Hey everyone -- so my wife recently got in an accident and scraped the side of our 2009 vw jetta up. Really just cosmetic. We had full coverage on it. However, when the auto body shop started digging into it they found another issue with the airbag harness and ended up declaring it a total loss. Totally shocked me. Only 90k miles on it, brand new tires (of course), new shocks, brakes.
So anyway, when that happened, the body shop stopped work on it and now apparently I have to go sign the title over and get a check. I recently learned that, instead of being paid the salvage value, we can keep the car, which really didn't sound very appealing to me. However, one of the guys working at the auto body shop that was working on it called me and offered to buy it off of us for more than the price of the salvage fee.
Obviously we could use the money, but I just want to make sure I understand how this process works before I commit to it. It seems like the insurance company takes the title, sends it to the state, and we get a salvage title back (and we get a slightly smaller check from them). But I also read somewhere else that we can't sell a salvage vehicle without having fixed it first? Has anyone here had experience with this? Can I just write up a bill of sale to the guy -- with clear statement that it is accompanied by a salvage title and sold as is with no liabilities -- and hand him the salvage title (when we get it)? Or is it more complicated than that?
So anyway, when that happened, the body shop stopped work on it and now apparently I have to go sign the title over and get a check. I recently learned that, instead of being paid the salvage value, we can keep the car, which really didn't sound very appealing to me. However, one of the guys working at the auto body shop that was working on it called me and offered to buy it off of us for more than the price of the salvage fee.
Obviously we could use the money, but I just want to make sure I understand how this process works before I commit to it. It seems like the insurance company takes the title, sends it to the state, and we get a salvage title back (and we get a slightly smaller check from them). But I also read somewhere else that we can't sell a salvage vehicle without having fixed it first? Has anyone here had experience with this? Can I just write up a bill of sale to the guy -- with clear statement that it is accompanied by a salvage title and sold as is with no liabilities -- and hand him the salvage title (when we get it)? Or is it more complicated than that?