Rebuilt Title???

[Irishanji]

Hi All,

First time poster. We are looking at a 2023 Bambi but it had hailstone damage. It was written off I guess and now has a rebuilt title. The price is very reasonable. Should I stay away from it because of the title? More concerned about resale going forward.

Please give me your feedback. Thank you in advance.

Anji

[CRH]

If its priced at about 60% of book value for an non-rebuilt title trailer, I would consider it.

[Irishanji]

Do u think I Will I have much issue reselling it?

[CRH]

I don't think resell is an issue if it looks good and is priced right.

[sfranklin]

Most anything said here will be opinion unless the unit is ridiculously low in price.

You need to have a talk with your insurance agent first. They will be able to tell you if it can be insured, how much they can insure it for and how much that insurance will cost you.

Each person has different thresholds based on their circumstances. Some may feel having $10k out there at risk is manageable, while others might say that it isn't. Reaching out to your insurance agent will help put things into perspective quickly and will for sure help you decide if this is something you want to take on.

Also, having gone through something similar recently, I can say with some level of certainty that it will effect resale....most anything but a solid and clean title will reduce value in most cases. Unless the unit was fixed, a salvage title which is what I think you might be suggesting, and is uninsurable, so whatever you pay for it will be on your dime should it be damaged further or you run into issues. Mine had hail damage and had a slight leak. New owner got a deal on it, but has some things to address and add to his overall cost as you could find out yourself as salvage auctions never take great pictures of the damage or in many cases know of any secondary damage. Your goal, depending on your risk tolerance would be for around 25% of the book value, less=better.

[CRH]

I am reading that the OP is talking about a repaired trailer with a branded title. If so, I believe the value of the trailer is far more than 25% of book value.

[damonbeals]

We tried to buy a "rebuild" title Airstream a few years ago. And no one would insure it, we called and tried everyone.. The dealer said we never heard of that we sell rebuilt all the time, but they where also unable to provide us with any company that would write us a policy. This is a hail damaged 33ft they where selling for over $80k.


Damon
#4827

[CRH]

Unless something has changed Progressive insures rebuilt titles. The policy would most likely be an agreed value policy.

[sfranklin]

Originally Posted by CRH

I am reading that the OP is talking about a repaired trailer with a branded title. If so, I believe the value of the trailer is far more than 25% of book value.

I read it that way too, but then saw written off and honestly wasn't sure. Sometime folks mix up the title wording....also, rebuilt vs salvage you are correct, there are companies that will insure it if rebuilt from an authorized service center....but it has to be fixed by a place that is certified in Airstream repair. You can't just fix it yourself and get a rebuilt title as far as I know in a few states. Sometimes you have a bunch of red tape to be able to insure it for an agreed upon value, salvage is not insurable, but either way expect some loss in value.

What has not been discussed is the level of damage. It doesn't take much to push the repair to 75% of value and total it. Some damage is superficial, light hail dings all over the top, sides and ends, while some damage, have dents that match that, but also larger dents from golf and baseball sized hail. Broken A/C shrouds, damage fridge chimney, etc.

When I went through this nearly a year ago this month, I was shocked to find out that the panel replacement is only recommended for a few panels, once you start to cross much past 5 panels, and one being the roof, using the Olympic rivet repairs, Airstream believes it should be totaled if it cannot be buck re-riveted due to the odds of future leaking increasing with the number of panels exceeding 5 or so panels. In many cases 10 panels including the roof and the interior removal to properly fix will throw you past that 75% value mark, thus totaling it out.

I was able to get my insurance company to agree to remove the interior as I had about 10 panels needing replacement so it could be buck riveted and sealed from the inside. That alone added $15k to the repair but would virtually guaranty no leaks as it would have been reassembled as it was when it was first built.

My point is, if it's just superficial light hail dings, as long as you can live with it, I think you'd be fine, but, for more damage then that as I have described above, if it was not buck riveted and sealed from the inside, you do run a higher risk of leaking.

[LeetaCarol]

This is an interesting question. A year ago we bought a new (meaning it had never been sold to a private party) 2022 Basecamp 20x which had sustained extensive damage during a hailstorm at the dealer, somewhere in the Midwest. It was totaled by the dealer’s insurance, but because the Colorado legislature has specifically said that hail damage by itself is not a valid reason for a salvage title, it was trucked to Denver and sold here with a “regular” title. Our insurance company (The Hartford) is fine with it.

The hail dents are extensive, but there is no functional damage. The interior was brand new. We got it for about 1/4 or 1/3 off the actual (not list) value. It’s been a fantastic trailer so far. We’ve spent 51 nights in it and absolutely love it. The hail damage just adds character; we named the trailer “Denty.”

So I don’t know about a salvage title, but buying a hail damaged Airstream is not necessarily a bad idea.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

We seem to be guessing a lot about the "discount" on this trailer.

