A salvage vehicle is defined as a vehicle that has sustained significant damage due to an accident, fire, flooding or other incident and has been deemed a "total loss" by the insurance company. This means that the cost of the repair of the vehicle would outweigh the cost to replace it.

Not all salvage vehicles are ready for the steel bone yard. Many of them, with a little work, can be brought back and may have many more miles left in them.

Top Deeming a Regular Vehicle Salvage

If you have a vehicle that you wish to change to salvage status, due to an accident or other damage, you must complete a Salvage, Non-Highway or Non-Repairable Affidavit (TR-13). Submit the TR-13 form along with the current registration receipt or verification, to your local county treasurer's office.

Top Have a Salvage Inspected

If you are considering buying a rebuilt salvage vehicle, take care. Some unscrupulous auto sellers will purchase salvage vehicles, repair them just to the point of having them run and get registered and titled. Then they will sell the vehicles to an unsuspecting public, only to have them break down soon after purchase. These vehicles can also be dangerous, so have any salvage vehicle inspected by a mechanic before you agree to make the purchase.

Top Before You Buy a Salvage

Make sure that you really know the history of the salvage you wish to buy. There are a large number of cars on the market right now that have been severely water damaged. While this damage does little from a cosmetic standpoint, it is probably the most difficult type of damage to repair and many of these vehicles are unsafe at worst and unreliable at best.

Here are a few things to remember if you are thinking of purchasing a salvage vehicle:

• Do a title search to discover the history of the car. There are many great title search services available.

• You may also ask your insurance agent to run the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) through the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) to check the vehicle's history.

• Conduct a detailed, complete inspection yourself, then take the vehicle to a reliable mechanic or to an auto inspection service for further testing and inspection. The price you pay for the mechanic could save you thousands of dollars in the long run.

Top Salvage Title Branding

A salvage vehicle will always reflect its salvage history on the title. If you buy a vehicle that is being sold as salvage, and have made the necessary repairs, you may apply to have the vehicle titled. The new title will change from the "salvage" status to a "rebuilt salvage" status.

Which Vehicles Need Inspections?

These vehicles require inspection before they may be reclaimed from salvage status:

• Vehicles with out of state titles

• Out-of-state salvage vehicles being put back to highway status

• Kansas non-highway-titled vehicles being put back to highway status

What Should You Bring?

• Vehicle to be inspected

• Vehicle's title

• Your valid driver's license

• Inspection fee

• Proof of insurance

• If a salvage vehicle, all receipts for major component parts or photocopy of title of the vehicle from which the parts were sold

Top Titling a Rebuilt Salvaged Vehicle

Once the vehicle has been repaired and inspected, and has received the "rebuilt salvage" status by the Kansas Highway Patrol, take the MVE-1 inspection document, along with the title and your proof of insurance, to your local county treasurer to have it titled.

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