Metaldrgn

Ok, I've found what looks to be a good '92 RS 25th Anniversary edition camaro in an auto salvage yard. I've looked around for rust on the frame and there doesn't seen to much. They are coated with antirust stuff right? The crossmember looks alittle rusted and definitly the rotors and knuckles are rusted out. Same with the rear end. They claim to have had it for about 3 months sitting there. I am going to do a carfaxx on it.

My main question is how can I tell that it is a legit 25th Anniversary camaro? The center console has already been stripped from the car, but the main instrument panels and dash are still in tact. It has a 25th Anniversary emblem on the dash and I just noticed it today and wanted to make sure someone didn't just put it there. What do they have that the regular camaros don't?

Also I was wondering if it would be worth buying and for how much? He is looking for the title. I was thinking about $400-$500 for the rolling chasie (I am building a '96 LT1 for a car). Anyone think it would be a bad idea?

kaotik

iTrader: (1)

The carfax and vin should tell all... look in the rear compartment of that 92', you might find the rpo's there instead of the console...

Metaldrgn

well I checked out carfax and it showed it had a "junk title" *sigh*... Whatever happened, the airbag deployed and the front windshield has cracks in it where the passenger would have hit their head on it. The right front fender has a dent in it (looksd like a small fender bender that you could get into going at about 5-10mph). I've looked at the underbody and mainly at the crossmember and steering components. I don't see anything that shows any damage besides alittle rust on the few things I noted earlier. All the way around it is almost dent and scratch free (looks like a recent paint job too). It still has the air dam underneath (personal experiance shows that something high would knock it off).

It would seem to me that the brakes alone couldn't have caused the airbag to deploy + the damage to the windshield and my best guess is they hit a curb or something low like it and they were braking at the same time. I was reading something about a vehicle can get a junk title if car seems to be abandoned so it might not be jstu a damage issue.

Btw, I couldn't really check underneath the rear of the car because it wasn't jacked up, but from wh at I could see there was no sign of a rearending.

aerosmithr0cker

it might of been in a previous wreck and rebuilt which would cause it to have a salvage title and the salvage title really means squat unless you plan to resell it.

Metaldrgn

it didn't say anything about a previous wreck and it said it was a "junk title" not a salvage and they are different, but I think I read that Florida treats them as the same thing. Tomorrow I call call DMV and try to get the specifics.




Questions and Answers about Titles (new jersey motor vehicle commission)


Q. What is the difference between a junk title and a salvage title?

A. A junk title is issued to a "public agency" (police department, municipality, etc.) for junk vehicles found abandoned on roadways. Once a junk title is issued, the vehicle can never be re-titled for use on the road. A salvage title is issued when a vehicle has been declared a total loss (through collision, flood, fire, theft, etc.) by an insurance carrier or owner. The salvage title is necessary in order to dispose of or sell the vehicle to a junkyard or dealer. If a vehicle with a salvage title is repaired and passes inspection, it can be re-titled for use on the road.

CARFAX DATA(not all of it)


ALERT! Severe problems (major accidents, fire, flood damage, major odometer problems or lemon history) were reported by a Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) for this 1992 CHEVROLET CAMARO RS (1G1FP23E4NL10****). This vehicle does NOT qualify for the CARFAX Buyback Guarantee.

-This coupe has had at least 3 owners. The first title for this coupe was reported to CARFAX by a Tennessee DMV in 1992.
-It was severely damaged and issued a Junk title or certificate by a Florida DMV.
-It has a consistent mileage history with no indication of an odometer rollback. It was driven an average of 8,818 miles per year, which is lower than than the industry average of 15,000. -The last odometer reading, reported on 09/24/2003, was 98,116 miles.
It was not reported to a DMV as a Manufacturer Buyback (LEMON).


