Another Beverley Hills Car Club find....

[DMCVegas]

Here in new Jersey you can have the car reinspected through a special procedure that may or may not get you back a legit Title. All of the work that you may have to do is at your full risk if they inspect and deny your application. They would remove the "Salvage" and reinstate your original Title if they are satisfied with your work. There is also a rather large fee involved no matter if you get the Title fixed or not. All of this is to discourage people from buying a cheap salvage vehicle and trying to sell it for a profit. It is primarily meant to stop people from buying a flood car in, say Texas, cheap, taking it to New Jersey, clean it up a little, and then trying to sell it for full retail. Expect to see this happen in the coming months anyway. Just imagine all of the car dealer's lots full of new and used cars under water in Texas. And all of the cars that insurance companies will be buying and then reselling at auctions. This has happened in the past and will happen again.

Not quite, Dave. In fact, it's like Nevada, but with different designations. You cannot register a vehicle with a Salvage title, but yes, you can repair it and obtain a normal title again. There is no question about that, because that is the only way to register a vehicle. HOWEVER, it will NOT be an entirely clean title. Nevada has a section on the title labeled "BRANDS" where it will say "REBUILT". New Jersey has a section labeled "STATUS" where it simply says "R" or something to that effect.

That variance in branding is what facilitates the process of title washing, as well as uninformed buyers.

I would really have liked to keep things original, especially the title (if I do ever sell it). But now my only option is a special constructed/assembled from parts/kit car title...which will kill any value I imagine. Or I sell it now and disclose what I know now...and get screwed either way.

Again, given the variances in branding, I've no idea what "Dismantled" means for whatever state labeled it as such. But depending upon the state, you will have some potential options. The best bet would be to see if perhaps you can go for a "Reconstructed" type of vehicle, which given the age/status, who knows if you might not be able to get an exemption. That allows you to rebuild the car as a DeLorean DMC-12. A "Specially Constructed" title is that kit car thing. However, it must be a unique vehicle in the end that was never constructed by a known, recognized manufacturer. Now I've no idea what aesthetics may be on the outside, particularly with brightwork and badges, but with this title you would receive an assigned VIN from the state, and would never be able to legally call it a DeLorean again.

Check with your local state regulations, of course, to see what your options are. But be aware that you're never going to get away from that stigma of a salvage title. Even if your state issued you a clean one, that VIN will still show a it's current status when a historical lookup for the chain of custody is done. If you ever sell it and misrepresent the car in anyway as never having that title (and for whatever reason it was assigned), that would get you into legal trouble by misrepresenting the car since you obviously know about this problem with the title.

[David T]

[QUOTE=DMCVegas;223942]Not quite, Dave. In fact, it's like Nevada, but with different designations. You cannot register a vehicle with a Salvage title, but yes, you can repair it and obtain a normal title again. There is no question about that, because that is the only way to register a vehicle. HOWEVER, it will NOT be an entirely clean title. Nevada has a section on the title labeled "BRANDS" where it will say "REBUILT". New Jersey has a section labeled "STATUS" where it simply says "R" or something to that effect.

That variance in branding is what facilitates the process of title washing, as well as uninformed buyers.

Maybe so but you still get to keep your VIN # and it is still a Delorean. To a purist or collector who wants a completely "clean" Title it means that it was salvage at one time and then repaired. To everyone else it means it is a legal Delorean.

[DMCVegas]

Maybe so but you still get to keep your VIN # and it is still a Delorean. To a purist or collector who wants a completely "clean" Title it means that it was salvage at one time and then repaired. To everyone else it means it is a legal Delorean.

Two things:

1. There is only one type of vehicle title that allows a vehicle to be registered. The branding of Rebuilt, Specially Built, Fleet, Flood, or whatever will be affixed to said title to indicate past history, but it's still the same title. Doesn't mean that the vehicle itself may be 100% "clean" per se with that branding, but it is still the same title.

