[RSwanabe]

Hi,
I just picked up my first Metris; a 2016 126wb cargo in red with alloy wheels, painted bumpers, and just 28,000 miles. It’s a salvage title, but was well repaired. I already performed an overdue service B and reset the service counter.

The paint is a bit faded, so I’ll attempt to bring that back soon.

 

[pounce]

Cool. Rarely see a red one.

Been wanting one of these...

 

[213d4c532f]

Hi,
I just picked up my first Metris; a 2016 126wb cargo in red with alloy wheels, painted bumpers, and just 28,000 miles. It’s a salvage title, but was well repaired. I already performed an overdue service B and reset the service counter.

The paint is a bit faded, so I’ll attempt to bring that back soon.

View attachment 21500
View attachment 21501
View attachment 21499

Did you have a chance to get it inspected by a mechanic and identify the repairs? If they cut a new half on the van you might have a lot of issues with it. Why did they issue the salvaged title? Hopefully not because of water damage. On the first photo the driver door and fender seems faded compared to the back of the van.

 

[RSwanabe]

The van was hit in the left rear. By searching the vin I was able to get the photos from the salvage auction. The hit was above the load floor and the frame.

I am an experienced auto mechanic myself. I put it up on a lift and gave it a thorough going over. There was no damage to the frame, and the repairs to the body corner were relatively well done. They put new doors and bumper on it. After the repairs to the quarter were completed they painted the side up to the drivers door, hence the fade vs no fade. It’s not two halves pieced together. I suspect a little love (clay bar, compound, polish) shown to the paint up front will bring it in line with the paint in the rear.

 

[RSwanabe]

Cool. Rarely see a red one.

Been wanting one of these...
View attachment 21502

That’s my neighbor’s. It’s fun to drive and the cutest little dump truck you’re gonna see. But at 5’10” my knees are almost touching the dash when I drive it.

 

[213d4c532f]

The van was hit in the left rear. By searching the vin I was able to get the photos from the salvage auction. The hit was above the load floor and the frame.

I am an experienced auto mechanic myself. I put it up on a lift and gave it a thorough going over. There was no damage to the frame, and the repairs to the body corner were relatively well done. They put new doors and bumper on it.
View attachment 21503
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Unbelievable that they gave a salvage title for this damage. It’s really not that serious. I hope it will serve you well for long time.

 

[213d4c532f]

Where did you find it? On auction?

 

[RSwanabe]

Unbelievable that they gave a salvage title for this damage. It’s really not that serious. I hope it will serve you well for long time.

I’m not too surprised. Body shops often milk insurance work for all they can and “find” additional items that keep ratcheting up the costs. So insurers find it cheaper to write off and move on. Also, this was a few years ago, before the big run up in used car prices.

I didn’t buy it from auction. I found it on the local Facebook marketplace.

 

[icerabbit]

Welcome to MetrisForum.

Was it inspected and retitled after repair?
Because I thought, a vehicle with salvage title was not road legal.

 

[213d4c532f]

Welcome to MetrisForum.

Was it inspected and retitled after repair?
Because I thought, a vehicle with salvage title was not road legal.

After a quick registration in Vermont where there’s no title requirement anything can be cleared and road legal.
On Autotrader you can find a lot of vehicles with salvaged or re-built title. State inspections are just money makers. They’re not like the TÜV in Germany.

 

[RSwanabe]

After a quick registration in Vermont where there’s no title requirement anything can be cleared and road legal. 😉
On Autotrader you can find a lot of vehicles with salvaged or re-built title. State inspections are just money makers. They’re not like the TÜV in Germany.

Vermont title is not necessary. Most any vehicle that has been written off can be legally put back into service. It requires it be repaired, pass state patrol inspection (at Least that is the inspecting body in WA state) and then can be issued a new title. That new title will be “branded” showing the vehicle was “rebuilt” or “salvaged”. Different states use different terms. If rebuilt well, the car should be just as good as when it left the factory. Not all are. I wouldn’t want a flooded or fire damaged car, as that brings up too many long term electrical/electronic issues in modern cars. A straight forward collision repair that didn’t impact the frame is purely cosmetic and does not scare me.