Report Summary
1. ACCIDENT CHECK
Total Loss Check- Severe Accident or Total Loss Event Reported to DMV


No Salvage Title Reported
No Loss Due To Fire Title Reported

Junk Title Reported
No Flood Damage Title Reported

No Rebuilt/Reconstructed Title Reported
No Hail Damage Title Reported

No Dismantled Title Reported
No Canadian Total Loss Record Reported

No Salvage Auction Record Reported
No Crash Test Vehicle Record Reported

No Fire Damage Record Reported
No Airbag Deployment Record Reported

No Police Accident Record Reported
No Damage Disclosure Record Reported

02/26/2004 Florida
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Lynn Haven, FL
Title #**********
New owner reported
JUNK TITLE/CERTIFICATE ISSUED

02/28/2004 Florida
Motor Vehicle Dept.
JUNK TITLE/CERTIFICATE ISSUED

Metaldrgn

I just found out a whole lot more about the situation. Turns out the towing company impounded the car, then when the owner was a no show they junk it and give it a cert. of destruction and give it to the auto salvage yard for parts then they have to destroy it. They don't keep records on it so I can't find out what actually happened. I am also going to see if there might be a way to get the cert. revoked because noone actually looked at it. Maybe through the DMV I can get the guys info and find out more of the story on this car.

I am trying to see how the state to state laws differ and see if there might be a way to take it to another state to title it and maybe even get it approved as rebuildable.

aerosmithr0cker

well most states wont re-title it i think cause most have smililar set ups. Junk Title basically is no title, kind of like how GA issues a bill of sale and no title on some cars they decide shouldnt be rebuilt, nice v6 camaro i drove back from there had one which sucks bc it is a good running car, same with a 66 mustang we bought from there but it was parts for a 65 anyways.

Metaldrgn

I know what you mean it just seems stupid. See I'm in the air force and if that happened, we would call it fraud, waste, and abuse. Mainly waste and the violater would get in big trouble, but they aren't held accountable to the laws that military personel are.

I will not give up easy though. I can't; a perfectly good car on death row... WHY????

David M

Go to any GM dealers parts department, give them the VIN and ask them if they can print you a sheet containing the cars options. If you have any problems I can run the VIN and fax you a copy from work.

David

aerosmithr0cker

also to the orignial question it may have a plaque on the rear hatch that says 25th aniversery, and it may have the heritage stripes down the hood and hatch.

Yeah I hate titling laws. So many nice cars my dad and i bought at salvage yards with no title/bill of sale. and quite a few Camaros with salvage titles, My 89 IROC has a salvage title bc it was stolen and stripped down which i find Dumb it ruins value but not like i care that much, this car will be mine till the engine blows then ill drop another in, or if i ever find a first gen and and missign a bit mroe money the iroc is sold so i can buy it otherwise no way in hell its leaving my hands.

Metaldrgn

BIG NOTE:
-I made a mistake!! I was looking at another Camaro when I saw a deployed airbag. This one was still packaged. The crack in the windshield could have been a big rock or something heavy that hit from the outside. I looked really close and there was no blood or skin on the main point where an object hit. Also it looks like the plastic that keeps the glass from shattering was pressed in instead of out which would mean something definitely could have hit it from the outside. Also I noted earlier the towing company didn't keep records (I think they were lying to me though and I will find out tomorrow) and sometimes it is just an abandoned car that they impound and when the owner is a no-show they give it this death warrant and send it away. THEY DON'T EVEN LOOK AT IT FIRST! That is my incentive behind this.




VIN #1G1FP23E4NL******. I probably won’t be able to get the fax # till Friday. If it isn’t too much of an inconvenience, could you email it to me MetalDrgn? It has the Z03 RPO in the back lockbox. Even has the same color grill as the car which is another heritage ed. component and it also has Camaro embroiled in the seats and I thought that was a special heritage item, or is that standard for 25th ann. Camaro’s? I went to the GM dealership and asked him to lookup the VIN and he said it wasn't in his database and looked up the RPO code. He said it was generic for all 25th anniversaries Camaro’s. He didn't know much about them though and he might have misread something because he never heard of a heritage edition.


I am going to the police station tomorrow as well as making more calls to see what loopholes or maybe a justified way out of this that I can take to get that Camaro out of there. All the places I’ve talked to so far said maybe, but it was a very slim chance that something could come from this because that cert. of destruction is almost non-erasable. I am going to try and dig up more info of what actually happened and if there was ever a wreck at all. It could have been damaged upon shipment to the salvage yard. Nice thing about being in the military is I get free legal advice and if I find out these people are doing this I will see if I can prosecute. Not just for this one Camaro, but for many more vehicles to come so we don’t just waste resources and contribute to global warming by melting these cars and recycling them. There is a reason why Texas is the only state in the US that can still manufacture engine blocks. Worst of all they could go to a landfill where they would take millions of years to decompose. I am not a huge environmentalist and I sure wouldn’t really yell at someone for tossing a soda can in the garbage, but this is quite a bit bigger than a soda can and is a lot harder to dispose of.

