Be Watchful for Vehicle Branding

A scenario that vehicle owners face is when they try to sell their vehicle and Carfax (or a similar type report) shows it was a salvaged title prior to the current title. This considerably lowers the vehicle’s value and/or makes it unsellable. This means at some point in the vehicle’s history it wasn’t properly branded, and it usually happens if the vehicle is moved from one state to another. There might be some action you could take against the seller, but finding and proving it could be difficult. This can also cause problems for vehicle registration if the vehicle is trying to be titled back in the state where it was a salvage title at one point.

Consumer managers should make sure a Carfax report is run on the vehicle before it is ever purchased to determine its brand. If it is in fact a salvaged vehicle then deem whether the vehicle’s price is appropriate.

A salvaged title can pose a problem but if the right precautions are taken then the consumer loan manager and vehicle owner can still benefit.