A lot of folks start from the list price of the current model of the trailer and go from there. Since prices go up year to year, the starting price they are using is well above the price of that trailer when it was brand new. This leads to some crazy numbers.

You can look here and there to see what folks are asking for similar used trailers. Depending on the site, those can be a bit insane.

What you would *really* like to know is what the *selling* price for this or that used trailer currently is. It's a good bet it's at least 20% less than those listing prices. It could be even even lower. The RV market is not "hot" right now.

More or less (picking random numbers and pushing to June ..).

If AS has bumped prices 10% for 2024, 2025, and (then) for 2026, the original price on a 2023 would have been 30% less than that shiny new one that is announced next month.

If you assume that pretty much anything drops 30% once it's out of warranty, your "mark down" would then be 60% off. Time to put that up in bold print.

No, that's not a great deal at 60% it's just grossly miss-using math to come up with click bait numbers.

Thus the need to look at actual numbers rather than percentages. If the price is $90,000 that's a real number and folks can go from there.

Will a "rebuilt" trailer be easy to sell? no, not in this market. Will it be easy to sell in the future? Depends on the market and on the price. It's a good bet on any RV that you will sell it for less than what you paid for it. It's also a good bet that "perfect" examples will sell much faster than ones with issues. A rebuilt title very much counts as an issue.

Fun !!

Bob

[Dachelis]

Hi there,

I purchased my 2017 Flying Cloud 23D as a salvage title at massive discount (The roof had been damaged from a drive-through).

I was able to get insurance via Progressive - they basically make you pay premiums as if it's a clean title, but they only insure it for it's salvage value. Still, it's not very much to insure compared to our cars.

Do I regret the purchase? No, it's been fun to take the family out and to use as my full time office, but it's definitely had its fair share of issues - leaks being the worst, but broken AC unit, mice, fantastic fans, and more smaller stuff. Luckily, I don't mind getting my hands dirty and it was a great value for a AS that would have otherwise cost so much more. Also, keep in mind that ALL TT's will require hands on maintenance, but you're inherently going to be signing up for more.

[Cowdog42]

As someone who almost exclusively buys and drives salvage title vehicles it all depends on how long you plan on keeping and using the trailer and the quality of the work. What I have found with the pickups I have owned over the years with salvage titles is if you get them at a good discounted price, you take care of them and they are fixed correctly I always so far have come out very good on resale. With that in mind make sure your insurance will cover it and also know that all warranties are void when the unit is titled as salvage.

[gypsydad]

following.

[PeteC17]

My 2015 Flying Cloud 23FB was just totaled by a hailstorm. I had an Agreed Value policy with Progressive. Progressive offered me the option to buy the trailer from them for $23,500. They emphatically told me they would not renew my policy if I chose to buy the salvage title. I contacted two other reputable insurance companies and was told they would not insure any trailer with a salvage title. I suppose I may have found some company willing to insure it, but I let it go, collected my agreed value and found a 2023 trailer at a very reasonable price. Progressive was happy to write me a new agreed value policy with a credit for the unused remaining premium from the previous trailer. I am, once again, a happy camper. Just my very recent experience.

Pete

[sfranklin]

Originally Posted by PeteC17

My 2015 Flying Cloud 23FB was just totaled by a hailstorm. I had an Agreed Value policy with Progressive. Progressive offered me the option to buy the trailer from them for $23,500. They emphatically told me they would not renew my policy if I chose to buy the salvage title. I contacted two other reputable insurance companies and was told they would not insure any trailer with a salvage title. I suppose I may have found some company willing to insure it, but I let it go, collected my agreed value and found a 2023 trailer at a very reasonable price. Progressive was happy to write me a new agreed value policy with a credit for the unused remaining premium from the previous trailer. I am, once again, a happy camper. Just my very recent experience.

Pete

This is really the rule how it typically goes, not the exception. If I could have purchased my 2021 at a reasonable price, I would have had zero issue having a salvage title, but in my case they wanted $30k and for my level of risk tolerance, $30k was just too much. Yes, i would have had a $95k trailer for about $35k (including money paid toward the loan), but with the way things are nowadays with the 100 year storms happening every 5 or so years, and hottest springs in decades I was not comfortable at that level, but if it were in the $15k range, I might have. Everyone's situation and risk tolerance is different. Glad you came out the other side of it in good shape!

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Is a salvage title the same thing as a rebuilt title?

If you buy a salvage vehicle, you *can* get it fixed up. That's what the salvage process is. You fix this you fix that. Once that is done you get it inspected by "somebody". When it passes that inspection the title changes.

The normal term for the title you get *after* the repair work is done is a rebuilt title. Is that what every state calls it? Probably not. How does the inspection process work in each state? Who knows ....

Bottom line still is that a salvage title and a rebuilt title are not the same thing.

Bob