Totaled Truck...CARFAX

[DD716TED]

My previous truck was totaled several months ago. After the insurance settlement, it was towed away. Today I found it on a used car lot (not dealer) but it appears to have been repaired although I don't know how considering the damage to the frame/suspension.. The salesman said he will get a CARFAX report if I was really interested. Doesn't CARFAX note vehicles that have been previously totaled? Just curious as I have a new truck now but worry about the next person that might get this vehicle that was severely damaged?

[midnightsadie]

NEVER TRUST CAR FAX. they don,t no any more than what you can find out yourself.

[Naio]

WayneLee wrote:
Don't know about your state, but my understanding is that in California the law says that any vehicle that was "totaled" by an insurance company, later sold at auction and repaired, must state on the owners statement that it is a "Salvage Title".

I'm not sure that is correct.

I've been searching all the western states for a new van, and I looked at auctions in CA. One site I looked pretty seriously said that, if sold to a private party, their vehicles would bear a salvage title, but if sold to a dealer they would not.

[Grit_dog]

Interesting find. Buyer beware I guess!
I watch CL a lot here for used cars and the number of private owner branded titles is astounding. I'd bet your old truck has a branded title. But I'd also bet the car lot will try to pass it off as a cream puff to the first person they can....

[Golden_HVAC]

kalynzoo wrote:
When you say totaled, hopefully DMV will show salvage on the documentation.

If a California title shows "Salvage" they can take that car to say South Carolina, and register it there. Then change it to North Carolina, and the "Salvage" certificate many times gets lost, so it looks like a clean car at that point. Then it can come back to California, and be sold as a used car, no problem here!

My buddy replaced the frame in his dad's truck, and rebuilt it better than new. He worked in a body shop for many years. You could not tell it was not factory built once he was done with it. His dad had been run off the road in Yosemite while towing a fifth wheel. It twisted up everything, and the insurance wanted to total it. Many times they will total a vehicle because they do not want to face a second repair cost 5 or 8 years down the road if the first repair does not work right.

Also auto body repair places in many states must warranty their work for life of the car, or until it gets sold to another party. I just had the rear bumper replaced on my handicap minivan with a lift in the back door. It cost $1,500 to repair the ramp and replace the bumper, paint it. This in part was due to the body shop needing to hold back some money in case we return in 8 years and say the paint flaked off, or something. They will have to repaint it every time it flakes off until we sell the car. Or if the plastic bumper cracks, they will have to install a new one each time, until we sell the car. What if that is 50 years from now? They will still have to repair it that length of time, so they must cover the costs in advance, then hope you sell it soon! Their warranty is over as soon as you sell it.

Thanks for letting us know about your used truck.

Fred.

[msgtord]

Hundreds of vehicles go south into Mexico each year that are totaled, or just declared to expensive to repair by the insurance company. The vehicle will eventually makes it back to the states with a "salvaged" title, or maybe not.....

Go to Google earth and look up Gadsden, Arizona. Look for a huge lot on the south of town. Then go to street view and look at the used car lots in town. The circle of life for automobiles...............

[dapperdan]

wanderingbob wrote:
I worked in the "salvage " business for thirty years . The word " totaled means nothing . An auto is either legally rebuildable or it is not IN THAT State. .Take it across a state line it may be OK to rebuild .
Carfax is wrong as many times as it is correct !

I totally agree with this statement! My brother was involved in a crash where his car suffered severe damage, close to being "totaled" or un-repairable. Later on he traded the car in and NO damage or record of damage was reported to Carfax! The Carfax report came back "clean", he couldn't believe it!!

Dan

[mowin]

My wife hit a deer with her Honda pilot. $3200 in damage. Traded it in 3 yrs later, when I went online to see what they were asking for it, I was shocked to see it listed with a clean Carfax. And yes the damage was payed through our ins.
Carfax is a joke. Never trust anything they say.

[rhagfo]

1492 wrote:
I just recently purchased my first used car, which is no longer made though popular with owners who tend to hold onto them. The CarFax report indicated no "reported" accidents. However, I was lucky to have most of the records from the previous owner which indicated an USAA insurance claim for a collision. After carefully reviewing the paperwork, I determined that the damage was largely cosmetic, no frame damage, though $2000+ to repair.

The lesson being that services like CarFax appear to list only what has been reported from their sources. In fact, I'm not sure what the criteria is for reporting damaged vehicles in their report? No accidents not necessarily meaning the vehicle was not involved in some type of accident?

Do you realize how little damage it takes to get a repair bill up p $2,000+?
If a fender and bumper are damaged even slightly,'but need replacement bill will be $2,000+!

[wanderingbob]

Carfax searches insurance sites , if no insurance involved , no Carfax .

Just because an insurance company pays you off does not in no way mean that they believe it is " totaled '. I have sold thousands and thousands of autos for insurance companies that are damaged but sold with a clean title . I was an auctioneer for Manheim , Sadisco , IAA ,TRA and several more initials that I can not remember .

[wanderingbob]

I worked in the "salvage " business for thirty years . The word " totaled means nothing . An auto is either legally rebuildable or it is not IN THAT State. .Take it across a state line it may be OK to rebuild .
Carfax is wrong as many times as it is correct !

[lawnspecialties]

I bought an F350 back in 2010. It was a used '09 and I bought it at one of the big local Ford dealerships.

21 months later, I was getting ready to sell it. Also looking at possibly trading it in, a dealership ran a Carfax. One week before the dealer ran that Carfax, they posted the truck had been wrecked in the front end before I bought it.

In other words, Carfax posted in May, 2011 that the truck had been wrecked in August 2009! I had no idea. Carfax only tells you what is reported when its reported. But if something isn't reported and it takes awhile, it means nothing.

[p220sigman]

Carfax only reports what is reported to them. They are just another tool when car shopping. I will look at them and generally steer clear of any that indicate a crash for the very reasons noted above. In my mind, there is no substitute for having a qualified mechanic you trust look over the car before purchase. I've walked away from deals where the owner didn't want the car looked at by my mechanic.

One of the last cars I bought, had virtually nothing on the Carfax about maintenance, but the owner had very extensive records. My mechanic confirmed it was very well cared for and had no evidence of crash damage/repair.

[jerseyjim]

Stay away from the truck. Y'never know....really. It will never be the same.

[Trackrig]

kalynzoo wrote:
When you say totaled, hopefully DMV will show salvage on the documentation.

I agree with you, but unless there's a national law or a law in that state, I doubt the insurance companies are going to take the time to notify DMV. And I doubt the DMV really goes looking for the extra work.

Bill

[path1]

.