Buying an R-Titled Car

**AutomagicSN98** · 04-13-2012, 12:48 AM

I am currently looking into getting into a different vehicle. I found an 01 cobra on craigslist for a decent price, but it has an r-title. Is it dangerous to buy a car like this? does it affect insurance? Also, what should i look for if i look at the car, as far as looking into the repairs and if they were done correctly? If its an r-title does that mean that the accident had to be bad enough for the airbags to deploy? sorry for all of the random questions out of order. heres a link to the cl add http://erie.craigslist.org/cto/2914315520.html

Thanks,
Shawn

**SonofaBish** · 04-13-2012, 06:53 AM

Heres from my experience... Ive owned 2 r-title trucks, and a friend of mine had an r-title SRT4...

If its been repaired RIGHT, its just a good of a vehicle as a clear title... It will not affect insurance.. Lots of people think it will, but it doesn't... The only thing I don't know is if it affects getting a loan... I've bought all of mine outright... I think my friend got a loan though...

As far as what out says about the damages, its hard to say... In general, its supposed to mean the vehicles damages were greater than something like 75% of the cars fair market value... BUT, this can be fudged... i've only has one accident, and the insurance adjuster asked me if I wanted to keep the car out not... He was going to be able to go either direction depending on what I wanted... Also, with my Harley F150, it was a r-title, and it only took $5,500 in repairs, including painting the entire truck, to fix it... an approx 24,000 vehicle at the time of the accident... Clearly the can fudge it either way... Best thing to do is to do your research...

**Dan B.** · 04-13-2012, 06:59 AM

Bish is dead on from my experiences also.

My dad was looking at an R-title truck a few years back. When I told my credit union that it was an R-title, they cut the loan value in half.

**jaa55** · 04-13-2012, 07:44 AM

+1

look it over good.....try to find out the places it was hit at and inspect it. A lot of R titled cars are just as nice as clean titled cars, many used cars have been in accidents. I could show you a clean titled car right now that was T boned hard and had the whole rocker/floor board and quarter replaced and because its a 2010 the value was just high enough they didnt total it. Then I can show you a car that was hit in the front with way less damage that was totaled because it was 5 years old when the accident happened....it depreciated enough to total it.

Nothing wrong with R titled cars, just apply the same common sense you would use in making any other car purchase. see something you dont like....dont buy it.

**PSPstang** · 04-13-2012, 08:33 AM

Nothing wrong with r titled cars as long as a moron didnt do the repairs.
i owned 5 or so myself, my dad used to buy them wrecked and fix them to drive.

**sinful rides** · 04-13-2012, 08:50 AM

R titles arent always crashed. The could be flood damaged or theft recoveries. My Powerstroke is a theft recovery and there was nothing wrong with it. Although lots of banks won't give you a loan for a r title. Also remember the value is decreased from when you buy it and when you go to sale or trade in the future.

**sutyak** · 04-13-2012, 08:58 AM

I'm in a different state, but my insurance company, Met Life, wouldn't insure an R-title regardless the condition or how it became an R-title.
CALL YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY before buying an R-title. I was cash-in-hand ready to buy it and glad I called. I could have switched insurance companies, paid a higher premium for all my vehicles but that wasn't worth it to me.

**PaxtonShelby** · 04-13-2012, 09:08 AM

I wouldn't insure anything with a company that refused to insure an R-title vehicle. That just tells me the company has zero common sense. The only salvage title / R title vehicle I'd stay away from would be a flood car, just because you never know if someone tried to start it after water had gotten in thru the exhaust and sucked water into the motor, damaging the internals.

I've had an R-title car - an '87 GT convertible. It was hit in front and needed a core support, radiator, hood, front bumper, passenger inner fender, and the guy put on a new convertible top. He really did a fantastic job. I loved that car. I drove it for 3 years and sold it for less than a thousand under what I paid for it. Like has been said, if the collision repairs were done by someone who knows what they're doing you should be ok. Also - if the car was repaired a while ago and still looks / runs well I'd be more comfortable than if the car just rolled out of the paint booth ( depending on the severity of the damage that was done ).

