If I'm reading this right, my car is suppose to have a salvaged title. It doesn't say anything about it on the title.

New owner reported
SALVAGE TITLE/CERTIFICATE ISSUED

DMV title problems reported. Fire damage reported on 08/08/2002.

Now I just ran this because I've always wondered what a carfax looked like and I thought it would show when it's been serviced. Do they not do that? It's running real well and I can't tell it's been in any wreck.

ETA: It also says Fire damage reported on this vehicle Involving an unknown heat source causing the vehicle fire

 

Fire damage doesn't mean it was in a wreck though. And your car may not have been issued a salvage title to the previous owner if he bought it back from the insurance company. Here in IL for instance, if you total your car and buy it back, you don't receive a salvage title because you never lose ownership of the car and the insurance company never officially takes ownership to take it to the "salvage auction" level. You receive the settlement payout, minus the agreed upon buy back amount, and you keep the car. It's a seamless transaction on paper, that apparently allows the physical salvage title procedure to fall through the cracks. Other states or some other insurance companies may, and likely do operate differently concerning salvage regulations.

 

If original owner sold it though, doesn't it have to have salvage branded on title? It tells me on there that its $2100 below value due to fire damage. See I knew there was a reason I had to keep this car lol I couldn't get nothing out of it at all if I had sold it.

 

When you bought the car, was it issued a salvage title? If no, then that answers your own question. If the state deemed it necessary to brand the title as salvage (they know the history as you do), they would have. The car has a shady past, but you have a "clean" title.

 

No it seems to be normal title. I'm the first owner outside of GA too. May be the best thing this car has had to happen lol

 

In some case cars are moved from State to State because some States do not have reconstructed titles. In some cases the cars are moved from one to another State then back again. The process is called title washing. It is illegal, but you have to prove the moving was done for the sole purpose of increasing the value of the car. It is well know in the industry but much less common than it was in the 90's because of Carfax and other services. Many dealer run car faxs right on the auction line to verify it is a clean title.

It is also very possible the owner kept the car. In 2002 your car was fairly valuble and well worth a little washing.

Now you have a good idea why you had the electrical issues.

 

It could have been an electrical fire contained under the hood. Paying someone to replace all the wiring may have been cost prohibitive as far as the insurance company is concerned, and the owner bought it back and did it the DIY way. This in no way has any bearing on the integrity of the car as a whole, compared to how a serious collision repair could.

 

Pictures?

 

You know, you could be completely on to something there. Everyone who worked on the car couldn't figure out why it would have been in such mess electrical wise. They would come up with scenarios of what could have quit working and maybes on things but never made any sense why someone would have let it get like that. I will tell them what I know when I see them again and see if they have an "ahh haa" moment lol.

I told my husband I feel like I adopted it from GA and she had medical issues. We treated it and it is much better. I've had a deep connection with this car from the start and just couldn't give up!

As for pictures, it's the red one in my siggie and pics of the motor were in my other post from a few days ago. Hubby wants to get it painted now.

 

I mean pictures of what your looking at, like under the hood and junk.