My neighbor has a 66 coupe she has owned since the late 70s and has recently decided to sell it.

In the early 80s, the car was stolen and the interior, driver's door and bumpers were taken. The insurance company said the replacement parts would cost more then the value of the car (remember that this was 20
years ago), so they totaled out the car. She loved the car so she bought it back and made the repairs. But because the car was considered "totaled" it became a salvaged vehicle.

If the car had a "clean" title it would sell for about $4,000. What do you think a fair price would be since it has a salvaged title? Is there a rule of thumb to follow...something like half the normal price??? Does $2,000 seem fair?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Robert

Sounds good to me, but if you ever try to resell it may be a problem to someone who doesn't know the car's history. Some states allow a salvage title to be erased after 3 owner changes I hear. Might look into this. Maybe do a search on your states "revised code" in a government web site. tom

Robert -

I'd say that the salvaged title doesn't hurt this car as much as it would a newer car. And even on salvaged newer cars you won't see a price drop as great as 50%. I think $2K is a little on the low side for the car if you think its a $4K car with a clean title. Maybe $3K or more would be fair. There are plenty of collector cars out there that have been wrecked, dismantled, pulled from boneyards, etc. and this doesn't seem to scare people off too much. Ultimately, it depends on the buyer. Overall condition is much more relevant. Good luck - hopefully you'll get the car!

Rainer

I agree with Rainer.
Buyers of these cars are much more informed as to what they are shopping for. I wouldn't ever spend big dollars to bring it to show condition unless you planned to never sell it though. Once you get into the $10k or more ballpark everyone seems to get really picky expecting perfection in every aspect of the car.
Titling the car in another state will usually wipe the "title brand" off the title. I had a '87 BMW which was totally different car from the rear doors back, literally. We cleaned that title when moving from East to West Coast (not trying to be fraudulent).