See, what those cockroaches do (those f-ing shit weasels from hell), is that they will buy up all these “nice” cars at the auctions and clean them up to the point where at first glance you will see no evidence that the car was buried in water for days at a time.
Geez, when you think about it, I have no idea how the hell they even get these things running again…but they do.
And then they take them to another state to re-title them. “Big deal,” you might say. Well it is a big deal because retitling them magically makes the salvage title disappear…and that is what is known as “title washing.”
Of course title washing doesn’t just happen with flood damaged cars either. Any totaled car, like a car that was in a severe wreck can be fixed up to look all nice-ee nice-ee and then taken to a another state and re-titled, thus giving it a shiny new “clean” title.
This is what I suggest you do to avoid the title washing scam…
- Be Suspicious Of Newer Cars: Be especially suspicious of newer or new cars with almost no miles that are being sold cheap.
- Body Damage: Sight down the car and look for any evidence of panels not quite matching up or new paint, etc.
- Rust: You need to inspect very closely any area of the car for signs of corrosion and rust. Look in the trunk where the spare tire goes. Look under the hood to see if any of the wires or connections show signs of corrosion. Again, this is especially so with newer low mileage cars selling cheaply…or even if they aren’t selling cheaply.
- Mold: Look for any indication of mold, whether visually or by smell.
- VIN: Check to make sure the V.I.N. (Vehicle Identification Number) on the paperwork matches the V.I.N. on the vehicle.
- Vehicle History Report: Spending a few bucks on a vehicle history report might be a good idea too because a vehicle history report should (theoretically) show the vehicles entire history. If anyone reading this knows for sure that a vehicle history report will always give a true 100% history of a car, then it would be great if you left your comment please.
- Vehicle Inspection: I have never been a victim of title washing but if you don’t yet feel comfortable about inspecting a used car, and especially if you are buying more expensive cars, then it might be a good idea to take someone with you that can do it for you. To encourage self-reliance, I suggest you take notes on what they do too.
Yes you can avoid the title washing scam by paying close attention (which you should be doing with any used car you buy), and so what if you have to pay someone a measly $50.00 for an inspection if the car is going to bring you a hefty profit of $3000.00, right? Right.
Please leave your comments below.
Steve- Are there any web sites that give sales figures for previous sales of used cars,i.e., 1999 Audi A4 Quattro…sold:$4500(as apposed to NADA advising “loan” $4575…
Don,
One good way to see what a particular model is selling for is to create an Ebay account. Login and do your search on EbayMotors for the vehicle in question and then check the Completed Sales checkbox in the search. Any items with prices in GREEN have been sold at that price. I like to create a spreadsheet of these cars with mileage, options, and selling price. I then use this sheet anytime I’m looking for a used car. I think it’s better than NADA or KBB as it shows what the market will bear for a particular model. Hope this helps.
Sorry but I’m not aware of any website like that Don. Perhaps someone else can share that with us.
Steve
Steve- Are there any cars that was buried in water for days or flooded has a salvage titles or cars with any other type of damage or other type an accident can be issued the salvage title? Or only any cars damaged by water?
Hi Eugene,
If I understand your question correctly…
Are you asking me if cars totaled for other reasons besides flooding can be issued a salvage title? If that is what you are asking me, then the answer is yes. Any car totaled by an insurance company is issued a salvage title regardless of whether it was totaled due to flooding or a car wreck or whatever.
Hope that helps. If not, please rephrase your question and ask me again.
Thanks for participating Eugene!
Steve
Hi Steve,
Sorry for my language.
Yes you understand correctly.
I was ask: – Any car totaled by an insurance company is issued a salvage title regardless some road accident, not only damaged by water.
Why I ask – I like to buy car with salvage title, man say it was issued buy many years ago, car was in road accident, but not from water, road accident was may be 5-7 years ago.
Car was bought by him from Auction in US. And I try import car to Canada. I have to check can I import car like this with salvage title to Canada. Car was made in 1988.
Read your blog I found this article about salvage title and water damage. So, I decide ask you to clear this point for myself. Because if title issued by insurance company only for the water damage I not like this. If salvage title can be issued from road accident as well, this other story and it OK with me.
Hi Eugene,
Yes absolutely. Cars are “totaled” by insurance companies because repairs would cost more than the car is worth, so that includes cars being in car wrecks too. In fact, I would bet that the vast majority of cars declared totaled are due to car wrecks.
Steve
Hello
Is there a list of states that allow title washing? I know Mississippi is one of them.
Thanks.
Hi Mike,
I don’t know of any list for states that allow title washing. And I really doubt any states purposely “allow title washing” but title washing happens in most states only because the DMV computer systems between states aren’t linked together so they aren’t able to share information from one state to another.
Thanks for your post!
Steve
no States allow title washing.
They do not want the liability.
They only issue CLEAN TITLE when THE incoming state title is clean.
I STAND TO BE CORRECTED AND INFORMED.
I have been advised to be alert if title is from Mississippi.
No state will “allow” title washing but apparently there are still some states where crooks can get away with it.
As a California automotive dealer, and certified master tech, I have rebuilt and sold over 100 salvage cars over the last 30 years. I have bought salvage cars with no damage at all- ie. theft recovery. Yeh, it’s risky stuff, but body repair is very expensive now days, and it takes very little damage to send the car to auction. ( On March 30, 2009 Copart, (the largest reseller) has started a Reseller program that allows the general public to buy cars at Copart auctions through it’s authorized dealers. Members get their own bidder number and password, and can bid & buy vehicles from their computer on virtual live auction. As of this posting, their are 13 dealers approved nationwide. There are a fair amount of rules and regulations, but it’s a legitimate way to purchase clean and salvage cars without a dealer’s license. Copart is serious about this program and will be spending over one million dollars in marketing with the NASCAR Truck series program. I have made some instruction videos on the program on my site at http://www.aaauto.com. Or you can find other resellers on Copart’s site at http://www.copart.com.
LD Hall
AAAuto.com
Hi LD,
That is some really great information you have left for everyone here LD.
Thanks very much for participating!
Steve
Hey thanks for alerting me to this title washing scam Steve!
And to think that I almost fell for this scam myself. Thanks. Good info.
For salvage cars prices look at http://www.coparthistory.com.
Hey very nice blog!! Man .. Beautiful .. Amazing .. I will bookmark your blog and take the feeds also…
Interesting article. Were did you got all the information from… :)
Wish I lived in the USA where I could engage in some Title Washing :) Unfortunately I live in the UK and it’s impossible. Oh well, back to my roach hole.
Found your site on aol and was just what i was looking for, keep it up :-)
I own a 2006 cadillac dts with a michigan scrap title, former gm car. no damage, pristene condition. I want to title and drive this car but am having difficulty in Ky. Can anyone tell me how and where to get the car registered. gm sold 100`s of these car and they are on the road.