebuilt good enough to not fall apart on you.

I am actually leaning towards letting it get totaled. Yes, I'd get $2k in pocket now, but my wife and I plan to buy a new 4runner in about 4 years, so at that time I'd be selling mine, and with a salvage title is going to drop the value more than $2k, I think. In other words, $2k now, but lose>$2k later.

As long as I'm patient, I should be able to find a 4wd (maybe with locker) 4Runner and build it up with brand new components, and probably with less mileage. Better now, and worth more later. Being patient sucks, but strictly numbers, that seems like the right decision.

Thought?

Curious to see what the damage looks like. Any pictures?

Total it out and fix it back like the others above have said!

Lets see some pics of the damage

Two points. First, to the OP, are you sure your state requires a salvage title for a total? It varies from state-to-state. Some don't have them, and some don't do it for cars older than a certain age, e.g. 7 years. I'd check the DMV regs in your state if you are not sure.

Second, the Kid's suggestion is perhaps doable, but it will gain you nothing vis-à-vis a CarFax which runs off the VIN. The suggestion is also a good reason to always get CarFax on a used car purchase. Your next buyer probably will...

Smashed tail gate and DS rear quarter panel.

CA requires Salvage Title

Why would I take my car back and $2K in pocket now, over a replacement and >$2K in my pocket later?

Yep - the carfax report will show a vehicle like that as "washed" title - which raises questions and points to a previous salvage title for any buyer.

You're going to get paid the same from the insurance company either way. So the question is, is buying your 4runner back from the insurance company a good deal? You can buy a newer, more expensive car and maybe still get a lot for it when you sell it. Or it could be a lemon and you dump money into it, but you know the 4runner already and I'm guessing it's mechanically sound if you are considering buying it back. If the 4runner runs good and the damage is cosmetic, it may very well be worth it to buy it back, drive it for a while and when you sell it, you'll probably get what you paid the insurance company for it, even years later. Even in 5 years from now, I can't see 3rd gens commanding too much less than they do now (salvage and clean titles).

But if you buy a newer car for say $10K, you'll probably get ~$5-6K in a few years.

^ good point, OP as long as you keep your car in good shape and mileage isnt over 300k it will still be worth pretty much what it is.

Just might take longer to sell when the time comes.

Do what makes you comfortable, but as you have read-salvage does not mean junk- and there is no real reason to automatically expect to lose money later.

My 99 4Runner was an Oregon branded vehicle-equivalent to salvage. It was rebuilt just fine and I have had it to body shops since purchase to verify that is was fine. Mine for example had all 4 doors replaced from a donor-1996 4Runner.

I was able to buy it for significantly less than the going price 5 years ago,(around $11K for a 40K mile vehicle), have built it up to the fine ride it is today, and will likely sell it in a couple more years for very little less than I have paid for it. Significant extras along the way-my ARB bumper for example have helped keep the value high, extra wheels and tires, suspension and body lift...all things I was in the mood to do anyways-and a buyer will pay a slight premium for a tastefully modded vehicle.

The salvage title is for sure a negotiating point, but as you can see from the very members of this forum-if your ride is running and looking fine then the average person would never know it. Disclose it yes-but don't let it devalue your truck any more than necessary.

There are tradeoffs to any decision, but it sounds like with the minimal damage you have-you could sell it as is and still make some money and just be free and clear of it.