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Salvage?

mhoonmhoon Member Posts: 1
edited October 2020 in Acura
My 2010 Acura TL was stolen and recovered and now Insurance has determined it to be a total loss. It has scratches and some dents on the body, but mechanically still runs fine. Just the cost of body work amounted to a loss...

Now insurance has given me an option to keep the car with salvage title an get the remainder in cash.. The salvage value they have is 2k. The car has 115k miles on it. I am in CA.

I am new to salvage stuff but 2k just seems low for a fine running car.. Is it worth keeping the car and going through salvage, branded title etc in hopes of selling it for more.. Where can I sell such a car..

or

Should I just get the cash out and let them take the car away? Thanks.
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  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 237,123
    Unless you plan on keeping and driving it, I wouldn't bother.

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  • oldfarmer50oldfarmer50 Member Posts: 22,669
    edited October 2020
    kyfdx said:

    Unless you plan on keeping and driving it, I wouldn't bother.

    Ditto.

    The only way you’ll get $2k worth of value out of it is if you just drive it yourself until it dies. You might want to have a mechanic go over it to make sure it’s safe. In my area that car is only worth about $9k. Maybe the police can give you some details on what the thieves did with it. Sometimes they just joy ride and dump it. If they deliberately trashed it (hitting stuff, cutting seat etc.) it might end up costing you a lot in repairs. On the other hand I’ve seen cars stolen because the thief just wanted a ride home and dumped it immediately afterwards.

    Might be fun to DIY on fixing the cosmetic stuff. You have nothing to lose. Paying someone to do it wouldn’t be worth it.

    I wouldn’t sell the car but if you do, try Craigslist.

    2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible

  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 16,795
    I think that salvage value sounds high. You should be able to buy it back from the insurer for salvage at around $1,200. I've never paid more than that, and I have done a salvage buyback on my vehicles more than once.

    As for the car itself, it is very likely that whomever stole it ran the heck out of it, so there's a reasonable possibility of mechanical damage to the engine, transmission, and more. You might be able to resell it for around $2,500 if it cleans up well, so I concur that it is not likely worth your effort unless you really want to keep it longer.
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100, 1976 Ford F250
  • graphicguygraphicguy Member Posts: 13,665
    No to salvage title on any car. Unless you’re a pro and can fix it yourself (they say it’s only body work, but who knows what’s underneath?) and you want to keep it for another 5-6-7 years, salvage it and let it go to one of those YouTuber car repair shows, or to a Buy Here-Pay Here place.
    2023 Honda Accord Hybrid Touring
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