So not to make it sound like I'm selling my car or anything.. hahaha even though im asking peoples opinions on the subject, ive just been pondering the actual worth of my car to someone else who would be interested in buying it because of the mods and car itself.. cause its almost all paid for and ill be keeping it, til i decide to sell it.. and we all know the longer you wait and the more miles you put on it the less its worth but.. maybe ill keep it for the long long haul?? too early to tell.. but heres the deal

car has 138k on the clock.. I bought it with 115k, am a meticulous owner, and will be doing more maintenance in the few coming weeks (control arm kit, lower moldings, realigning the drivers door which has been just a tad pulled out since i got the car) I believe i have all the mods listed in my signature, and i know that as far as cars are looked at they say performance parts and add ons dont "add to the value" of the car, but i feel like anyone whos into cars and is interested in buying a modded car would know that thats money they save and dont have to spend since i already did for them.. so in turn we would all pay a little more for a car that was done up and done right.. but heres the twist..

i hit a deer this past fall, and the insurance company wrote out an estimate for 4300 in damage and totaled my car.. the car now has a salvage title.. i repaired the car professionally for 2600 bucks.. way short of the insurance estimate.. now the shop saved me money the best ways they know how and they are an extremely reputable shop in the area.. i worked with the head honch every step of the way.. only things damaged in the accident were the hood got crunkled up, the fender slapped in.. smashed the drivers headlight into the engine bay which knocked out my power steering resevoir, and my intercooler got detatched from my bumper with no damage to it.. no frame damage whatsoever and nothing else was cause by the accident.. knowing there was no major damage done to the car and everything was professionally fixed to new condition.. what would you pay for my car?

i know this was a long post and whatnot.. but throw a number you would have in mind given all of this info.. interior is immaculate other than a tear on the drivers seat (leatherette) bolster..

thanks for taking the time guys.. and locals dont worrryyyy.. not selling the beauty! not anytime soon anyway.. i just need to see where im at to people who know the cars and who would appreciate buying a car like this

 

I'm sure you could sell it to someone who doesn't know better for $6K, but with a salvage title I think you'd be hard pressed to get 4K.

 

^agreed. With the salvaged title, as long as you can explain to a potential buyer (who may not ask or pay for a CarFax) the reason it was totaled then I would agree with what Brad said above. Salvaged title put off a few buyers, but there are those out there looking for deal and may decide its worth taking the chance.....they will more than likely haggle the **** out of you though.

 

KBB lists Excellent at $4,780, Good at $4,355, and Fair at $3,680. Like everyone else said the real killer for you is the salvage title. Might want to talk to your DMV and see what you need to do to get that changed.

 

once a salvage always a salvage there is no undoing it

 

Nuh uh. In PA you have to go see a special inspector to get it cleared but he/she can fail it for just about anything so it's best to fix the vehicle with a buddy who has an inspection license. I looked at buying a salvage title Cummins Ram once and being a bodyman thought I could fix it pretty easily. All the red tape is what led me to the Audi I have now.

 

See i felt in my head.. getting 4k for it right now with the maintenance issues resolved wouldnt be a bad deal for me.. thats the number i had in my head.. i will certainly be upfront with anyone interested in the car when the time comes but, since there was no major damage done, just cosmetics pretty much it shouldnt drop the value that much.. even though its got that stamp on the title.. sucks cause the insurance company screwed me.. just reading thru their estimate they threw **** on there that didnt even break... they had one of my wheels and tires on there (drivers side front) and there was absoloutley nothing done to it.. had it marked as a 17" wheel.. had a new bumper on there even though nothing had happened to mine.. weird stuff..

but i would love to throw it out there for a little more than 4k when the time comes to see what happens, and how they haggle..

thanks for the replys guys, much much appreciated.. i guess the follow up question is what would you go with next? top of the list for me is the b6 S4.. but its between that, the b6 1.8t or the b7 2.0t..

ooorrrrrrr a 71-73 chevy CK/10 pickup.... little more work involved there though =)

 

That is not 100% true, even here in CA you can have a salvage title some what cleared. You just have to show that the car was fixed correctly by a body shop.

There are even some states that will take a salvage title and give you a clear title, I remember AZ was that way but not sure if they still do that or not.