blackball

My cousin offered to buy a wrecked classic mustang from his neighbor in California. I have not seen the vehicle and my cousin does not know much about Mustangs so the specifics are unknown.

The neighbor told my cousin that the Mustang was wrecked in September of 2007. The owner filed an insurance claim and the insurance company said they would have to have the title and keys before a settlement for the totaled Mustang could be issued. The owner never sent the title to the insurance company because he ended up buying the Mustang back from the insurance company. The insurance company then issued a settlement payment less the buy back price.

The owner told my cousin that when he first filed the claim the insurance company said they needed the title so that they could "delete it from the system".

Question 1 - How does my cousin find out if the title is still legitimate? In other words, if he buys this Mustang will he be able to repair it and register it in his name? How can he verify if the Mustang now has a Salvaged Title? If he had the full VIN is there a way to determine the Mustang's title status? (Obviously carfax does not apply).

Question 2 - Do insurance companies have the authority to "Delete" titles from a DMV database?

Just trying to find out the best way to proceed.

lunarweasel

If he doesnt know much about old Mustangs, he may want to find one that isn;t wrecked. Does he have experience wth other cars?

HGC

Depends. If it is an ordinary coupe it may not be worth the headache. If it is a GT or fastback that may be a different story. Got a year and model type for us?

1965fastback

Depends on how badly damaged the car was when it was wrecked. If there was significant damage to the car, i.e. structural damage such as frame damage, ect. then he would be better off finding an un-wrecked car to restore unless this car is extremely rare.

zmetalmilitia

Deleting titles from a database, hmmmm seems fishy to me. How is this older car any different from a newer car. I never had to file a total loss claim on a car before, but I have had to file other claims. Never heard of turning titles over to ins companies, normally they should pay out and move on. It is still the owner's decision to do what ever they want with the car at that point. To restore it again, sell it, part it out, etc.

I would definitely look into this car. Like said already, if it is a normal coupe with significant damage, probably not worth it. A fastback, maybe depending on the damage. A GT or other rarer coded car, probably worth taking. A shelby, Boss, MACH, definitely worth snatching up.

fakesnakes

Insurance companies process salvage titles all the time (only the state DMV can issue a title). It is common practice for the insurance company when it totals a vehicle to claim the title, process it as salavage, and sell the wrecked vehicle to a salavage yard. They are more apt to offset the payout value by the salvage value, write you a reduced check, and allow you to keep the title on an older car. In every case I have seen when this happens, the title remains clear so it can be reregistered. Keep in mind, many states won't issue a title for a car older than 1981, so it may not be an issue anyway.

blackball

What is the best way for my cousin to find out if the title is not registered as "Salvaged"?

He does have experience working on cars, just not on classic Mustangs.

I am told that the Mustang is a Fastback.

emperor_24

most likely if he bought it back from the insurance its salvage. its a legitimate title, but its salvage, had this happen when they stole my 1500 truck, i had to buy it back, but on ly to find out it was goin to be salvage.

Carlos Pineiro

If the car has black licence plates, that means it was registered every year in CA since the 60s. Black plates were issued from 1963-1970. If it was salvaged since then, blue or white plates would have been issued. Not a slam dunk, but it helps. If a car DOES NOT have black tags, that doesn't mean anything except it skipped a year or more without being registered in CA.

CP