So I'm looking at needing to replace my daily driver (not a porsche) very very soon here. I came across a 76 Westvalia camper that's 80% there with the interior and some other stuff I could handle restoring myself. But it has a salvage title.

How bad is a salvage title?
How much more does it cost on the insurance?
Will it dramatically limit the resale value?
What do I not know that I should know about salvage titles?
Will 76' ever be smog free or is that a myth?

Also, anybody have any $1000-$1500 working daily driver recommendations for me? Thanks for any help with this.

Salvage title can mean many things. A total wreck of a vehicle, or damage large enough that the insurance company found it cheaper to total. Say you have a 3,000 car, it gets in a fender bender and runs 2K in repair charges - insurance company will probably total it. So it could not be that bad, but how do you know? Was it a flood car, car with damage bad enough that it is unsafe. Do your homework.

Resale will be affected, your purchase price should have that in check.

Insuring a salvage title car? Not sure, I doubt that it will affect liability insurance as they will not be repairing your car in case of a loss. Full coverage will be a problem. Call your agent and be honest with them.

Anything else to know on a salvage title? Make sure you will be able to register the car with the state. Don't take for granted if there are current tags on the car it will be ok, it could be a recent loss that caused the salvage title.

If you are going to be the end user the it really doesn't matter. You will use the car until the value is depreciated to zero, or you sell it for whatever you can get for it.
CCLINMADONNAONTV

what craig said

A salvage title is pretty much meaningless on a 76 Westy. HOWEVER!, remember it has to be smogged, possibly every 2 years until it turns to dust. A stock engine overhaul of any quality can easily cost $6K plus, and some of the MANDATORY emissions equipment is getting REALLY scarce. Figure 4 new injectors, refurbishing the EGR system, 2 heads, cam and lifters, a difficult-to-find new quality piston and cylinder set, an airbox every few years, ditto for a new catalyst. Engines last 60-70K miles, if you're lucky. The main source for Westy parts is "Go Westy", and they're a bit pricey. Oh, and trannies are about a grand. Think twice, then rethink it! The Cap'n

You are about to enter well charted territory....

From what I know, 76 is still required to pass smog.

An unmolested 76 bus will run fine as a dailydriver. Finding one is rare. Finding one that you can actually afford is even more rare. You may have hit the lottery and gotten lucky, who knows!?

I dont know a thing about salvage titles but I know a guy who deals with this stuff all the time. I'm out of state untill Christmas but i can probably put you in touch with him....

Getting a bus that needs work to operate up to the level of a Daily Driver is not easy ( been there done that) and you might spend a bunch $$$ and still have issues. It's usually better to spend the cash in the beginning for a well running bus then to try to "fix up' a messed up bus. This really only applies to the vintage you're inquireing about. Earlier bus's ( T1 powered) can be cheap and easy to run and maintain. A $400 rebuild and a couple of Kadron carbs and you're good to go for 60,000 miles. Not the same with a T4 that may need Fi work to pass smog check.

Means nothing whatever on insurance. When you bring a salvage title vehicle into California you have to have a CHP inspection in which they look to see if it was reconstructed with stolen parts.

Some insurance comapnies *are* hesitant to insure vehicles with salvage titles. Some will *not* insure a vehicle with a salvage title. Varies state-to-state. Check with your insurance company before you buy.

all a salvage means is that the repairs and labor excede the value of the car, plus parts,so it is helpful to find out why it was salvaged, ie accident flood ,or mech, issues, but beware about salvaged cars that have had shotty repairs, or unsafe suspension repairs, the more you find out about why it was salvaged the better you are for peace of mind and insurance purposes.

I had an ugly old VW Rabbit that was rear-ended in a traffic accident.

The bumper and the left talilight/housing were damaged.

This was enough for the ins-co to "total".

I bought the car back from the ins-co, put a used bumper, beat the housing back out and installed another lense. "Salvage" title.

Each car has a different story.


KT

CARFAX.COM

Besides whatever the state requires to tag a salvage title, you may run into trouble if you want to finance it. If you can shell out the money out of pocket, or go with a signature loan, it's not an issue. But, banks can get leery about giving you money for something they may not be able to sale and recoup on if you default.

I think Texas has several levels of salvage titles, some other states have one type, and some you're screwed if you buy one with a such a title because of the regs they have on registering the vehicle. Look it up on the DMV's site out there and see if you can find an answer.

Good luck!

Salvage title - it depends.

On a 2005 Mercedes SL500, a salvage title would have a huge effect on value, tends of thousands of dollars.

On a $1500 1976 VW van, it won't have much effect. Of course, if you ever go to resell it, it won't HELP the value, or make the car EASIER to sell. But you'll sell it if you need to. By definition, it is impossible to "dramatically limit" the value of a $1500 vehicle.

And, ss Craig pointed out, if you keep it until it dies, the salvage title will have had no effect.

Will a '76 ever be exempt from smog requirement in Cal? No one knows for sure, but there are no plans for it, and I wouldn't count on it happening.

For insurance, I don't think you'll have a problem in California. I assume you are only going to get liability insurance, not pay for comprehensive insurance. That's a waste of money on a $1500 car, IMO. Just save the money and take your chances. For liability insurance, I don't think your insurance company is going to care about the salvage title.

I may be wrong on this, it has been some time now since I live out there and was in the business but, I believe you will need a brake inspection a smog inspection and a headlight inspection all from certified inspection station.


Paul

I bought a running driving, registered salvage title 914 in Cali. No inspection, no checks, nothing out of the ordinary as far as DMV was concerned. I went over the car just a bit more than i would have w/o a salvage title, found nothing wrong w/ the tub, so I bought it and drove it home (500 miles and it was 105* out for most of it)

On an older car, just be a bit more diligent in you inspection, and you should be fine. Biggest issue w/ mine is the driver side door is a slightly different shade of yellow...BFD

On a positive note, the new title i got no longer says anything about salvage... Maybe CA changed it's mind?? Or they are idiots and forgot...

BJH

It will be worth whatever you put into it in relation to what others will be willing to pay for it regardless of the title. You make it show and win a show, you will get some good offers period and that goes for any cool vehicle. 1-1.5K for a car is not enough to expect anything decent. You would be better off to get a good used running car with some kind of waranty if you can get one and use your CASH for a down payment. get a good towing vehicle for your teener or a boat:beer1:

If you buy a "salvage" vehicle, have it put into proper order, and have it inspected the title changes from "salvage" to "rebuilt". Not that it makes a huge difference on resale value.

Ask most people "would you buy a rebuilt/salvage vehicle?" and most will disappear quickly. There ARE those looking for bargains though.

Me, I'd run away faster than watching a fuel leak seep onto hot 914 heat exchangers!

There's a time to fold 'em!

Not for anything without a 17 digit VIN. The Cap'n

Drive it until it shits or can't pass smog...then it's a parts car.

Only the first time it's registered after the salvage title is issued. Big bux, though. The Cap'n

If the salvage has already been revived- ie the car is now registered, you don't need to do any more special inspections, except for the normal smog.
If it hasn't been revived yet, you need a brake & light certification- about $150.00 if everything works and the brake pads are over 50%,
A CHP inspection- $50.00, takes a couple of months to schedule one around here and you need reciepts for all of the parts put on the car to repair it, and a DMV inspection- you have to pay a little bit of extra fees over a normal registration, but not too bad.
Any car that runs and has a new registration- a year or so left, is worth $1000.00 in California because an illegal alien can't get a license and you can't register a car without one, so the salvage title can't hurt the value too much here.