Which Is the Better Deal: Used Car or Salvage Car?
Not everyone buys a car for the ‘new’ feeling! There are people who prefer functionality, value for money it requires and the on-road experience than the brand-value. If you are one of them, you have two options in front of you — used cars and salvage cars. If you know a thing or two about cars and legal titles, you’ll know the difference between normal used cars and salvage cars. You cannot purchase both these types of cars in the same way. And, most people are still confused which is the better deal — used car or salvage car? In this article, we discuss this often-asked question, hoping to find an adequate answer.
The Differences — Quickly On Titles
Before we begin, let’s track down some of the noticeable differences between used cars and salvage cars!
You know what used cars mean. These are four-wheeler vehicles that have already been used by someone else. In most cases, these vehicles are sold to a dealer/auction center by the pre-owned. The sale may be due to many reasons, such as lack of performance, the car becoming old or even something like that the owner wanted to purchase a new car. In most cases, used cars will have a clean title, meaning that it is fresh and is having no legal issues, whatsoever.
On the other hand, salvage cars are named after the title they have. A salvage car means that the insurance company has declared the vehicle as a complete loss. These vehicles are then taken up by dealers as well as auction places, which put them for sale or auction. The important thing to be noted here is that the car has a ‘Salvage’ title that is not similar to a Clean title. Depending on the state you are living, you may not be able to drive a salvage-titled car without making it a salvage-rebuilt, which involves certain paperwork and repair.
Now that you know the basic legal differences between a used car and salvage car, shall we move onto the many sides of buying used cars and salvaged cars?
The Many Sides of Purchasing a Used Car
It seems that people are normally optimistic when it comes to purchasing a used car — at least if compared to the process of purchasing a salvage car. However, as it happens, purchasing a used car isn’t as transparent as it seems. There are several things you should know about. More importantly, you should know about the two major places you can get a used car from — a used car lot or a used-car dealership.
Purchasing the used car from a lot is a 50-50 game. There is no assurance that you will find good cars in their collection, nor there is an assurance that the cars would run the same for a long while. Of course, you must not purchase any type of car without properly test-driving and inspecting with the help of a mechanic. Used cars tend to be non-transparent about the issue, often using the techniques like title laundering. So, there is a bigger chance that you will get a salvage-titled vehicle without your consent!
Purchasing the used car from a dealership is the second option. As you know, this poses the immediate issue of higher costs. Of course, the dealer would have collected the car from trusted sources and made necessary changes to keep it running. So, when you purchase a pre-owned car from a sales dealership department, it’s expected to pay the cost of it all. While there is a higher chance of getting a well-functioning car, you would have to spend near to that of a car with lower configuration. There used to be no legal issues, though.
The Many Sides of Purchasing a Salvage Car
The best thing about salvage car is that you are pretty pessimistic when you’re looking for a salvage car. You have it in your mind that the car has a salvage title and that it has been subjected to issues like theft, flood or other accidents. Also, there are different ways to purchase a salvage car from — an auction center, a big or small dealership that focuses on a salvaged vehicle. And, we recommend the auctions.
So, if you ask us, we’d recommend going for a salvaged car and getting it repaired rather than getting into trouble by purchasing a kind of unsure used car.
The thing with purchasing a salvage car from the auction is that you save a lot of money. The people who do set up the auction are gaining money by selling more number of cars — instead of focusing on individual cars like the dealerships. So, as a person who wants just one vehicle, you are going to save a lot of money. And, you probably know about the many things to take care of while looking for the best salvage car. There is a great chance that you will find an awesome car that requires minimal repair at a great cost.
Another advantage here is that you are going to do two things before purchasing the salvage car — the legal paperwork and repair. In fact, in most cases, you cannot drive a salvage vehicle without repairing it, getting the legal approval and converting the paper title into something like Salvage Rebuilt. Because you know that you are looking for a salvage car, you would also spend enough time and effort in the inspection process. It’s always recommended to get the vehicle for a test-drive before you make the final payment.
The Bottom Line
By now, you have probably seen the major aspects of purchasing a used car and a salvage car. It’s actually a fight between transparency and legal issues. As we said earlier, when you go for a typical used car from used car lots, you can end up purchasing a salvage vehicle with a lot of issues. On the other hand, when you go to the salvage car section, you know what to expect.
You will also do a thorough inspection and repair before getting the vehicle onto the road, which actually reduces the future issues by a big percentage. Also, as you know, the salvage cars are priced very competitively and you can save a lot of money. So, if you ask us, we’d recommend going for a salvaged car and getting it repaired rather than getting into trouble by purchasing a kind of unsure used car.
