How easy is it to get a salvage le turned into a clean le? I'm looking at buying a brand new car that had some minor fender work done, but it has a salvage le. Nothing is wrong with the car at all. The reason I'm looking at this car is that the same car brand new is running about $15,000 more at the dealership. I would rather spend that money on my kids future college tuition. What would I have to do at the DPS/DMV in order for this vehicle to be legally driven?
It's impossible(to change the le status). Salvage les are exactly that.. normally indicates damage to frame and critical components.
You can drive a salvage le if the vehicle passes inspection and of course you get insurance. I used to have an RX7 that I rebuilt from crash and burn. I rebuilt it from parts out of El Camino junkyard
Well there was no frame damage, just body damage. I thought I saw a "rebuilt le" on the DMV website. So the car can never have a clean le?
nope
If there was a way to do that then every chop shop from here to Mexico city would be selling them as normal used cars. It's a consumer protection thing. Now it will let you buy a frame and build a road worthy vehicle. But that's a risk you take safety wise with the vehicle.
The car can be legally driven and if it is in as good a shape as you say then just plan on driving it till the wheels fall off...whatever you save on the purchase you will lose on the resale...the only way around that is to drive "all the goodie" out of the vehicle...
Don't trust a car dealer that it just had "minor" damage...get it checked out by a reputable shop before you buy it...
What kind of car is it? If it is a unibody frame then there may be no visible damage but the frame might not be "square" anymore after they pulled it out...
also, don't forget that there were thousands of vehicles with water damage from the hurricanes that were salvaged that didn't have "body" damage...someone could have stuck in new carpet and seats and you may be buying a "pretty" vehicle that has perpetual electrical/computer problems.
I understood that you can change it from Salvage to a clean le. I think you have to go to another state and register the vehicle. Something like that. Its a lot of work, but it can be done. I have bought a salvaged vehicle. Its runs great and have had no problems. However, I saw the car before it was re-conditioned. I knew exactly what I was buying.
It saved me around $8000.00.
Me too. The Texas DMV website has forms for a salvage le to be turned into a rebuilt le and then a rebuilt to a clean. It sounds like a lot of work, but the savings would be worth it. I'm kinda reconsidering it now, but who knows....
Talk about stubborn. Do you even know what a crumple zone is? There is a lot of physics involved. And insurance companies and consumers don't need cars that have been totalled and then changed to a clean le. It's wrong... what part about that don't you understand? A buyer should have the right to know. You have no right to cover up vehicle history.
I would really consider it. I only bought my vehicle like that because I saw the car before it was fixed. I saw all the damage upfront and was OK with it. I also didn't commit until I was pleased with the body work. I made sure the paint was good and test drove on two different occasions.
A friend of mine bought a salvaged vehicle and had it turned into a clean le.
I don't think he wants to buy it to sell it. I think he wants to buy to save money by not buying a new vehicle. That's the reason I bought mine. I needed a vehicle that would save me gas and found one. When I bought I signed do ents saying I understood the car did not have the airbags.
I agree that the buyer has the right to know what he/she is buying. If he tries to trade it in he won't be able to, but I think he is wanting to buy one for personal use.
Damn, calm down. I meant that I was reconsidering, meaning that I was having second thoughts about buying it. And that was because of your advice, which I thank you for. But jeez, take a chill pill.
YOU get what I was trying to say. I wasn't trying to "clean up" a vehicle to rip someone off. I'm trustworthy(unlike Duff) and would feel horrible if I did that.
I had a "flood damage" le once that happened to be a big surprise when we got it in the mail. Acutally, it shouldn't have been that big of a surprise considering we'd replaced everything electrical in it by then.
I highly recommend getting it thoroughly checked out by more than one independant mechanic if I were you. There's a reason why the price is that drastically reduced if it was only *minor* damage.
I don't get this thread, why do you want a clean le anyway?
Maybe he wants to get is insured. Insurance companies don't usually insure "salvaged" vehicles.
They won't insure them or they won't fully insure them?
I don't think they will insure them period. I think.
I'm picky about things like that and I need to insure it too, but I'm really thinking not to get it, since I would rather pay extra for peace of mind.
My sister bought a 2004 Grand Am for 6500 last year. It was a salvage. It runs and looks like new. She does have full coverage insurance.
with who?
dang girl! Don't confuse them with facts!
Its the truth. I had a salvage car when I was 21, a pontiac sunfire. I used it for a couple of years and then gave it to my brother. Who in turn gave it to his girlfriend. It is still running today. In good condition.
Me and my sister have the same insurance company, Farm Bureau.
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