Purchase a hail damaged rig?

oldjarhead wrote:
I would be getting it from an insurance auction so yes it would be a salvage or totaled title. Didn't think about the insurance part of it. I won't be able to inspect it and I will have to travel to get it. But it seems that the savings are incredible. I am very tempted by this opportunity. Copart is one of the sites I am looking at.

Copart should list if it's salvage or totaled/parts only... BIG difference as it's almost impossible to ever get a tag for a parts only title. Even with a salvage title you cannot legally pull it home... no tag but I have with a tag from another trailer...:W :W :W
Not sure I'd buy without inspecting as the 10 pictures will not show all of the damage inside if the vent covers are broken and it's been sitting outside for months.

PM me with the Copart item number or year/make/location and I'll look at the pictures for you as I've bought several and yes one from pictures only but it was a Airstream.

if it looks like it was a target at a golf course you need to ask youself.

does having a certain amount of character make or break the trailer in your eyes?

character.....? lol i remember my uncle telling me when i was 7, we lived in the country side. went in the house and he said it smelled as if it stepped in some CHARACTER.

those were fund days.

Dents and dings wouldnt bother me a bit , As long as there are no leaks , the price is right ,and its safe to tow down the road . AND the PRICE is RIGHT .
I go camping for the experience , not the trailer . My first camper was just short of ugly . But it was paid for and fun . The whole family enjoyed it .

oldjarhead wrote:
I would be getting it from an insurance auction so yes it would be a salvage or totaled title. Didn't think about the insurance part of it. I won't be able to inspect it and I will have to travel to get it. But it seems that the savings are incredible. I am very tempted by this opportunity. Copart is one of the sites I am looking at.

Check your states DMV to get the scoop on the title classifications and what they mean BEFORE committing to the purchase.

IF salvaged or totaled title does not allow you to register it for on the road use in YOUR state, you need to find out how to get the title to a usable state.

Some states allow salvage to be repaired (IE title will have salvage or reconstructed) and some don't (IE salvage = Scrap). Know and understand before buying..

If you do not understand how this works in YOUR state you are risking buying a big paperweight..

Will it have a title that will allow it on the road ? Some salvage can never be put back on hiway .

If the damage is not bad and the price is right, i would say go for it.
I just had my camper totaled earlier this year for "hail damage". The hail we got came in at 70-80mph so i had some odd cosmetic damage. If i could have bought it back for cheap i would have kept it fixed the stuff that could leak and used it but the insurance company wanted more than i was willing to pay for a damaged camper. The damage to mine was a split in the rubber roof which i could have fixed with some dicor. so to insurance the fix was a entire roof replacement. it has a couple dents in the fiberglass left side and rear so the adjuster said that would require a replacement side and back wall. a couple of the window frames got bent/dented. so that would require complete window replacements for any that had damage. And a bunch of dents in metal trim. But the rough estimate for the "damages" was $18-20K. My insurance wrote it off because with the calculator they use it was cheaper for them to total it and make money at auction than to try to fix it.

I would be getting it from an insurance auction so yes it would be a salvage or totaled title. Didn't think about the insurance part of it. I won't be able to inspect it and I will have to travel to get it. But it seems that the savings are incredible. I am very tempted by this opportunity. Copart is one of the sites I am looking at.

sch911 wrote:
It would most likely have a Salvage Title. Which is not going to be insurable but if in decent shape could still be viable. But it would have to be a really low price for me to get in that game.

I always get a kick out of folks on this forum doting on the "need" to "insure" a TRAILER.

None of the 50 States "REQUIRE" insurance of any kind on a trailer (IE bumper pull RV, 5Vr RV, flat bed, enclosed cargo trailers)..

ONLY THE BANKS REQUIRE INSURANCE ON TRAILERS IF THEY ARE LOANING MONEY FOR ONE TO BUY IT..

IF the OP was to manage to get a good enough deal on it and be able to pay CASH (IE NO LOAN) then they do not need to be concerned about any insurance on said trailer.

Granted, they would not have replacement coverage when not hooked up to a vehicle.. BUT, so what.. If they got it cheap enough and it is lost stolen or burns to the ground they simply would not have any "payout" from the insurance co, no need if no loan..

RVs are a depreciating asset and as time goes on, you get LESS coverage from insurance but yet you WILL continue to pay the insurance co the same and in most cases MORE every year..

BUT keep in mind IF they bought a NEW UNDAMAGED TRAILER and HAD TO GET A LOAN, the insurance would only payout what the VALUE of the trailer was at the time of loss.. That payout would not cover the full amount of the loan unless you pay for additional "gap" insurance..

Insurance typically is a loss anyways, you WILL pay in to the insurance co more than you will ever get out of the coverage..

Ivylog wrote:
In most states you cannot get a tag for a salvage titled vehicle... it has to be repaired and then inspected to convert the title to rebuilt so you can get a tag. Water damage while the roof vents were broken is a real possibility. Often it does not take much hail damage for it to become a totaled vehicle as replacing the skins is very expensive.
Put the vin # in google and see what you find as many wrecked vehicles go through Copart and YES I have bought several.

:R

"Most" States have WAYS to get the title back to a USABLE WORKING TITLE.

In PA, a "salvage" title could be turned into a "RECONSTRUCTED" title OR "SPECIAL CONSTRUCTION" title provided you follow the proper rules and of course all the legal paperwork and fees.

The only exception to the above in PA is if the title was SCRAPPED and that one can only be used for parts..

At least with a salvage title in PA there is some hope of getting it back on the road.

In most states you cannot get a tag for a salvage titled vehicle... it has to be repaired and then inspected to convert the title to rebuilt so you can get a tag. Water damage while the roof vents were broken is a real possibility. Often it does not take much hail damage for it to become a totaled vehicle as replacing the skins is very expensive.
Put the vin # in google and see what you find as many wrecked vehicles go through Copart and YES I have bought several.