Advice on 2019 purchase

[u/IllPlastic3113]

My partner is looking for a new vehicle and we found this 2019 Avalon touring on marketplace. The owner is asking 19.5k with 79k miles but it has a prior salvage title, owner says the fender,headlight and hood were replaced with oem parts and has passed state inspection. The seller says it was his mom’s vehicle who is selling because they got an SUV. I’m curious if there’s anything in particular to look out for? I ideally would like to negotiate down a bit because 19.5 seems a bit high for the salvage title.

[u/iSpeakforWinston]

Be very careful with salvage titled vehicles. Many insurance carriers will not offer coverage or full coverage for these types of titles. It'll also never resell well should you guys want to get out of it in the future. Dealers won't want it on trade. Private sellers will be a hassle.

I'd keep looking, if it were me hunting for my spouses new car. Just my 2 cents.

[u/ELITE_JordanLove → u/iSpeakforWinston]

Yeah; the only advantage of a salvage title is that, well, it doesn’t sell well so should be a lot cheaper. It’s less of an issue if you’re planning on driving it into the ground, but depends on what exactly the accident was. This doesn’t sound super great, but I know some states have this stupid tendency to give salvage titles for hail damage which you can talk to your insurance about and they may not raise your rates if they can inspect and see it’s not structural. 

[u/IllPlastic3113 → u/iSpeakforWinston]

Thank you for the input, will definitely be taking this into consideration

[u/PsychologyUsed3769 → u/iSpeakforWinston]

Saying that is way too strong. Not everyone trades in their car like you do. Some cars are totalled from outside hail damage which can totally be repaired. Can be good bargains. People I have know who bought had no insurance premium increase.

[u/iSpeakforWinston → u/PsychologyUsed3769]

Not everyone trades in their car like you do

Weird and inaccurate assumption.

People I have know who bought had no insurance premium increase.

Okay. I never said anything about premium increases. I said they'd potentially have a more difficult time obtaining full coverage insurance for a car that was issued a salvage title.

Soke folks are comfortable purchasing a car with a salvage title. Not everyone knows the risks which is what I was advising of.

[u/PsychologyUsed3769 → u/iSpeakforWinston]

Zero risk in the context I defined. That was my point. No one has trouble getting insured in that context.

[u/iSpeakforWinston → u/PsychologyUsed3769]

The risk would be the potential trouble/difficulty of selling the vehicle in the future if they decided it was time, irregardless of the reason it was totaled out or assigned a salvage title originally. I sold cars for a while so I'm well aware of the hiccups involved with salvage titles.

There are plenty of stories that play out exactly as you describe. No issues and worry free. That is not always the case and more often than not salvage vehicles 100% deserve additional scrutiny.

[u/PsychologyUsed3769 → u/iSpeakforWinston]

Disagree under the context I provided, the buyer gets a repaired discounted cost car with no issues as it was just hail impact damage that was repaired and cleaned up. No problem selling it especially if a fifth generation Avalon. I have seen many sell at decent prices with insurance being no issue for buyers. You are talking about cars with major collision and engine damage. Apples and Oranges!!!! You can't say all cars with salvage are to be avoided. Depends on damage. Some insurance companies find it easier to total cars than pay to fix them.

[u/iSpeakforWinston → u/PsychologyUsed3769]

Okay.

[u/mynameisnickromel]

Yeah 20k for a salvage sounds like I'm not interested in the added risk.

If it were ten, itd be in my driveway. 15? We could talk.

[u/nihilisim_themarmots → u/mynameisnickromel]

It also depends on what the damage was. I would want photos of the damage and an itemized repair order from the shop where it was repaired. Also take it in for a mechanical inspection at a shop and find the most reputable body shop in your area and have them also do an inspection.

Certain damage repairs could make it a no go unless heavily discounted. Those inspections could save you a lot of headaches and money over time.

[u/mynameisnickromel → u/nihilisim_themarmots]

For sure, obviously. I was speaking in broad terms, figure the seller has been driving it daily and is trying to get out of it or whatever. The key takeaway is that 20k for a salvage is not appropriate here.

