Websites like Copart.com have been a popular way to pick up great deals on damaged vehicles. Usually, these are vehicles bought by insurance companies after damage, which are then sold at auction. For the motivated DIYer, these vehicles can be a cheap way to get a reliable, late-model vehicle. However, while you can find some gems at these auctions, you need to be careful about the title brand; certain title brands in some states are absolute non-starters. If the title is branded in these ways, your hopes of restoring this vehicle are toast, at least in that state. 

We will look at the states that brand titles in a way that effectively ends that car and what out-of-state options you may have. Why say ‘may?’ Because we can’t guarantee it, but we can give you the best shot at getting one back on the road. But first, we will prepare you for what title brands to look for.

What Is a Title Brand?

A title is branded when some event causes a vehicle to have significant issues, like a serious accident, flood, or factory defect. A few examples are:

• Salvage 

• Junk

• Totaled

• Flood damage

• Lemon

• Reconstructed

This is not an all-inclusive list; 50 states do things in 50 different ways. You need to check your local DMV rules and check them out. For example, if you check out the Vermont DMV, you will find that they have 78 distinct title brands. We can provide some essential guidance on what to avoid and available options if you end up with these undesirable brands, but your state will have the final say.

Here are some fundamental distinctions:

• A salvage title does not indicate that you cannot drive the vehicle again. In most states, it only means the vehicle has been wrecked, destroyed, or damaged to the extent that the cost of parts and labor to get it back to the pre-damage condition is more than the value of the vehicle. Therefore, you are not forbidden from buying the car, doing the work, and getting it back on the road. 

• On the other hand, a junk title brand can never be registered or granted a clean title again. The junk brand goes by other names in other states, but it means the same thing. 

What Title Brands Do I Need to Watch Out For?

Again, this is all contingent on what your state calls it, but there are a few general title brands you should avoid at all costs. 

First and foremost, if the title is branded anything, i.e., it isn’t a clean title, you need to research what that title brand means in your state immediately. Hopefully, this finds you before purchasing the vehicle because you are stuck with it if you already bought it. 

Certificate of Destruction (Florida)

A certificate of destruction is a brand or a basic form you are issued when your vehicle must be destroyed. This is often issued after a serious accident introduces structural issues like frame damage. It is in place of a title, and once a certificate of destruction is issued for a vehicle, the vehicle must be destroyed. 

Typically, certificates of destruction are issued when the cost to repair the damage represents above 90% of the value of the vehicle. It is a way for all parties to control liability because there is always an inherent risk that a fully repaired vehicle is not as safe as before the accident. Titles and title brands are all about risk management and liability control when you think about it. Ensuring that the proper owner has an appropriately labeled title reduces the risk of something ending up in court.  

A fully repaired car will probably not pose a safety risk to anyone, but there is always a chance, so titles are branded accordingly.

Junk Title

Other states have junk titles. It amounts to the same thing as a certificate of destruction, except the title is never disposed of; instead, it is a title brand.

States with junk title brands delineate that the vehicle has no resale value other than a source of parts or scrap metal. There would undoubtedly be some legal recourse if someone sold you a junk title vehicle that was sold as running or drivable, but the best course of action is to avoid it in the first place. If the title says anything about junk or destruction, you should get far away from it. 

Salvage title does not equate to junk title. Once the vehicle is adequately repaired, a salvage title can be changed to a prior salvage title, or even a clean title in some states. It will have to undergo a rigorous repair process, but you can do it. States will not process a junk title. 

And here’s the thing: it doesn’t go by what the vehicle looks like, of the physical condition. There are probably thousands of cars titled junk or non-repairable that are well within the mechanical abilities of the typical backyard mechanic. However, some adjusters labeled it a certain way, so the title work is more irreparable than the physical damage. 

Non-Repairable

Taking a page for the State of New Mexico, this one still means about the same as junk or certificate of destruction:

1. “[The vehicle] has no resale value except as a source of parts or scrap metal or that the owner irreversibly designates as a source of parts or scrap metal or for destruction;

2. has been substantially stripped as a result of theft or is missing all of the bolts on sheet metal body panels, all of the doors and hatches, substantially all of the interior components, and substantially all of the grill and light assemblies and has little or no resale value other than its worth as a source of a vehicle identification number that could be used illegally; or

3. is a substantially burned vehicle that has burned to the extent that there are no more usable or repairable body or interior components, tires, and wheels, or drive train components or that the owner irreversibly designates for destruction or as having little or no resale value other than its worth as a source of scrap metal or as a source of a vehicle identification number that could be used illegally.”

That is a direct quote from their DMV rules, but don’t expect much variance in any other state. 

Parts Only Title

Again, a parts-only title is nothing more than a junk title, non-repairable title, or certificate of destruction. A few states only categorize their cars as parts, and the result is the same. So if you are on Copart or IAAI for a good repairable car project, you have to ensure that it isn’t in one of the above title brands because you just bought yourself a parts donor, no matter what the vehicle looks like. 

What Can Dirt Legal Do for You? 

We are not the DMV. Whatever the DMV says is ultimately what goes, regardless of which state you are working with. However, certain states are more amenable than others to titling issues. 

For instance, Vermont openly says that anyone from any state can title and register cars there but does not title vehicles over fifteen years old. So in context, anything older than 2007 does not require a title in Vermont. While we cannot guarantee that this will help your cause, it indeed might. 

See, with a bill of sale and a VIN, your car older than 15 years can get set up with a transferable registration rather than a title. A transferable registration is all you need to get back on the road legally. First, they will throw in a tag for your vehicle, getting you back on the road. Then, since the vehicle will have a transferable registration, you can take it to your local DMV and transfer it over easily.

It’s worth mentioning that some DMVs do not accept Vermont registrations alone - you might be asked to provide a title as well, and if the title is branded in any of the ways we’ve talked about in this article, you won’t be able to get a new one.

Everything in this article is contingent on what the DMV will allow. The first thing is to ensure you know the title's condition on the vehicle you buy. Unless you need it for parts, don’t buy anything branded junk or parts only because it will be impossible to override that. One possible option is the states that do away with the title when it is in a parts-only or junk condition. Since those states are bill of sale only, our Vehicle Registration Service might be your best bet to get it tagged and registered. Still, again you will need to research the laws and regulations of your state before registering any vehicle for road use using this method.
Check out our article on salvage titles to get a better idea of what those are and how they differ from junk titles. But please research before you hop on Copart and buy a vehicle; you can very quickly end up with a beater with which you can’t do anything useful.