What Is a Rebuilt RV Title? (What Are The Cons? Who Insures?)
When you buy any vehicle you know you will get a legal title to that vehicle that states you are the true owner. But did you know that there is more than one title you can get for a vehicle? It is important to know the difference between them
The rebuilt title is the next step up from a salvage title. If your vehicle was given a salvage title, it is illegal to drive. But if you spent money and had professionals rebuild the vehicle, that title changes from salvage to rebuilt and it is legal to drive again.
To learn more about this title, just continue to read our article. It has the information you need to know so that you can understand the differences between a title, salvage title, and a rebuilt title.
What Is a Rebuilt RV Title?
You might say that this title is the rehabilitation title. It tells everyone who is interested in your vehicle that it once was a salvaged vehicle that was given a salvaged title and now it has been rebuilt to be road worthy again.
If your car has an accident and is written off, it gets a salvage title. That means it is no longer legal to drive the vehicle. You need to get professionals, who use factory parts, if possible, to rebuild the car.
After that, it must pass a safety inspection and when it does, it is given a rebuilt title. This title says the vehicle is okay to drive on public roads and is safe to drive.
You will never escape that salvage stigma as the rebuilt title tells the world your vehicle was totaled at one time. But at least you and everyone else know what they are getting when they buy a car or truck, or even an RV, with a rebuilt title.
It has been said that not all states issue one of these and that is true. They may not call it a rebuilt title but all the vehicles with that unique paperwork were once salvage vehicles.
What Are The Cons Of a Rebuilt Title?
The biggest positives for this type of vehicle are that you get new parts and it is safe to drive. However, the negatives may outweigh the positives in this case. Here are some cons you need to think about before buying this type of car:
1. The restoration work is only as good as the mechanic who did the work
2. It carries the stigma of being a salvage car forever. Like salvage titles, rebuilt ones stay with the car forever.
3. There may be low trade-in value if you want to upgrade to a better car. This is up to the dealers.
4. Insurance companies may not cover the vehicle. The problem these companies face is determining if the original accident or the current accident caused the problems that need to be fixed.
Also, it is hard for the companies to find and fix a value to the car. If they do, liability premiums may be through the roof.
5. May be hard to sell the car in the future.
6. After getting the title, an unethical owner may remove those parts and install bad ones.
7. You may not get financing or if you do, your interest rates may be very high
8. There are some forms of damage that cannot be repaired and those parts may be ticking time bombs
Who Insures RVs With Rebuilt Titles?
This is a delicate subject that probably needs its own article to discuss all the ins and outs of car insurance for these vehicles. A few points will follow this list of insurance companies that, at the time of this writing, offer rebuilt title insurance:
21st Century
Allstate
The Hartford
Infinity Insurance
Omni
General Insurance
Everest
Safeco
State Farm
Root Insurance
Insurance Navy
Keep in mind that liability insurance is mandatory in every state, so it may be hard to find premiums that are realistic when it comes to these vehicles. There are websites that search over 200 insurance companies and give you the results of who does or doesn’t offer this insurance protection.
Also, some insurers may sell you rebuilt vehicle insurance but it is really liability insurance in disguise.
Finding a Rebuilt RV For Sale
This may be a little difficult to do as dealers do not usually label their RVs as rebuilt motor homes. Once they get the rebuilt title, they usually list them as used RVs. The dealers have to mention if the vehicle was salvaged or not but it is not sure if they are required to mention if they were rebuilt.
What we are finding in our research is the use of two words that sound very nice and stay away from the rebuilt issue. Those words are renovated and remodeled.
Now they can be true renovations, etc., and the RV was never written off and given a salvage title or they were. It is hard to say. But you can always contact the DMV and get a history of the RV you are interested in.
This history will tell you if the RV was totaled or not. You can buy a salvage vehicle with a salvage title, and then pay the rebuild costs yourself. After doing this you may still have paid less than a new or used RV would cost.
Some Final Words
A rebuilt title RV is not a bad vehicle. It may be sound after new parts were installed and it may not. This is one of the negatives that come with this type of title. You never know if there is still some unrepaired damage to the vehicle.
Here is the list of the states that offer rebuilt titles and other titles that apply to this situation. It is not a pretty label once the work is done.