Good luck!

**k7cobra** · 04-13-2012, 10:10 AM

R title cars go through a more agressive inspection system if done right the car is as good as new.

**95V6** · 04-13-2012, 10:44 AM

Would a carfax show how it was damaged to get a r title?

**ccoyle0103** · 04-13-2012, 10:58 AM

Originally Posted by k7cobra

R title cars go through a more agressive inspection system if done right the car is as good as new.

You are correct...Insurance companies now go by the owner. If the car is wrecked and the owner complains enough that they want a new car the ins. company will total it. I do alot of work at my Notary with the dealership next to me. Good example was that F150 I had posted not long ago. All it needed was a hood, set of lights and a passenger fender. The bags didn't blow and they totalled it. There is a Dodge Intrepid here that only needed a fender.
Only an enhanced inspection station can clear a car for an R-title. With all the right paperwork and pictures I can Register and Plate a salvage cert. car. Has to be signed off by the inspection station tho. Once it is an R-title you can even in some cases get a loan on the car and carry full coverage ins again....

**ccoyle0103** · 04-13-2012, 10:59 AM

Originally Posted by 95V6

Would a carfax show how it was damaged to get a r title?

Barry...Carfax will show Reconstructed.

**Terminated** · 04-13-2012, 11:22 AM

My Cavalier is an R-Title, but it's from a police seizure and therefore the police filed for a salvage/bill of sale rather than track down the original.

Anyways, yes it is much tougher to get a loan from a bank for an R title vehicle (ask me how I know...) and you don't know if the car is all together and if there are any other bugs.

Hold off, for 8k you can find a clean title 99/01, their values have plummeted since the 03/04's have gotten older and more easily attainable.

**95V6** · 04-13-2012, 11:42 AM

Originally Posted by ccoyle0103

Barry...Carfax will show Reconstructed.

It doesn't give any details, like T boned or anything? My thought would be to try to track down where it was hit and judge the repairs.

**ccoyle0103** · 04-13-2012, 11:56 AM

Originally Posted by 95V6

It doesn't give any details, like T boned or anything? My thought would be to try to track down where it was hit and judge the repairs.

Nope....will not show that. Some of them you can never tell where the damage is.

**Mark Aubele** · 04-13-2012, 12:18 PM

The inspection process for R-titled cars is anything but rigorous. I think we have all seen some pretty badly fixed R-titled cars out there. I used to deliver wrecks to dealers (mostly in West Virginia) and you wouldn't believe what ends up back on the road. That being said, I have owned a couple, and would again. But the value of an R-titled car is essentially cut in half. Normal people won't want it when you go to sell it, and that car is crazy overpriced for an R-titled '01 Cobra.

**Hawkeye** · 04-13-2012, 12:42 PM

Originally Posted by Mark Aubele

But the value of an R-titled car is essentially cut in half. Normal people won't want it when you go to sell it,

This ^

**Mark Aubele** · 04-13-2012, 12:50 PM

I ended up practically giving my 95 M3 away after months of dealing with people because of the reconstructed title. Just something to think about.

**Mitternacht** · 04-13-2012, 03:53 PM

My dad owns an 04 Impala SS Indy addition that's R-titled. All that's wrong is the PO had a flat, left it on the side of the road, came back the next day and someone took a screwdriver to almost every panel on the car. An entire paintjob was enough to R-title it. No accident damage, issues or anything.

**03 OW SVT** · 04-13-2012, 04:07 PM

Our old 07 Audi A4, was rearended about 6 months ago and it had $8,600 in damage. It was fixed perfectly and we just traded it. The used car manager at the dealer we traded it at looked it over with a fine tooth comb and never noticed it. But it wasn't R titled thou either.