kwyjibo

that guy at the GM dealer needs to learn up some camaro histrory, th Z03 was most definitaly the RPO code for the heritage edition,
the heritage edition was a 175$ exterior dress up package offered in 1992 as a celebration of 25 years of the greatest car on the planet, which included, basicaly heritage stripes, or racing style stripes, like the ones in the picture, it also had a grille that was body colored as i understand,
the 25th aniversary badge on the passanger side dash is generic of all 1992 camaros, as all were considers "anniversary editions"

RSFreak

I've got a "25th Anniversary" badge on the dash of my '91 RS, so don't go by that alone! I got the badge off Ebay, looks way cooler than the stupid little "Camaro" badge.

Metaldrgn

I thought the camaro badge was for the "heritage edition"... The one in that car says "RS 25th Anniverary". I have really good news I'll tell you in alittle bit. I gtg for now. I think I might be able to get it.

FAST RS

In CA if you keep a car for 7 years it drops out of the DMV data base this is as long as you dont register it etc. Then the DMV will have no history of the car.

Metaldrgn

I must have gotten at least 20 NOs since I started this endeavor almost a week ago. Today I got the answer I was looking for all along!!! YES! If the people, whether that be the insurance company or towing company, send in a letter stating that they made a mistake and the car is repairable and not a total loss (not exactly sure of what phrase is used), it can be changed and the cert. of destructions can be erased!!!!!!!!!

Only one problem remains though…. It takes about 4-6 weeks for the new title to be issued and the old cert. to be taken out of the system. The guy from the salvage yard was ready to sell me the car so I don’t know why he wouldn’t again. He won’t be back till tomorrow though. I also won’t be able to get it on base until it clears and I can register it and title it in my name. I have to see if maybe I can buy it and leave it there and come by to work on it when I can or leave it at a friend’s house.

David M

Good news! I ran the VIN at work today and the car does have the Z03 option. But stupid me didn't bring it home
Will bring it home and post the rest of the RPO's this weekend.

Metaldrgn

BIG UPDATE-

-The car was never in a wreck. It was abandoned and the towing company got it. They called up the salvage yard and asked them if they wanted it for parts or to sell as a whole. Because they can get more for selling the parts individually than as a whole car they requested the cert. of destruction (towing company). I went to the towing company today and they said they would have nothing to do with changing the title because they tried to help someone out before like that and the DMV or whomever they submitted the paperwork to said they were missing something and put one of their people in jail for 3 months. A little later on I learned that if they don't have they owner’s signature stating that he is giving the car to the company for the towing services, it is illegal and they can't apply for it. I think that's what happened so I am going to see if I can find a name and phone number of the guy who owned this car before it was towed and see what he says. If he never signed anything, there may be a way for me to buy it from him and go around all of this. I am trying, but this is really hard to do with the hours I am working. I start work all next week early and might have only a few hours to research more on it and try and convince these people that if all is well as far as the paper work goes, there shouldn’t be any problems. If they sincerely were not going to help me I don’t think they would have mentioned anything about the reversing of the cert. (yep, they are the ones that told me about it). The towing company is going to be closed for the weekend and the salvage yard is open Saturday so I am going to see if I can get another hatch put on it tomorrow because the forecast for the next week looks really wet and I don’t want to go swimming in the car.

Thanks for looking up the info David M!

92droptop

Just so you know the "RS 25th Anniverary" badge came on all 92 camaros. What you are talking about i think is the heritage package and the rpo's and vin should be able to tell you whether this car came with the heritage package

camarors8992

how much are they asking and if its under 1000 take it....just a simple windshield replacment and some other work

Metaldrgn

buying it isn't the issue. I want to be able to title it again and I don't want to wait 7 years to do it. plus he won't sell it to me if I can't get teh status changed. I will talk to the guy tomorrow though and see what I can work out as far as a price and see if he'll actually sell it to me. Then monday I have to go to the towing company one last time. Wish me luck.

