my dads trading his 03 gmc sierra for.......?

[good guru 3000]

well right now he is thinking of trading his 2003 GMC Sierra SLE with 101k miles for a 2004 nissan quest with exact mileage, but 3 days ago we had planned on trading his truck for a 2004 Acura TSX with 81k mileage, i think that this trade is better than the nissan quest but he keeps telling me that thee Acura is "SALVAGE" and he says thats a bad record on a car.................. does anyone have an answer on wich is the better trade cause i dont want my dad to get ripped off??

 

[Molson02536]

well right now he is thinking of trading his 2003 GMC Sierra SLE with 101k miles for a 2004 nissan quest with exact mileage, but 3 days ago we had planned on trading his truck for a 2004 Acura TSX with 81k mileage, i think that this trade is better than the nissan quest but he keeps telling me that thee Acura is "SALVAGE" and he says thats a bad record on a car.................. does anyone have an answer on wich is the better trade cause i dont want my dad to get ripped off??

Vehicles with a "salvage title" are seen as being worth less (or worthless) compared to the same vehicle with a "clean title". This has nothing to do with the actual quality or condition of the vehicle itself. The insurance rates will most likely be approximately the same, but in the event of an accident and insurance settlement, the vehicle will be considered by the insurers as almost completely valueless.

When it comes to salvage title vehicles (as with any used vehicle) buyer beware.

Laws regarding salvage cars vary from state to state. A reconstructed salvage car is worth less than a comparable clean titled car (KBB doesn't ever value them) and insurance will likely pay you less for it if it's totaled again (how much so varies but somewhere around 40% less than a clean titled counterpart is a good guess plus credit for upgrades with receipts). Your insurance does not skyrocket, however. Keep in mind that none of this really matters if you paid a reasonable price for the car to begin with (say, 40% less than a comparable clean titled car), so should you total the car, you should get a fair cash out from the insurance company. I own a salvage/reconstructed car and just put comprehensive and liability on it since the car's not worth much anyway.

Only buy salvage cars that are at least 8 years old since it doesn't take much to total/salvage an older car since they're not worth much. Now some states salvage theft recovery vehicles - these make excellent purchases but again, they are devalued in the market due the branded title so don't pay retail for them even though there may be no damage whatsoever.

Note: Depending on your state, the vehicle may not be eligible for full coverage. Remember that a salvage title means that the car has already been declared totaled and most likely it was an insurance agency that did so. These vehicles have already been paid out to someone and a vehicle that was paid out as totaled will not be paid out again. Texas does not fully cover salvage vehicles. You can get liability coverage; you may get uninsured/under-insured bodily injury; uninsured/under-insured property damage might be available for vehicle contents.