Salvage Trail potential purchase?

[manofsteele2003]

Totally worth it, I'd snag it up quick if I were you.

 

[Humble Leader]

Just noticed in the picture from the back hatch, the headliner is definitely NOT installed well. If something visible is installed that poorly, you have to question the methods used for the entire repair.

this comment is astute now when seeing the pictures. it's clear there was major damage and air bags deployed. the improper installation of the headliner gave a nice clue (that I didn't notice before) that side curtain airbags were deployed and needed to be replaced, indicating something pretty bad must have happened. mental note taken

 

[CutthroatSlam]

My body shop guy told me the exact opposite a few weeks back when we got our 4Runner out of the shop for a side impact. He said that insurance is quite resistant to totaling cars because the vehicle values are sky high now, especially highly desirable vehicles. The insurance companies don't care about the shortage of parts; that's the insured's issue to contend with. Our 4runner was in the shop from 11/15 until 12/20, a majority of that time was waiting on parts. We smoked through our $500 rental car coverage quite quickly and still had a $700 rental car bill at the end. We increased our rental coverage to $1500 this month.

Go around to most body shops right now and it's like a salvage yard. Their lots are full of wrecked cars waiting on parts. Our shop is having to rent a separate lot because of the backlog in cars waiting on parts. What used to be considered totaled is largely now being fixed, no matter how long it takes. Body shops aren't necessarily happy about it either.

Please be careful driving because if you get in a wreck, it's a ROYAL PAIN to deal with right now.

I lent my 2005 Honda Accord to my son as I was not using it for commuting in SoCal while I was up in Montana. This allowed him to sell their 10-year old low mileage Subaru for 50% more than Blue Book. Sure enough, the reverse shift cable on the Honda broke. Only 2% of the Honda Accords sold that year had the 5-speed manual. No one could get the part. I found an entire shift assembly with cables from a salvager on ebay. Ordered it and brought it down to SoCal over Thanksgiving. Shop had it in within a day. The soonest Honda could get a shift cable was February 2022. It's crazy right now trying to find specific parts.

 

[CutthroatSlam]

I asked my agent about this and she said I could still get physical damage coverage, but I'd have to sign a waver stating the vehicle had been repaired and that payout of a claim would be based on a diminished value of the vehicle due to the salvage status. At least that's the deal in NC.

Let me just say that the diminished value is going to 50% or more less than the blue book value. So paying a ridiculously high price to acquire it is a fool's game. Might as well buy Gamestop or Bitcoin if you want to play that game.

 

[BlackPhillip]

My 2019 SR5 Premium I bought with a salvage title, though Ebay for $16k. Salvage titles can be great purchases you just have to perform due diligence, like the vin search above, knowing the non-salvage BB value of the same vehicle, having it looked at by a shop you trust if it was repaired to make sure it was done properly etc.

I've also sold two salvage title cars after owning them for some time. Re-sell is not impacted any more than your purchase was. If you scored a 30% discount off blue book for a salvage title you can expect to have to pass on that same 30% discount off bluebook when you sell. Straightforward and I had no problems selling the cars here in CA.

Also you 100% can get full coverage insurance. Note if you total the vehicle though the insurance companies will likely try to cut you a discounted check due to the title.


All of that said 40k seams like a lot to me for a salvage trail given I think the only plus is a rear locker. But if the repair was done well, and the upgrades they performed add up to enough added incremental value for you it maybe a deal. Especially if you plan on keeping the vehicle longterm like I am.

Whats Blue Book (plus cost of lift/tires) on this setup if it wasn't salvage? You really can't even start to make an informed decision without that number.

 

[02SE]

All of that said 40k seams like a lot to me for a salvage trail given I think the only plus is a rear locker. But if the repair was done well, and the upgrades they performed add up to enough added incremental value for you it maybe a deal. Especially if you plan on keeping the vehicle longterm like I am.

Whats Blue Book (plus cost of lift/tires) on this setup if it wasn't salvage? You really can't even start to make an informed decision without that number.

A 2021 Trail is just an appearance package on an SR5. It doesn't have a locker.

