rebuilt title on fifth wheel?

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lilcountry

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Joined
Oct 1, 2005
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9
Does anyone have experience with rebuilt titles. I am looking at a 5th wheel that has a rebuilt title. A limb fell on it, and insurance wrote it off. It has been repaired, and doesn't look like the damage was all that bad. From inside you cannot tell there was any damage. Is it hard to get financing for a rebuilt? How about insurance? From what I have seen, the price is really good, but I wonder if the rebuilt title might cause other problems.
 
Personally I would probably not even consider such a rig.  Insurance companies don't write off a rig without reason.  It would take a real experienced person to determine if there is any other un-disclosed or un-noticed damage that could lead to problems in the future.

IMHO it would probably not be worth the risk no matter how good of a deal it may seem to be.  Walk away and continue looking.
 
I doubt if you would have any trouble insuring or financing the rig. I can't recall an insurer ever asking to even see a title, let alone checking the type.  Financing should be the same as for any used rig, but there the title does come into play, since the finance company [the lienholder] usually holds the physical title until it is paid off. Even then, in most cases they don't actually receive the title until after the loan is made and it probably just goes into a file.

As to whether buying a vehicle with a rebuild or salvage title is risky, it is difficult to say.  The insurer "wrote it off" because the cost of repairs plus the salvage value exceeded the book value of the rig.  They saved money by declaring it a total loss.  A rebuilder can overcome this arithmetic by using cheaper labor (perhaps his own), used parts or by cutting corners. Usually it is a combination of all three. Skillfully done, the result is fine. Shoddily done and it could be troublesome nuisance or downright unsafe.  If it was tree damage, then presumably the repairs were all body work, so safety should not be a big concern.  Whether roof or windows will leak, doors open freely and that sort of thing, only time on the road will tell.  It is pretty much impossible to judge once the repairs are complete and everything is covered up.
 
Gary

I'm don't know about trailers but I had an insurance company that put a hold on my auto coverage because the VIN# I gave them didn't match the records, a transpositional error in sending the data.
 
Thanks for the opinions. The person selling it told me he has sold about 100 of them. He buys from insurance, repairs himself, then sells it. It looks really good, and the price is about $2500 less than anything comparable, but I am leaning toward the cautious side. I really just started looking, so I think I'll take my time and see what else I can find.
 
Probably best to take your time and shop around.  You might just find someting for the same price or even less that you like better.
 
I'm don't know about trailers but I had an insurance company that put a hold on my auto coverage because the VIN# I gave them didn't match the records, a transpositional error in sending the data.

Yeah, Bernie, the VIN has to match up, but that is not an issue in this case.  The VIN will match the title 100% (though it would be wise to verify that before purchase!).

 
and the price is about $2500 less than anything comparable,

I don't know what that amounts to as a percentage of the book value (you should check www.nadaguides.com for the retail book) but it doesn't sound like a huge discount for the risk you are taking.  You can often buy used rigs for well under the book price (think in terms of 20% or more), especially in a private sale.  You can also expect to pay far less than a dealer's asking price, if that is what you are using for comparison.
 

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