How do salvage rights work for a wrecked car? I WANT THAT TORSEN
 

So I sold my 94 C package with a fresh ACT XT clutch, light flywheel, 2003 6-speed, torsen, etc etc etc. The guy totaled it yesterday by rolling it a couple times. I am so hungry for that car's guts my keyboard is soaked with drool.

He had full coverage though, and is going to sign it over to Esurance. How do we get the wrecked car back? How much would the salvage be worth, usually, if it look a little rough even before the front end and passenger side was crushed in?

You can't get the car directly. The current owner may by it back from the insurance company, otherwise the car is going to be sold at an insurance auction. Those auctions are not open to the public.

Your only chance is to have the current owner buy the car back, then you buy it from him.

Whoops, sorry if I didn't make that clear. The owner and I are friends, and he'll just sign the rights over to me for whatever his cost is.

I just don't know if it's part of the negotiation with the insurance company, and what people usually pay for salvage.

when the insurance totals the car they give you the option of buying back the salvage title. It's usually between 15-20% of the total value.

Mine for example was 20%. so I got 3800 in cash, plus the title to the car.

HE has to buy it back from the insurance company who will have issued a salvage title to him.

YOU may then buy the salvage title from him. But I wouldn't go that far.

Where is the car now? Is it at a body shop? Wherever it is, when he buys it back from the insurance company, pay to have a flatbed tow it to YOUR house and drop it off in your garage. Take your time removing everything you want and pay HIM for whatever you negotiate the parts are worth. If he had it towed to his house after the accident, then that just makes it easier. Once your done stripping it, then HE can sell the hulk (which will probably include a lot of OEM parts, motor, etc... to a junkyard who will come and tow it away.

Either way, he'll come out way ahead, and you'll get all your parts back for cheap.

One more caveat. In most states, a private party MAY NOT title a salvage vehicle. If the vehicle is getting parted out, this really does not matter (have the "seller" write out a BOS just in case). But if you plan to repair and register the vehicle as rebuilt, you may not be able to--it may be possible to get a bonded title at some very high cost, but that's about it.

Yeah, I'm just going to take the guts I want (including the brand new Westco battery) then sell the rest to a dismantler.

Btw, thanks for the input guys.