Misconceptions of "rebuilt" vehicles

[Opie]

So I see it all the time, people looking for a car and specifying a "Clean title only". And I wonder why people are scared of cars with branded titles.

So many of you know myself and Dave-RoR like to keep quite a few 86's on the road, from cars written off by insurance companies, to clean title cars just needing repairs we fix quite a few. I started doing it to build myself a track car at a lower entry price, since then we've done quite a few other track cars and we have also repaired a few for street cars.

We hear frequently from those who want nothing to do with a "Rebuilt" vehicle and I'd like to educate some of you on how this is sometimes something that is not very clear, and what a "Salvage" or "Rebuilt" vehicle may really be.

Trust me I get it, no one wants a vehicle that is going to be trouble prone, and many think that if a vehicle has been "totaled" that it must've been in some gruesome accident and will never be safe, or road worthy again. Let's break this down and set some things straight.

First, vehicles get totaled solely due to math, if a car is damaged, an insurance appraiser looks at the car and see's if it is financially beneficial for them to repair it, or if the financial outlay is too much, to write it off. It's not about safety, it's about money and the cost of repairs. Damages can be collision/accident related, vandalism, theft, flood, etc. Each causes different types of issues to repair but I think we can all agree that a stolen car that has been recovered with little to no damage is an easier repair than a car that hit a tree at 80mph. And a flood car that was in 3 inches of fresh water would have much less potential for issues than a flood car that was submerged in salt water. Yet all would be issued the exact same "total loss" designation.

That being said, manufacturer's actually publish service and repair manuals to return a damaged car to pre-damage condition. Body damage, mechanical damage, electrical damage are all able to be repaired. The differences are the quality of the repairs. I've seen super shoddy repairs, and repairs that left absolutely no indication any damage had ever occurred.

The 86 chassis is a very well engineered and safe chassis that tends to get "totaled" very easily, why you ask? Because of the combined cost of parts and labor. If you rear end another car in your BRZ at low speed, but with enough force to set off the airbag. The actual damage can be minimal, bumper cover, hood, headlights, radiator support and the airbag. The cost of the parts adds up quick, especially considering that the insurance company is required to return the car to pre-accident condition. The few large parts listed above retail for $4,878.75 not including all the small clips, emblems, trim, paint work, body labor and taxes. You can see how this quickly adds up and results in a car with relatively minor damage to be deemed a total loss with no regard to the safety of the vehicle.

As an example, look at the two cars in the pictures below. Both had the same type of collision, low speed, rear ended another vehicle that was higher profile than the BRZ. No uni-body damage, just core support, headlights, hood, airbox, etc. Both cars are limited trims, one is a 2013, one is a 2015. Both have similar mileage. Both run & drive. Looking at the cars decide for yourself and compare the damage. Would either, or both, or neither of the cars be deemed a total loss in your estimation? The Carfax on both cars list one "Minor Front End Damage" accident.

Reply below, in a day or two, I'll tell you if you are right.

[DarkPira7e]

In my opinion, blue car will be total loss because both airbags went off. Airbag system alone is probably over half the vehicle's NADA clue with any sort of mileage since they both went.

White one is likely clean with an accident reported

I do want to assert that I bought my FRS as a stage 1 flood vehicle for 10k in 2015. Salvage title. It had 20k miles on it. Started, ran, drove great. I love my car and can say it was a steal. Any issue it's had was caused by the j02 recall, no fault of its own.

[Purist]

You guys have it so good. In Australia, once a vehicle has been declared a 'statutory write off' it can not be registered again. Even if you rebuild it and get it to roadworthy condition.

On your original point; I agree with you. People are irrational. Its the same as people look for evidence of a car being 'tracked'. Meanwhile the regularly dealer serviced and never tracked auto car gets redlined from cold every morning...