Metaldrgn

Well, the guy finally gave in and is going to sell it to me for $1,400. I even told him right before that the car was worth $9,000-13,000 according to NADA. He said no at first, then I told him I was going to check it out for parts so I could see it one last time and when I came back he was willing to sell it to me. There was someone there that I guess saw the camaro when it first came in and knew there wasn't anything wrong with it. He didn't want to see it get crushed either and I think he talked to him after I left. I just hope it's worth it. I don't know how I am going to get this cert. fixed, but I figure I'll bug DMV some more until I get an answer. BTW, that guy knows where the original hatch is and can get it for me!!! I don't know if this is really worth it, but if nothing else it's worth a try. When I get it on a set of wheels and running, I will try and get a picture of it for you guys.

camarors8992

nice job...you finally got a camAro and a 92 at that...i bought my 92 for 150 but it had sat for 3 years and the guy who used to own the car must of had a fettish with a drill and a spray paint can cause he liked to drill everything and paint everything

FirebirdNYC

i wouldnt be suprised if they were owned by my cousins, camaro junkies, love to buy them, hook them up then drive like maniac, damn floridians

Metaldrgn

...looking at some of the laws, I don't know if I can buy it because I think that would make it the second reassignment which would mean I would have to destroy it and I know there is alot of other legal stuff I am missing from this. I don't want to get them in trouble especially if it does not get me any closer to getting the car.

I will have to talk to the towing company again to see if there might be any chance I can get them to try and reverse this thing if I work with them on it. First I have to figure out exactly what I am going to say though and how best to defend my grounds which I base this argument.

Metaldrgn

Floida state chapter 713.78 subsection 11a states, "A certificate of destruction, which authorizes the dismantling or destruction of the vehicle or vessel described therein, shall be reassignable a maximum of two times before dismantling or destruction of the vehicle shall be required, and shall accompany the vehicle or vessel for which it is issued, when such vehicle or vessel is sold for such purposes, in lieu of a certificate of title." Doesn't that sound like this could never get registered and titled ever again? One thing I never found in the laws was a time frame in which it had to be destroyed in. On the actual certificate of destruction, it says "I understand this form is to be kept in my files for 3 years". Does that mean it goes away after 3 years or just the paper certificate?

On the actual certificate, I see 2 things that might be loopholes thus far. The fact that on the middle line it states "When a certificate of destruction has been issued, the Department will refuse issuance of any certificate of title for that vehicle" and on the top it says "State of Flordia, Department of highway safety and motor vehicles..." which would lead me to believe that this cert. is only good in florida and is up to the other states whether or not they will title it because it's actualy got a "junk title", which I have heard can be retitleable in some states and I could bring in a bill of sale and a Affidavit or something (could lookup the laws in another state to see what they needed). Then I would just probably never register it in Florida and I would be good. Second is the fact that "department" is not defined in the laws that I was looking through (that I would find) and isn't explicitly defined on the certificate itself. It could just be a common sence thing though, but that's not cases are won...

I will try to get ahold of some law enforcement agencies that deal
directly with this kind of situation tomorrow or when I get time so I can see if they know any loopholes and legal ways to do this if any.

86NiteRider

iTrader: (10)

Run all of this stuff by your lawyer(especially since you get free legal), then run it by the police and DMV. It sounds like a deal if you can get the yard to co-operate. Remember money is the root of all evil and you must not be offering enough money to that j-yard or whoever it is that is being stubborn. Remember everything has aprice, you just have to find it.

I got my 92RS Heritage for $400.00 from a storage company where the owner abandoned it. All I had to do was run a two week ad in the paper and send the last registered owner a certified letter that he had two weeks to pay the storage or good by car. Registered letter comes back no one lives there-return to sender. No reply's from the ad either. All I then had to do was pay sales tax, title fees and my title comes in the mail. I basically got a perfect RS minus the keys which once the title came I went to Chevy and got one made for $27.00. I am dumping the 5.0 and putting on the L98 as we speak. This whole process took 6 months (4 of which I really did nothing because I was busy and it was winter) to complete but my patience paid off. The storage company told me that lot's of people asked about my RS but no one acted on it - like I did. While doing my research many people told me, NO it could not be done but that was not the case.

Stay the course and you will win the battle.