 

[pounce]

After a quick registration in Vermont where there’s no title requirement anything can be cleared and road legal. 😉
On Autotrader you can find a lot of vehicles with salvaged or re-built title. State inspections are just money makers. They’re not like the TÜV in Germany.

This is far from the truth. State inspections to get a title are real.

 

[213d4c532f]

This is far from the truth. State inspections to get a title are real.

Maybe at your state. I don’t know if you have first hand experience but in FL or NY almost anything can be pushed through.
I’ve seen many vehicles with re-built title and they were literally cut in half. You could tell where they welded the front half and the back together. No aftermarket repair has the same strength as the factory spot welding. Often times the frame was not replaced just pulled back to straight. Obviously won’t have the same structural strength in case of another accident. And they all passed inspection.

 

[Lane from SC.]

This is far from the truth. State inspections to get a title are real.

Not correct. I've got a buddy in the business that buys fairly bad wrecks and repairs and sells them. Most states allow this. Even stolen cars get a salvage title. You would be surprised what frame machines can do. It could have to do with the fact very few body shops have any experience with the metris.

This damage looks very minor to me. I would worry if the front crumple zones were breached.

 

[RSwanabe]

I agree that just because a written off car gets a new title, it does not mean there are no concerns. For me a salvage title is always a reason to be concerned. But it can also be an opportunity to pick up a vehicle for less money. You have to know what you’re doing though.

If I was not able to find the salvage auction photos of this Metris to see what the actual damage was originally, I would not have bought it. As the pics showed there was no front end damage at all and the rear damage appeared to miss the frame/structure, I was willing to look closer. I then test drove the van and it tracks/handles/brakes straight and true and like a new vehicle and the rear doors open/close/line up/seal as they should. Even with that knowledge, if the seller had said I could not inspect it on a lift, I would have walked away. Inspections showed it mechanically and structurally in very good condition. So I bought it for what I felt was a good deal in this market.

Every branded title vehicle is a unique proposition and needs to be approached as such.

 

[pounce]

I'm not going to argue with you guys. I've done hundreds of salvage titles and part of our business is recon.

 

[RSwanabe]

I'm not going to argue with you guys. I've done hundreds of salvage titles and part of our business is recon.

Pounce,

I do not have experience retitling a salvage vehicle. I have not been through the inspection, and do not know what it entails. So I am not saying you are wrong. What I have seen are salvage vehicles like mine that I have confidence in. Unfortunately I’ve also seen more than one with pretty sketchy/shady repairs that I have no idea how they would pass an inspection. So I don’t assume the retitling inspections will catch all issues.

 

[Lane from SC.]

Pounce, not trying to argue...but just stating people do it....maybe you are in a state that has a hangup with salvage. Just curious, if you've done 100's of salvage reconditions, what did you do with them?

 

[pounce]

State inspections are just money makers.

My comment above is simply saying that this quote from noodles isn't factual.

They are more than rubber stamp money makers and are there to protect the safety of all of us. It's not a guarantee of the work, but they do reject vehicles.

 

[213d4c532f]

My comment above is simply saying that this quote from noodles isn't factual.

They are more than rubber stamp money makers and are there to protect the safety of all of us. It's not a guarantee of the work, but they do reject vehicles.

Pounce, this is a huge country and we all live in different areas. If at your location the inspection is thorough and honest that’s excellent. What I see is different. The only time the do reject vehicles when they don’t get the cash in the pocket. Would be nice to have an organized inspection chain for every vehicle like in Germany. If you have rust on your frame, fail. Your big wheels are not approved and shown in registration, fail. Aftermarket headlights, fail.