 

[ASUMTNEER]

My 2019 SR5 Premium I bought with a salvage title, though Ebay for $16k. Salvage titles can be great purchases you just have to perform due diligence, like the vin search above, knowing the non-salvage BB value of the same vehicle, having it looked at by a shop you trust if it was repaired to make sure it was done properly etc.

I've also sold two salvage title cars after owning them for some time. Re-sell is not impacted any more than your purchase was. If you scored a 30% discount off blue book for a salvage title you can expect to have to pass on that same 30% discount off bluebook when you sell. Straightforward and I had no problems selling the cars here in CA.

Also you 100% can get full coverage insurance. Note if you total the vehicle though the insurance companies will likely try to cut you a discounted check due to the title.


All of that said 40k seams like a lot to me for a salvage trail given I think the only plus is a rear locker. But if the repair was done well, and the upgrades they performed add up to enough added incremental value for you it maybe a deal. Especially if you plan on keeping the vehicle longterm like I am.

Whats Blue Book (plus cost of lift/tires) on this setup if it wasn't salvage? You really can't even start to make an informed decision without that number.

Thanks for all this info. KBB is $48,000. My serious question is this, is KBB relevant anymore? Every time I sell a car people quote KBB which is almost always very low. I was under the impression that banks and insurance companies use NADA values and that dealers use MMR and black book. My 2010 trail with 104k miles and KDSS in almost perfect shape blue books for $20k. There's no way in this world I'd sell it that cheap. I sold a 2001 limited 4x4 in near perfect shape a few months back for $13k (low miles) and it blue booked for $7,000. I'd have had a line 8 miles long of people wanting to buy that 4runner for $7,000.

FWIW, I think we've decided to stay away from this one. The airbag situation worries me a lot since the wife and kids would be in it daily.

 

[Cadesun]

Don't do it. Vehicles with salvage titles rarely drive or close right. You'll also lose terribly when you sell in a few years, especially since the market for these vehicles will be significantly lower. The salvage title will make it massively worse. Be patient and wait for the market to correct in 6 to 12 months and by something better/nicer/not wrecked.

I'd also VERY curious as to why and how a deer impact totaled a 4Runner. My guess is the deer led to a loss of control and more significant damage was incurred when the truck hit something else. Why do I think this? We just got our 4Runner back from the body shop and the shop manager told us it's damn near impossible to total out a late model vehicle these days because values are sky high.

I hit a deer on the interstate in 2020 which totalled my 2015 trail with 70k miles. Insurance gave me $26k for it. All airbags deployed and the front end got a bit mangled but truck still ran. The shop said the airbags are over $1k each to replace.

 

[Humble Leader]

Thanks for all this info. KBB is $48,000. My serious question is this, is KBB relevant anymore? Every time I sell a car people quote KBB which is almost always very low. I was under the impression that banks and insurance companies use NADA values and that dealers use MMR and black book. My 2010 trail with 104k miles and KDSS in almost perfect shape blue books for $20k. There's no way in this world I'd sell it that cheap. I sold a 2001 limited 4x4 in near perfect shape a few months back for $13k (low miles) and it blue booked for $7,000. I'd have had a line 8 miles long of people wanting to buy that 4runner for $7,000.

FWIW, I think we've decided to stay away from this one. The airbag situation worries me a lot since the wife and kids would be in it daily.

KBB Is simply a tool that many people use to reference prices. KBB is not a price setter, it merely tracks prices from many sources. laws of supply and demand will impact KBB prices but sometimes KBB can take a while to catch up to the market. KBB is not a good tool to use to get an idea of what you'd expect to pay or sell a vehicle for in a volatile market, like the one we are in or for cars that are in very high demand, like 4runners right now

 

[4r-4ever]

it's always a risk to buy a totaled car that has been restored. for that price, that's a lot.. i would buy it at 20k if they accept an offer. more than that, i would think twice.

 

[ASUMTNEER]

it's always a risk to buy a totaled car that has been restored. for that price, that's a lot.. i would buy it at 20k if they accept an offer. more than that, i would think twice.

It sold for more than that in it's crashed condition

 

[BlackPhillip]

A 2021 Trail is just an appearance package on an SR5. It doesn't have a locker.

Good to know.

This is a hard pass at this price. Dealership trying to take advantage of the market. If they dont get any bites maybe they lower the price to something reasonable. Seems like theyre trying to double their money on this sale.