The first thing you should do is order a vehicle history report. This report will run the vehicle identification number (or, VIN) through a check and let you know all about the history of the used car.

If the owner already told you the vehicle has a salvage title, running a VIN check will give you the complete story and possibly either set your mind at ease or make you realize you’re not willing to take the risk.

If the owner didn’t tell you about the salvage title and the vehicle history report is how you found out, you might want to consider looking elsewhere for a used car – even if the VIN check doesn’t present any major problems. Withholding the salvage title status is just bad business.

State Laws On Salvage Titles

Even if you’re aware the used car is a salvage that the owner has repaired, and even if a VIN check confirms everything the owner’s told you is true and that there’s nothing in the vehicle’s history that makes you too nervous, there are still factors you need to consider.

The state in which the vehicle is titled and registered. In some states, like Mississippi, it’s okay to operate a vehicle with a salvage title as long as the owner has met certain repair requirements. In other states, however, operating a vehicle with a salvage title is a no-go. For example, Alabama doesn’t allow a used car with a salvage title on the roads – period. The owner can either sell the vehicle for parts or rebuild the vehicle and apply for a rebuilt title.

The name of the title. If you live in a state that doesn’t allow vehicles with salvage titles on the roads, it might still allow you to drive salvage vehicles with other kinds of titles. Like Alabama, California offers a title that’s a step up from salvage for vehicles that were once salvage but have since been repaired. California calls these titles Revived Salvage.

State Protection Against Salvage Title Fraud

If you find you’ve purchased a used car that once had a salvage title but was presented to you with a clear or clean title against state laws, contact your state’s motor vehicle agency. That agency will either be the one to handle the situation, or it will tell you which state agency handles consumer fraud protection.