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History / OriginalityGot a question about 1982-1992 Camaro or Firebird history? Have a question about original parts, options, RPO codes, when something was available, or how to document your car? Those questions, answers, and much more!
I went an looked at a 1985 L69 with a salvage title tonight. The car only has 34k miles. Car drives great and I don't see anything alarming with the frame. My question is how much this hurts the value? The guy showed me the title it had when it was titled in 1986 and the title was clean. The current owner went to title it and the BMV told him he would have to get a salvage title because it was coming up as a salvage car in WV. He went ahead and titled it, but he did show me copies of the clean Ohio title from 1986. Below are some pictures of the car. It needs some work, but nothing major and I can get it for a pretty decent price for a L69 car. The paint needs cut/buffed as the guy that had it used it as a shelf in his shop, so boxes and stuff has been dragged across the roof. He still has the original floor mats too, which is a plus.
The salvage title will hurt the value IMO but who cares if you want to keep it and enjoy it. Just be sure to inspect it carefully for damage (the support in front of the radiator looks like a different shade of red? Or it could just be the picture). I personally really like that car and would be tempted to grab it especially if the price is right as its nicely equipped and really has eyes...still kicking myself for letting a silver 85 L69 IROC close to me slip by for only $4500 2 winters back.
The salvage title will hurt the value IMO but who cares if you want to keep it and enjoy it. Just be sure to inspect it carefully for damage (the support in front of the radiator looks like a different shade of red? Or it could just be the picture). I personally really like that car and would be tempted to grab it especially if the price is right as its nicely equipped and really has eyes...still kicking myself for letting a silver 85 L69 IROC close to me slip by for only $4500 2 winters back.
If it was $4500, I would have snapped it up....but not THAT great of a deal!
I'd be looking for a 35%ish discount for a salvage title. Nothing wrong with salvage cars if the fixes are good, imo use it to drive a hard bargain then don't worry about the value and put all the miles you can on that beast. Driven plenty of "clean title" cars with shady fixes as well, including my current winter rig.
Maybe it was stolen in 1986. My Z was... in 1986... in Ohio... registered in Ohio. Who knows? It might've ended up in WV.
That's obviously not my car, but if an insurance company paid-off on a stolen car, then wouldn't it be declared a "total loss" in whatever national database existed back then? Then if a stolen car was ever recovered and someone tried to register it, wouldn't it be a "salvage?" Would it be returned to the state from where it was registered when it was stolen? How did the car end up back in Ohio from WV?
Hopefully its current VIN is its original VIN. The last few digits of the VIN are embossed into the firewall in the engine compartment, partially covered by the inner edge of the AC box, in the vicinity of the heater core nipples. It's not easy to detect, so use a BRIGHT flashlight and have a look to make sure it matches the windshield and the title. The police should've already done that, but you never know.
That car looks to have a lifetime of use on it in my opinion. I'm not good at recognizing those things so that's maybe why it should be so alarming that even I can tell....
Either way, it doesn't really matter I suppose, it's a salvage and it is what it is. Point is though, don't drive up the price in your head over speculation. It's just a worn out old salvage car that should have a worn out old salvage car price tag. Current owner is the one who is going to have to take the financial hit for any mistakes made. Make sure you don't risk anything and that the price you pay does not exceed part-out-value if you have to give up on it for some reason.
The salvage title could be from a previous accident, theft or even flood damage.
The (prior) salvage title will be associated with the VIN, no matter how nice, low mileage, clean, or work that has been done to the car. It will immediately lower any resale value, so buy the car only if you like it and not because there is believed room to flip the car. Potential collectors will pause at the salvage history, or outright skip it.
That car looks to have a lifetime of use on it in my opinion. I'm not good at recognizing those things so that's maybe why it should be so alarming that even I can tell....
Either way, it doesn't really matter I suppose, it's a salvage and it is what it is. Point is though, don't drive up the price in your head over speculation. It's just a worn out old salvage car that should have a worn out old salvage car price tag. Current owner is the one who is going to have to take the financial hit for any mistakes made. Make sure you don't risk anything and that the price you pay does not exceed part-out-value if you have to give up on it for some reason.
I tend to agree. I feel like if I can get it bought right, it will be a fairly inexpensive, fun 5 speed to have. I am pretty confident if I would decide to get out of it, I could get what I would be paying.
It'd kind of comical to think about salvage titles on older vehicles. I know they bring the price down a bit but it's like "OK, this car had x problem but was fixed so now it has a salvage title, so I'll knock 30% off" vs "this car has a clean title. . . .but it spent the last 20 years as a shell behind this barn and I literally had to put every part back on it myself - so you get to pay full price" haha.
Well, we finally came to an agreement on price and I will be going to get the car tomorrow. He was a gun guy, so I decided to throw in one of my Winchester Model 94 30-30's to get it closed! I'm looking forward to seeing what it looks like after a good cleaning and getting the paint buffed out. My 1990 Iroc will be leaving for Louisiana to another member, which will leave me an open hole for this one.
congrats, Look it over good, if it has no damage do the research and find out why it has a salvage tittle. if you believe the the car was never in an accident, there's ways to get a clean tittle.
Got the car today. The original photos I posted, are ones that the owner took from inside his pole building, so lighting was horrible. The car looks MUCH better in the natural light. I'll put on additional photos of the interior once I get it cleaned up and the front/rear bumpers need some love.
Got the car cleaned up a bit today. I wanted to get some better photos as the originals did not do the car justice. Just taking out those black/red mats and putting in the original stock mats made a huge difference. The car is in really nice condition and runs out really well. I took a photo with the headlight grills on it, just for the heck of it. I'll be removing them, filling the screw holes and painting the buckets. I've to to get the front bumper painted, it is a shade off and get a new exhaust on it, then she will be good to go!
Last edited by IROCIN; 01-22-2023 at 03:49 PM.
Reason: Update
Looking nice and happy to see another rescue/save. Don't think that title thing would have kept me from it either to nice a car to let go to waste over something like that especially if it could end up being petty!
That paint will clean up nice! I don’t like aftermarket mats in these cars either, the originals look much better. That car is looking like it was a great pick up.
Are those headlight covers I saw in the last pic? I’ve never seen any like that.
That paint will clean up nice! I don’t like aftermarket mats in these cars either, the originals look much better. That car is looking like it was a great pick up.
Are those headlight covers I saw in the last pic? I’ve never seen any like that.
Yes, they were on the car. I am planning to pull them off. They are very 80's though!
Okay, I can't be the only one seeing this. Two different pictures from two different cameras. Look at the driver's side rear wheel. Does it stick out further at the top than the bottom? Bent axle housing maybe? Got any pics from the rear?
Last edited by NoEmissions84TA; 01-22-2023 at 09:14 PM.
That's exactly what I noticed (your first referenced picture) at the time but I suspected it was merely a camera angle as even the front doesn't look completely normal either. I don't see it anywhere near as pronounced in your second example, leading me to think it's just photo illusion?
Originally Posted by NoEmissions84TA
Okay, I can't be the only one seeing this. Two different pictures from two different cameras. Look at the driver's side rear wheel. Does it stick out further at the top than the bottom? Bent axle housing maybe? Got any pics from the rear?
01-06-2023, 06:53 PM
Very Nice Looks In Great Condition