2. It isn't just about being a purist, and it doesn't mean a "clean" vehicle. It is meant to be a red flag on purpose in order to alert the next buyer that a deeper investigation into the vehicle is warranted. Which is as it should be.

Yes, thanks to the cost of airbags for instance, some perfectly repairable vehicles end up receiving salvage titles because the repair costs are higher than what the insurance company wants to pay. But salvage titles play a very important role for consumers because they warn that some seriously catastrophic damage has occurred. The kind of damage that may not be immediately visible, and may compromise the integrity of the vehicle's performance, and/or safety.

Flood water for instance is the perfect example of this. Water can wash off protective coatings or even trap moisture, and can initiate slow growing corrosion in wiring harnesses, computers, etc. Not to mention hidden rust, and damage to the entire drivetrain. So if you have a car for sale with a clean title, I know that not withstanding any visible modifications, the wiring & drivetrain is in normal, used condition. Which may tell me it's fine on a newer car, or means that it could need servicing on an antique. But the moment that a vehicle is flooded, hoo boy! Now I have to worry about rust in hidden places. I have to worry about checking all of those problem areas, and then worry about them prematurely failing without warning. These are substantial repair costs down the road that would otherwise never have been a concern previously.

Another great example is the 2017 Honda Civic Type R. Thanks to a new design with integrated exhaust manifolds inside of the block, we've now seen that a significant enough impact in the front can lead to actual damage to the engine block.

Now sure, you and I know DeLoreans well enough that we would most likely consider purchasing a rebuilt one because we know what to look for, and what questions to ask to ensure we were getting a quality car. Likewise a good seller in order to aid any buyer SHOULD have a portfolio of photographs & receipts to have documented to repairs to show that the car is 100% again. But that kind documentation, along with the subsequent inspections which need to be performed, all cost money. And that's under the assumption that they were done right the first time. Whether those costs fall upon the seller, the buyer, or gets split, it still is a significant cost which must be recovered via a reduced selling price. Then since this process has to occur each time the car is resold, the depreciation from that title is actually pretty valid.

So yeah, even though I'm personally willing to buy a DeLorean that has a rebuilt title, you bet your sweet bippy that I will be a whole lot more wary of the car. Show my a derelict car that was abandoned & neglected with a clean title, and a restored one in tip-top shape with a branded as rebuilt title, and yeah, I'm going to be extra careful with the inspection of that restored car vs. the basket case.

[Chris Burns]

This one has a nice frame on it, but a cracked dash and binnicale. Better than most of the cars they get usually!!

https://www.beverlyhillscarclub.com/...-12-c-7916.htm

[louielouie2000]

It's a shame their other DeLorean has some corrosion issues, because black interior '82s are extremely rare:

https://www.beverlyhillscarclub.com/...-12-c-7739.htm

[Iznodmad]

IDK, Louie. I'm gonna say it is an 83. Only those rather late 83s had the strap over the coil cover. I believe it is a DD vin instead of a CD vin.

[Jonathan]

It's a shame their other DeLorean has some corrosion issues, because black interior '82s are extremely rare:

https://www.beverlyhillscarclub.com/...-12-c-7739.htm

IDK, Louie. I'm gonna say it is an 83. Only those rather late 83s had the strap over the coil cover. I believe it is a DD vin instead of a CD vin.

I noticed that car still has the "over top" engine wiring harness and that was something that changed fairly late in the game. That might indicate it was a car before that production change. I don't have my VIN decoder cheat sheet notes in front of me so can't quote exactly when that happened though. This is the chunk of wiring harness that drapes over the corner of the W pipe and deice shield instead of being neatly tucked under it.

[Iznodmad]

Actually, maybe it really is a CD 1982 car, assuming this sticker is correct. Jonathan makes a good point too about the engine harness. There is a pic of the window sticker, but it just blurs out and I can't see anything like the VIN on it.

[Dangermouse]

The part where the VIN should be actually just looks blank to me.

[Chris Burns]

https://www.beverlyhillscarclub.com/...-12-c-7955.htm