rebodied with out salvage a title

[Norm reynolds]

I tried to post this on the other post but was lock out I MUST post this as I have found it was not legal
Ok guys we have a serous problem I have read this post and was 85 % sure but waited to talk to a friend of mine that’s a judge I ask him if I bought a car for x amount of money as been a special car and found out that some one took a car that was in bad shape and took the fire wall of this car with the vin number on it and rebody the rest from another car do I have a case to sue in court He told me if the car has a clean title in Pa and in many other states its illegal The car MUST have either a salvage or a reconstructed title If the car has a clean title and was embodied the person who did the work and if the person selling the car knows that it was rebodied is looking at some serous jail time He said if the car has a clean title that the car IS worthless because sooner or later some one WILL get burn on this car He said the law was made because of just this type of thing to stop people that would try to get big money for a cut up car With a salvage or reconstructed title forces one to sell a car for much less Now as for someone that goes on this site with this information and then gets burn to the stake is wrong I though that is what this site was all about to keep things clean and legal but it seems that once again its all about the money and who cares if its legal Its buyer beware Lets not talk about it because some one might get mad I WILL be putting this cars vin number in my clone data base because that’s were it belongs its worth more in parts
T

[70 copo]

Norm,

I recall this topic (rebody) about a year ago. It was well discussed here on this board. Take a look back you will find the thread.

Phil

[Norm reynolds]

Yes I know about the post last year BUT on The yenko post someone got burn to the stake because he reported a car that was rebodied this is worng because it not legal if the car has a clean title I would rather for some one pull the vin and trim tag put then along with the title and frame it then and hag it on the wall I did just that in 1971 with a 67 GTX I had

[COPO]

I'm not sure a salvage title would warn a buyer. It seems to me an owner could just sell a car on a bill of sale. I know in my state they don't issue titles on older vehicles.

[Charley Lillard]

I can see your point with newer cars but back in their day old cars were pretty smashed up and repaired but did not need to have salvage titles. This was a running registered car that was untubbed by taking a large part from another car. It might not be your cup of Tea but I don't think that makes it a salvage title car or a rebody.

[Norm reynolds]

Charley I know what you are saying but the laws have and are changing faster than I can type From what I have been told the federal government is taking a hard stand on this Too many law suites

[Norm reynolds]

ON a Corvette site I was just reading that in California they are on the war wagon again to out law old cars it never ends I know that this was bought up a few year ago but the environmental whackos are at it again Like I said the laws are changing so fast
If you wanted to start to build 69 Camaros with today’s laws you could not built them like they did in 69

[resto4u]

A salvage title is only issued when a car is wrecked in an accident and cannot be fixed. insurance claim is paid for totalled car or a theft recovery. A restored car doesn't meet those terms. But i am not a big fan of cut the car in half, but the car values have kind of encouraged it to be done. Roger

[Norm reynolds]

As I was told money does not matter I was doing some more research today and you would be surprised I have be out on disability for the last four years and out of the business man has things changed every body is law suite happy and with that came the reconstructed titles There are soo many law changes even street rod builders are throwing in the towel I have talked to many people and things are only getting worse
Restored cars that are rebodied does meet the reconstructed title law at first I did not believe it but like I said before every body is law suite happy so there is the law change like I said in the beginning it is not in all states but wait a few years its coming

[Pantera]

In in the eyes of most states, the fact is that it was just repaired back to original condition is legal. A salvage title has come into use, more in just the last 20 years or so because the insurance companys have finally pushed for the use of them to keep them from having to pay for the same car twice. Salvage title laws have been on the books of most states for years, but not all and some states without a Title on their cars can clean a salvage title by registering it in that state. Thank goodness the authorities are starting to close those loopholes. Newer cars with the longer vin #'s can't get away with this but the collector car that we all love are not on this list.

If a car is totally destroyed then there is no need for a "Salvage title" because it is crushed and no longer exists. But when a wrecked car is re-bodied or has major frame damage repaired and put back on the street then it will be forced to have a salvage title which is a different color of title,just to alert potental buyers that it has had major damage and has been repaired. There are way too many wrecked cars out there that are being put back on the road and the salvage title is the best way to police them.
Now the law that you are refering to is where it pertains to the vin # on the w/s post and the hidden #'s on the frame or cowl. It is a federal law to remove them or alter them in any way. Thats a $10,000 fine plus jail time. But if they are not disturbed then in their eyes, it is just a car that has been repaired.

We in this industry need to push our congress men to re-write the law and close this loophole. Also the feds need to enforce the laws on the books but they never do. They only care if it has to do with drugs or bombs. White collar crimes are almost totally ignored.

There is a big difference in what you are saying and mind you, I am not saying you are totally wrong. But it really depends on the state and what year the car in question was "re-bodied"? If it has been some time since the car was repaired, then if may not be illegal.

Now somewhere in between all this, we all feel that there is some kind of fraud involved when that repaired car is sold with out disclosing the fact to the new owner. I think there is a law now on the books that he has to disclose major repairs.

One thing is that the new buyer has a good case for a civil lawsuit because the value is not the same as one that had never been repaired to such a large extent. But ONLY if you have it in writing that the seller is declaring the car is "original" and not altered. Run don't walk from anyone that refuses to sign one if you are putting your hard earned money out on one.

Unfortunly those are just a pissing contest in the eyes of the courts and most of the time I doubt that the injured party would prevail or get any monetary restution. In my state you only have 3 yrs to sue on a verbal contract and 5 yrs on a written one. I am sure that every state has different laws on this which make it like walking through a mine field if you are out of your state and are unfamilar with the area you are buying the car in.

Above all else!!! Do your research. Knowledge is king!! I think that this forum and the knowledge it contains is the best prevention from buying a fraud or " re-builder" that someone could find.

Perhaps this group should formulate a petiton to congress and try to get some teeth in the laws and close the loop holes.???

Laws only change when injured people get someone to make campain promises to change them.