Rebuilt Title and Warranty

Can I get a warranty on a rebuilt title car (motorcycle, truck or RV)?

To know whether you can get a warranty for a rebuilt title you need to know the type and severity of the damage the vehicle received.

In most cases, getting a salvage title (even with the following conversion into a rebuilt title) voids both the factory warranty and the warranties issued by after-market warranty companies because the vehicle is damaged to such an extent that it becomes inoperable, and this is definitely an alternation or modification of the major components - common grounds for voiding a warranty. In most cases, you will be refused in extended warranty. However, there may be exceptions for rebuilt vehicles - let's take a closer look.

When You Cannot Get Warranty for a Rebuilt Vehicle

Generally, a warranty if voided whenever a modification or alteration is done to vehicle, which includes but not limited to the body, chassis, engine or other major components after final assembly at the manufacturer's facility. A crash, severe damage due to various reasons, like flood, fire, vandalism - all these are the types of alterations and intrusions done to the major parts like the drive-train, engine, transmission, chassis, frame, alternator - all that make the vehicle's operable condition different from what is was at leaving the factory and the warranty will most likely be no longer valid for such vehicles. How can a warranty company know what effect the previous accident or another damage could have on the mechanicals of the vehicle?

But in reality, does it make sense to buy a vehicle with that sort of damage at all? Vehicles still having a warranty that were water damaged, front ended or badly damaged in some other way are not good buys by definition. As a rule, these are newer vehicles with the highest market value. The newer the car, the worse the damage should be to total it out because vehicles are totaled when repair costs around 70% of the market value. Estimated repair costs are a more or less fixed value which does not much depend on the age of the vehicle but mostly on the amount of work involved (don't mix with actual repair costs for the dealers, especially when the car is just patched up, anyhow). The value of the vehicle is highest for newer cars. The worse the damage, the more the chance that repairs were not done properly and the car will give you a lot of headache in future.

When You Can Get Warranty for a Rebuilt Vehicle

You need to contact manufacturers or warranty companies for precise actual information on warranties for rebuilt salvage vehicles. For some companies, any rebuilt title is a big red flag, without any alternatives. Some will look at the reason why the vehicle got a salvage/rebuilt title and may void only the warranty on that specific damage, leaving you the rest of it. Provide your car history in detail and if they still let you have the warranty ask for which parts and works it will be voided for your car.

For example, Ford and General Motors are very specific about rebuilt vehicles directly stating that all rebuilt vehicles are out of warranty. General Motors went even further by prohibiting to even to cover such vehicles after repairing. According to customer reports, Mazda also voids the warranty even is the car is totaled due to hail damage, has no mileage (less than 50) and wasn't even sold yet - not just for cosmetic repairs but even for. In the same case with hail damage, Subaru will void just rust perforation warranty and you can still have the warranty for the rest of the car. In fact, hail damaged cars or those totaled out because of other cosmetic issues are among the best buys for used vehicle shoppers. They may look a bit ugly but such rebuilt cars are safe, function perfectly and you may entrust them your and you family's lives with no worry.

In addition, reputable dealerships that repair totaled vehicles can also give warranties - at least on their part of work. That's better than nothing at all.