Salvage titles in Massachusetts?

My cousin in Massachusetts is looking at a car with a salvage title. Does anybody know if the state, er...Commonwealth...will make it a nightmare to register?

I'm going through the same thing in ct with a truck I just bought, which will help you, approximately, well, none.... But here in CT, I have to take it through a mechanical & safety inspection in order to retitle it as rebuilt instead of salvage.

I found everything I needed to know off of CT's dmv website, by googling "registering salvage title ct", and they had a handy form that explained the process and what they'd check.

I just failed my first go around for two things I should have caught, so I'm going back into tech next week..

Edit: looks like this is what you need: http://www.massrmv.com/rmv/titles/9salv.htm

The process is straight forward, the paper work and such is easy to fill out and get everything started. The problem is in the MA inspection process. There are relatively few inspection stations and these are staffed by State Employees. If you love the Registry and enjoy the MBTA, you're REALLY gonna love going to one of these. The guy running the one in Bridgewater actually brandished a rubber FAIL stamp and said, "Say hello to my 'leetle' friend."

In plain language, your friend is going to have to shovel through a mountain of E36 M3heads before he gets a pass on his car.

funny... I did not find out till after I bought it.. but my old 318ti had been totaled in NY and had a clean Mass title.

I had one had no problems reg at all, walked in with my RMV1 form and walked out with plates, inspection was no problem in the 10 years we owned it.

I had a salvage titled car from CA that I registered in MA with no issue at all. This was my 83 Plymouth Sapporo that was bought from a guy in CA who found the car in a salvage yard in CA, and resurrected it. My friend Brad still has the car registered in MA, and the title changed from myself to him without a hitch.I don't think it should be an issue, but the value will be less than a non-branded title.

This is a car that was water damaged from a broken pipe above the garage.

"I had a salvage titled car from CA that I registered in MA with no issue at all."

You didn't have to get it inspected at a Registry Inspection Station to prove that it had been repaired and was no longer salvage?

Usually they comb through everything to be sure that the wreck has been rebuilt properly. Check for air bag circuits and bag replacement, front and rear end suspension/brakes, parts and pieces, and on and on. I had a re-inspection done at the body shop to be sure that the rear bumper was still 5 MPH compliant.

http://www.dmv.org/ma-massachusetts/salvaged-vehicles.php

You lucked out !

Nothing at all Tom. I got a MA salvage title in the mail a few weeks later, and had no issues at all. I sold it to a friend who then got another MA salvage title for it, and still has it to this day. No inspections, and no problems. The vehicle had already gone through all the inspections in CA before I got it.

Chris

I don't know about with cars, but 12-13 years ago, when I last dealt with a salvage title, for a motorcycle.

I bought a Nighthawk S from a friend in college with salvage title from Utah. I ran it in his RI plates until they expired and then had to register it myself.

The registry didn't ask any questions when I went for a plate and they sent me a clean Massachusetts title a few weeks later.

Wow, well so much for DMV.org. Maybe my problems resulted from my car being hit in a crucial place and repaired. This opens thing up for me, I see a LOT of nice Miatas and Z4s being offered for sale with salvage titles that I've been afraid of looking at.

With a simple trip to the RMV and no inspection process, parts receipts, photographs, etc. to attest to the rebuild . . . cool ! !