[Fritzer]

Hey all. Looking to purchase an E91 BMW in Pennsylvania from a fellow forum member. I just have a really weird question about titles that I can't get a straight answer about from anywhere.

Car's history, 3 owners:

Purchased new in the state of Washington, 6 years later a fender bender caused some type of total loss, I have all pictures of accident and damage, looks like right front fender, headlight, wheel was damaged. Nothing structural at all. On the history reports I have obtained so far from titlecheck and autocheck, the state of Washington branded it as either "rebuilt or salvage".

Next history is an owner who had it for about four months in Michigan, from what I can see, they had obtained a clean Michigan title.

Third and current owner is forum member. They currently hold a clean Pennsylvania title for this car, zero brands. However if I run it on Autocheck or Carfax it comes back as "title branded". Running it through the NVMTIS title database it comes back as "branded salvage" on the Washington history only.

My main concern is if I buy this car, bring to Texas DMV to register and get the title in my name, I hand the DMV the clean Pennsylvania title and they send me back a branded one after they run the vin through the NVMTIS title database, or rebuilt or something. Then I'd be seriously boned. I even went to the tax assessor's office in my small town(DMV for non-Texas folks), I asked the girl at the counter this question exactly and she said "I don't know, it sounds like a gamble to me." I asked her well if she didn't know, who does because someone surely should know the answer. She more or less shrugged me off. Called friends who are dealers, everyone I know on this and no one knows for sure. Don't know what to do here, I really want this car - bad. Let me know what you think/anyone with experience chiming in is suuuuuuuper appreciated.


*I'M NOT WORRIED ABOUT POSSIBLE DAMAGE OR UNKNOWN FLAWS. THE FELLOW FORUM MEMBER WAS UPFRONT ABOUT ALL OF THIS I JUST WANT TO COVER MY OWN BASES FOR WHEN I BRING IT HERE. I'VE SEEN PICTURES OF THE CAR INTERNALLY, FRAME AND FRAME RAILS, AREA WHERE DAMAGE WAS & PICTURES OF THE ACCIDENT RIGHT AFTER AND IT IS FINE, SUPER CLEAN. LITERALLY JUST ASKING REGARDING THE TITLE STATUS IF ANYONE KNOWS.*

[STi from DSM]

Me personally would never buy a car with an accident ever again. It's a hassle to sell and never worth the headache. I had so many dealerships lowball me on trade in. Even though the car ran and drove fine.

[Tejas1836]

TX form VTR-441 [emphasis mine]
A “salvage motor vehicle” is a motor vehicle that:
• has damage to or is missing a major component part to the extent that the cost of repairs exceeds the actual cash value of the motor
vehicle immediately before the damage. Cost of repair calculations may include parts and labor, but must exclude the cost of materials
and labor for repainting the motor vehicle and sales tax on the total cost of repairs or
• comes into this state under an out of state salvage motor vehicle title or similar out of state ownership document.
A salvage motor vehicle does not include an out of state motor vehicle with a “rebuilt,” “prior salvage,” “salvaged,” or similar notation, a
nonrepairable motor vehicle, or a motor vehicle for which an insurance company has paid a claim for the cost of repairing hail damage or theft,
unless the motor vehicle was damaged during the theft and before recovery to the extent that the cost of repair exceeds the actual cash value of
the motor vehicle immediately before the damage.
A salvage motor vehicle may not be registered or operated on a public highway until the vehicle has been repaired/rebuilt and a certificate of
title branded “Rebuilt Salvage” has been issued.
A “nonrepairable motor vehicle” is a motor vehicle that:
• is damaged, wrecked, or burned to the extent that the only residual value of the vehicle is as a source of parts or scrap metal; or
• comes into this state under a title or other ownership document that indicates the vehicle is nonrepairable, junked, for...

Maybe you will be fine, if the present owner has a legitimate clean title
I would talk to TX DMV

[BlkGS]

This is called title washing. It's a fairly common and unethical practice that sometimes happens unintentionally because some states don't have rebuilt titles.

My suspicion is that what would happen is you would go to title it, it would show up as salvage, and you would have to get it inspected to prove it's safe so that they would issue you a rebuilt title.

Is the car super cheap? If not, walk away. You're very understanding of the situation, but most people would not. A rebuilt title is a non starter for most people, so value on it is going to be SIGNIFICANTLY lower, and your insurance will likely be higher if they'll even cover it at all.

It should be priced at like half of what a clean title equivalent of that car should be. If not, walk away.