California salvage title - lessons learned (it took 3 tries to pass!)
- If your car is old (like mine) then it's easy to "total" it
- Their insurance company pay almost nothing for it (at over 300K miles)
- Their insurance will pay you even less than that to let you keep it
- Then their insurance will report it to the DMV as a "salvage" vehicle
- After that you can stay on your registration only until it expires
- When your registration expires, you can NOT ever renew it ever again
- You must get a _new_ title & plates from the DMV as a salvage vehicle
The requirements for a new title for a California vehicle apparently are: a. You must pass a specific STAR smog inspection for non-standard vehicles b. You must pass all brake requirements for new vehicles sold in California c. That means they will drive the vehicle to test the brakes (including ABS) d. And they remove all four wheels to check pad, shoe, rotor & drum specs e. They will check the calipers, boots & brake lines for evidence of wear f. You must pass all light requirements for new vehicles sold in California g. All exterior lights must work & all dash light indicators must also work h. That means even the blue highbeam indicator on the panel must be working i. And all turn signal lights must work and the emergency brake light too j. No light is allowed to be cracked, broken, crooked, or fogged in any way k. That means even the license plate lights must work (ask me how I know) l. Headlights do not need to be aimed properly but they must be adjustable m. All dash indicators for lights must be working properly such as signals
The smog check can be done at any STAR certified smog station but the brake and light checks can only be done by California certified independent shops.
When you finally get to the California DMV office A. They will physically check the VIN in about a dozen places on the vehicle B. They told me they're looking for stolen parts and stolen vehicles C. You will surrender to the DMV your old title (they give you a new one) D. You will surrender to the DMV your old plates (they give you new ones) E. You must give them the two certificates (one for brake & one for lights) F. They didn't ask me for the smog certificate (must be on file already) G. They need a claim number & price insurance paid (ask me how I know this) H. They didn't ask for proof of insurance (probably it too is on file) I. A few hundred dollars (California charges tax on all cars yearly)
If you miss any one of those (e.g., sheet metal screws in the side marker lights), they will not issue the salvage title & you can't register it.
The hardest part for me was my license plate light bulbs weren't working which turned out to be a need to solder & splice fatigued often bent wires.