On Fri, 4 Nov 2005, Gary Hedlin wrote:
>
> Sorry to say, but your best bet IS getting lucky and finding someone
> with a wrecked truck to sell. Even if you find one in a junkyard,
> theres 3 problems youre going to run into:
>
> 1. When a wrecked vehicle is sold to a salvage yard, a salvage title is
> issued. So if you fix it up you won't be able to title it, get plates,
> or insurance. BUT if your going to just use it for off-roading, this
> may not be a problem.
when a vehicle is totalled, in most states the title is surrendured to the
state and if the vehicle is resold you can apply for a salvage title. the
vehicle will need to be submitted to the state for inspection and a
salvage title will be issued.
there is no problem registering a vehicle with a salvage title, I don't
know about any possible extra insurance expense but I would be surprised
if there were any issues there.
the salvage title is just a black mark on the vehicle that warns possible
buyers that it's been wrecked and rebuilt, that's all. it's still
entirely road legal.
But this isn't Tom's concern anyway - he wants a donor for parts.
>
> 3. You'll probably find out the prices for a chasis or a body sky high.
any semi complete vehicle a yard will ask a lot of money for. they are in
the business of parting things out so they know what it's worth. go
private party, check classifieds, ebay, roadsides.
>
> But if you get lucky and buy a wrecked one from a private party, you've
> got to be carefull. Run the vin through carfax AND ask the person if
> there was an accident report. If there is none, just transfer the title
> ***Not sure how legal this is*** If nothing pops up you might get lucky.
>
there's no reason to be that scared of an accident report.
as long as the title is transferable, so what? and again, in this case, a
title isn't needed at all - it's just for parts, and since his truck has a
clean title it doesn't matter what parts he puts on it or if he has
receipts for them.
> If I were you, and I just wanted something for the ponds, I'ld find 4
> jackstands and start looking for a frame. :) Just use the Johnny Cash
> method and build it a piece at a time! :)
>
makes far more sense to start with a wreck and fix it up if you're
starting from nothing. at least then you have something complete to start
with and something to play with before you're 100% complete. starting
ground-up is very intensive and requires money and dedication.
-- MikeM SAS Dak
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