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

[86MLR]

Only damage is what you can see

Written off and insurance paid out $38k AUD

New car price was $41k AUD but I only paid $32k AUD because I had some sweet inside contacts and they wanted the car off the floor

I do miss this car

[Dirty Harry]

I think the blue one is the total loss. Cost of replacing airbags and labour involved. Appears to be more damaged than the white one. White one I think is OK. Interested to find out the result.

[Grady]

The price point of that year BRZ = Airbag deploy almost always totaled, no airbag deploy possibly fixable. Have that same accident with airbag deploy in a $60k car they will spend $20k to fix it.

To you point of totaling a car being a financial decision on the insurance company is correct. So when a totaled car get repaired they had to cut corners somewhere to reduce the repair cost. Not all the time but there is that chance.

[soundman98]

i agree with above. i'd be shocked in the white one was a write-off, but not surprised if the blue one was with airbag deployment. insurance doesn't normally want to deal with the maintained liability of a vehicle that sustained an impact hard enough to deploy the airbags.

and as i usually do, a reminder that 'clean' isn't always clean:
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/trust...8#.UbOr4_nrxyU

it really always comes down to the quality of the repair. over the last couple years, i've come to understand the insurance 'game' and branded titles a lot better, and in some ways, would prefer to buy a properly rebuilt vehicle than a 'clean carfax' vehicle that was damaged and poorly repaired.

[soundman98]

Originally Posted by Grady

The price point of that year BRZ = Airbag deploy almost always totaled, no airbag deploy possibly fixable. Have that same accident with airbag deploy in a $60k car they will spend $20k to fix it.

To you point of totaling a car being a financial decision on the insurance company is correct. So when a totaled car get repaired they had to cut corners somewhere to reduce the repair cost. Not all the time but there is that chance.

i don't like the term 'cut corners.' it implies the repair is less than satisfactory. it's easy to undercut the rates bodyshops charge insurance repairs if one doesn't have the overhead of an official business. that doesn't mean the repair has to be any lesser quality.

[Grady]

Originally Posted by soundman98

i don't like the term 'cut corners.' it implies the repair is less than satisfactory. it's easy to undercut the rates bodyshops charge insurance repairs if one doesn't have the overhead of an official business. that doesn't mean the repair has to be any lesser quality.

I am not saying it is a given, and yes there are people that can do quality work for a fair price. But that is not the norm. When someone is rebuilding a car they love and want, the quality of work and parts are better. When someone is rebuilding a car for profit, quality of work and parts can take a back seat to maximizing profit.

[bcj]

Discovered that I "really neeeed" a magnetic beer can cozy.

Good for finding bondo too.

[platinumEX]

Great points OP. I’ve bought probably a dozen vehicles from insurance auctions. There are plenty of vehicles with super minor damage and some with no damage at all that still come with a salvage title.

My BRZ was a theft recovery that also had some minor front end damage. New bumper cover and impact bar (oem from dealer), a little rocker panel body work and paint, and it will be good to go. Repair costs will be under $1500 but it will have a rebuilt title once finished. I also bought a civic sedan for my wife years ago that was a theft recovery with zero damage. Just had to spend a few days cleaning the heck out of it as someone appeared to have lived in it for a little while. Also had a salvage/rebuilt title. I love working on cars and can handle all the bolt on parts myself. I have a buddy that owns a body shop I use for paint and any actual body work.

Here’s my BRZ as I received it from auction with a salvage title, after a wash.

[Willpower]

Agree with these guys.
Also, CELL PHONES ARE A HELLUVA DRUG!!
Wonder how many cars are totaled due to minor front end damage caused by the inattention of people looking at a damn phone instead of where they are going.

[Dirty Harry]

Originally Posted by 86MLR

I do miss this car

C’mon get another one. You know you want to .

It’ll be more fun than your V8 Commodore.

[Dave-ROR]

Not that it's relevant to this conversation directly.. but we basically fixed the white one today except for waiting on paint and having to find a bumper cover and another headlight..

Total repair time was probably 3-4 hours for all the disassembly, body work/reassembly as far as we could without said paint.