R-Title Cars, Ever Buy one?

Kootch,

Sorry buddy but I got to call you out on this topic.

First off, you had better check up on insurance contracts. Actually that is what they are after all.

Note: I am NOT an attorney but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night and the trade group that I belong to has sponsored numerous seminars on them.

What we are talking about here is first party claims - those filed by the owner of the vehicle using his own insurance company.

Most policies state that in the event of a collision the insurer has 3 options: 1- Replace the damaged property (total them out) 2- repair the damaged property (this is what Progressive Ins. does with their Concierge program) or 3 the insurer can PAY for the amount of damage.


Now as far as my claim that SF participated in the title scam - read it here yourself.

On September 15, 2005, more than two years after the purchase, Beaves received a letter from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, through the Attorney General's office, which advised him that the Honda Civic had been the subject of a State Farm Insurance Claim prior to his purchase. The vehicle damage was so extensive that the car was required to have a "salvage" title issued. The letter had stated that the Civic was one of 30,000 cars not properly titled by State Farm, but a settlement had been arranged between the insurance carrier and Attorney Generals throughout 48 states and the District of Columbia. In exchange for their efforts in arranging and administering this settlement, the Attorney Generals received payments up to $1 million from State Farm.

The full article is here : http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2005 ... 48394.html

You also can see the original class action suit here: http://www.state.il.us/court/Opinions/S ... /94144.htm





R titles are OK as long as the consumer knows up front exactly what they are getting.

For those in PA - If your car is totalled and you wish to retain the salvage (your own car) in order to get paid for the damages, you will have to surrender your title. It will then get branded as a JUNK title by the state. Then after the vehicle is repaired, you will then have to apply for a reconstructed title ( R-title). The vehicle will have to be inspected by a licensed inspection mechanic who certifies that the vehicle is safe. Then you will be able to get your own car back on the road.


Anyone buying a R title vehicle is urged to have it inspected by your own mechanic or friendly body shop.
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Rick

Rick,

You are correct in these cases, what was said was that this was a systematic practice and it was not. I do not handle claims anymore because I am an agent, and as I said I handled them from 92 - 99. The Insurance companies are not immune to doing wrong things, anyone who claims that is full of BS, I know that and so does everyone. w
What I said was this was not a national practice by them. 30,000 cars isn't even the total number of total losses in the city of Houston a year, so obviously this is a small sampling. Each state is different in how total losses are handled and I am sure there are abuses in some cases, just not as a company practice.

SMITTY wrote:Those cars ride great -- that was a good find!

Can't believe they totaled it just for that. No major damage there. Worked out good for you though!

Yes when I first purchased it I had it up to about 110+ on 81 late at night and it was smooth as silk. Wasn't even in OD yet. Buick might have that "granny" image but its business under the hood especially in the special edition Regals which mine is not .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buick_V6_engine
The LN3 was replaced by the 3.8 L (3791 cc, 231 cu in)[3] L27 in 1991-1992 and produced 170 horsepower (130 kW) from 1992 onward, this engine was referred to as the Series I 3800. In Australia, the LN3 was also replaced by the L27 by Holden who used the engine in their series 2 (1991) VN Commodore range. However, the Australian L27 retained the LN3's one piece upper intake and lower plenum. Power was still boosted to 127 kW (170 hp) for the Holden L27. The L36 made its debut in 1995.

They made a supercharged version too and of course there is turbo charged ones in the GN's...



I believe the reason they totaled it was because of the age, it only had like 30,000 miles on it but it was 10 years old. I'd imagine in case like that the estimate is going to be quite a bit so they just offer them money.

you be suprised how many cars are r-title but not reported. my friend got rear ended in his civic, insurnace totaled it, he bought it back, they never asked for the title or anything (he owned it before the accident) he paid to have it fixed, sold it. you will prob see less r-titles in pa now, around a year or 2 ago they changed how a r-title can be inspected and i guess its a pain in the ass now, i know at least 2 people who used to buy them and ifx them and stopped now

I have an R-titled 1988 chevy Celebrity. (It's a long story). I bought the car in '92. My daughter t-boned someone in 2000 (not her fault). The insurance co. totaled the car. I kept the car and fixed it. (front clip). I replaced the brakes, tires, battery, painted the front clip, replaced the headliner, and still had a few $$ left over after I was done. The car was actually hit harder before I bought it but, it was fairly new when that happenend so, no "R" tiltle then. Really makes me wonder sometimes. It seems that the insurance companies have too much say in this. Anyway, the car is still going................and going....................and going

I bought a camper fifth wheel that was a reconstructed title vehicle. Seller didn't disclose this until I was getting ready to write the check. He swore he didn't know (he had recently bought it himself) and called the original owner while I stood there and asked about it. Was a great benefit to me as the price suddenly dropped 50% in a matter of minutes. The PA to NY titling process was a pain, but once done the camper worked great for us for 2 years. i sold it to a guy in Georgia for twice what I paid for it (fully disclosing the title issue) and he could not have been happier.

I'm sure not all these stories turn out good, though.