What exactly is a salvaged vehicle? A salvaged vehicle is one with a salvage title. A vehicle gets a salvage title when it is damaged beyond its repaired value or when a vehicle is written off as a total loss by the insurer whether by damage or theft.

A salvaged vehicle can also be one that has been declared a total loss by the insurer, then rebuilt or repaired. These rebuilt or repaired vehicles will have a salvage title and in some states will require special inspection before it can be put back into road use. Vehicle history reports will show that a vehicle has a salvage title but may not say why.

Some car dealers specialize in selling vehicles with salvage titles. These salvage vehicle dealers can tell potential buyers what caused the vehicle to get a salvage title. While many of these vehicles will run and drive, some are damaged too severely to be driven in their current condition while others are so heavily damaged that they are only good for parts. Theft recovered vehicles will have a salvage title as well and can have little to no damage, be completely stripped or someplace in between.

Salvage vehicles are often sold as "rebuildable" and can sometimes be had with the parts to repair it. These vehicles will normally be those that have had accident damage as opposed to those that have been in a flood.