Metaldrgn

Gheeez, there was something that was right in front of my face and I didn't even see it till now. I've read it over and over, but didn't really think anything of it. It might be a loophole! On the certificate of destruction there are 3 ways of destroying it:

1. crushing it
2. cutting into several sections
3. dismantling it

The first 2 ways sound so horrible that the 3rd doesn't make sence. To make it dismantled; I think all that would have to be done is strip it. Maybe if I get all the parts taken off and/or just make it inoperable, the certificate would be fulfilled and then maybe I can title it after a state inspection when I rebuild it. Maybe not in florida, but somewhere else. With the hours I've been working, I can't talk to DMV or anyone to find out the specifics on the situation. I will try in a few days to get ahold of them and see what they say.

camarors8992

hey night rider that is also what happened with my car exept i paid only 150 but the car have no front end and need some seriuos help if how did you get the keys for 27 i paid 97 this because they said it had a chip in it

86NiteRider

iTrader: (10)

camarors8992: I really don't know. The local dealership just asked for the title and my drivers license as proof of ownership. I got the chip too. How long did it take for your title to come back? Illinois is really slow on the title stuff.

Metaldrgn

I thought the passkey system (both one and two) used resistors not chips..

Metaldrgn

Things are looking up!! I will post more info tomorrow when I get a comformation.

camarors8992

we found the title in the car but it had a lean on it, but it took about 3-4 weeks to get all that straightend out so the title was clean

Metaldrgn

it's looks like I can reg it again in cali!!!! there still is a possibility that they might not, but you never know. I still need to go back one more time to the tow yard and see if they will send in the letter and affidavit (general sworn statement if you didn't know) and get a rebuildable salvage title and the state will send an inspector to the salvage yard to check out the vehicle to reissue a rebuildable title (not rebuilt yet). It is perfectly legal.

Yes I am buying it!

FirebirdNYC

picture picture picture

Dingley

iTrader: (1)

i want to see what this now "legendary" car looks like......

camarors8992

yea i want to see what this car looks like too

Metaldrgn

In due time my friends... I am trying to find someone with a digital camera so I can take some pictures when I get it on base. If nothing else, I will buy a cheap disposable camera and have the pictures developed and put on cd.

It's final, I am buying the car. Paid the guy $400 and he is going to tow it to his yard and put a car cover I just bought on it. I still need to find out if I can get the original hatch for it. I also still have to pay another $1000 for it so it's going to be awhile. I might be able to go to his house though and take some pictures though.

Metaldrgn

If you want a sneek preview, here is a picture from thirdgen.org. This looks just like it (color and all) except it has T-tops.

'92 camaro heritage edition

camarors8992

nice does it have the badge on the deck lid cause if not than youll prolly never find one

JeffW

this is how unclaimed cars are handeled in Mass with cars left at impound. We did that to get titles for cars so we could sell them or dispose of them but i don't think we have junk titles, on a salvage car we get salvage titles and good registration after inspection showing the car was repaired properly and is safe. Did you try to find last owner and get the title signed over to you maybe that is the best route to get the scrap title removed.
Jeff

Metaldrgn

wasn't the owners descision. It was the towing companies... The owner was a noshow and on the 36th day they then owned the car and the title to it.



... deck lid? You mean on the hatch. I am going to try and get the original hatch back and I don't know if it has it or not.

camarors8992

yep i meant the hatch but if it doesnt have it on there then you should just take one last look around where the car was sitting and were the deck lid was sitting so if you find it cause youll never find another one and if you do itll go for 150-200 which is rediculous

Metaldrgn

Like i said, they sold it, but one of the guys there knows the person who bought it and might be4 able to buy it abck because the camaro he put it on he couldn't get to run.

Metaldrgn

Pictures are being devoped! In less than 2 hrs I should have some pictures posted or a reason why I couldn't. I am not a great photographer so some may seem kinda sloppy. I also have some of my other camaro too . I don't know what the quality of these photos is going to be like because I got a disposable camera, but it was the most expensive one...

Metaldrgn

machine was broken ... I got the pictures, but not on cd and I can't find anyone with a scanner. They say it should be up tomorrow. They turned out alittle blurry, but not too bad.

The_Wraith

I can get a real 25th ann edition here in brampton for $1000cdn ,its black ,305,auto and 240,000kms No body rust.

Metaldrgn

nice, go for it! That's one heck of a deal.


I forgot, this might have had a paint job done because it doesn't have black headlight pockets. They are the same color as the body... The rest is good though and I won't be able to find out about the hatch until friday at the soonest...

The_Wraith

I also meant to say it was a 25th RS not a z28.I take it they are a bit rare also?

Metaldrgn

Just as rare. NADA.com prices the Z28 version maybe $1000 more at the most more... Plus, if you know what you are doing, you can just toss an LT1 or LS1 in there for more performance. Is it a V8?