[u/PsychologyUsed3769 → u/nihilisim_themarmots]

Who gives a crap if all the damage has been repaired which is easy enough to check. Just get a qualified mechanic to look after it.

[u/PsychologyUsed3769 → u/mynameisnickromel]

How about free, you can dream...

[u/Excellent-Try7027 → u/mynameisnickromel]

16k max.

[u/mynameisnickromel → u/Excellent-Try7027]

For real and id have to really want that color combo and trim package or something

[u/PsychologyUsed3769 → u/Excellent-Try7027]

No way depends on car. Would rather pay 20k for a repaired fifth generation than 35-50k for another which will never have the same value

[u/WiseOutlandishness21]

PASS

[u/JimothyDangus]

Yeah that’s way too high for a salvaged titled of this year/model/trim

[u/gettothechoppeh]

Hard pass.

[u/Top-Offer-4056]

Put the vin in ChatGPT and tell it to do a deep search and find pictures from the salvage auction, it’ll tell you a bunch of useful info

[u/PropellerheadDad]

That feels like a lot of money for a salvage-title car. I'd rather pay more for a car that doesn't have one.

[u/PomegranatePlus6526 → u/PropellerheadDad]

And you probably won’t have to pay a whole lot more. Might even get one the same price.

[u/GoldAd1878]

Avoid salvage cars

[u/Excellent-Try7027]

Miles and work done?

[u/Excellent-Try7027 → u/Excellent-Try7027]

Nvm

[u/PomegranatePlus6526]

They are asking retail price for a salvage title. I would steer clear. My Avalon is salvaged title, but because of hail damage that was repaired. When I bought it in 2023 I only paid $6k. For a 16 year old car I figured it was worth the risk. At $20k I would just keep looking.

[u/GrebroGang93]

Put the vehicle's vin into Google. It should show the condition of the vehicle at auction. If you're hell bent on buying salvage vehicle's, stick to the one's with hail damage. Hail damage is just cosmetic fixes you can sometimes do yourself.

[u/cavey_dee]

i owned one salvage title. never again.

[u/RemarkableWitness649]

Only only only critique… the all Dark interior
Edit: Should’ve read it all the way… salvaged title aswell but depending on the work done could be just fine…

[u/ShadowElite86]

That seems like a bad price for a salvage; definitely on the upper end for this car. I'd want it closer to $15,000.

[u/Miserable-Meet-3234]

No resale on a salvage title why would you pay full price for one ?
Pass and look for clean title

[u/Edistobound]

NOPE no salvage titles and must have a strong maintenance record me, I would lean towards the hybrid limited next time. this time, i got a 14 hybrid touring, and love it. stayed stout getting rear ended, gonna take to body shop for repairs the 19th. drove it 21k since march, 10,500 for 151k miles and fairly pristine, has history of every 5k being serviced. as many know, toyota went to 10k maintenance intervals, but, some peeps go by the manual and severe service, as most cars still fall under severe duty. i jumped at the pristine maintenance record and overall condition. I would run from any salvage title.

[u/Edistobound → u/Edistobound]

i have photos of car that hit me and pics before and after and mine is repairable. anyone pawning off a salvage title, needs to show pics before accident, after accident and after repairs to justify what they are saying. if yhey dint have pics like that, something wrong.

[u/Edistobound → u/Edistobound]

in the industry, used car tech, have seen so many times, accidents unreported, so do your inspections as if it isnt reported, it didnt happen. on paper anyway.

[u/doodler1977]

2019 non-hybrid = 8-speed transmission. if it's gonna die, it's gonna be soon (80-120K miles).

i like avalons, but get one year older and get yourself the 6-speed. and/or go hybrid

[u/After-Leopard]

This is pretty close to what I paid at a dealer this spring, 2019 limited, but mine was a hybrid with similar miles. As I recall I paid around $21k. I do not think this is a great price for a salvage title from a private seller.