The Difference between Salvage and Reconstructed Titles

If you’ve ever had the unfortunate experience of suffering the complete loss of a vehicle, you may have heard the terms “salvage title,” or “reconstructed title,” during the many conversations with your insurance company. Both of these titles involve legally documenting a vehicle that has incurred significant irreparable damage. The difference between these two titles lies in what you do with your vehicle once it’s been deemed inoperable. 

Essington Avenue Used Auto Parts purchases both salvage-titled vehicles and reconstructed-titled vehicles from our customers. Keep reading to discover their differences and which one is right for your situation.

Clean Titles

Before discussing these titles, or certificates as they’re called in Pennsylvania, let’s talk about clean titles. A clean title is for a vehicle that has never been labeled by an insurance company as damaged beyond repair and/or unsafe to drive. In the event of an accident, an insurance company will consider the car a total loss for two reasons — if the repair costs are too high compared to the vehicle’s value or if it can’t be made operational because the damages are beyond repair. 

Salvage Titles

When a vehicle is totaled by the insurance company, the title is legally branded with a nonrepairable or salvage certificate by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Although it’s no longer safe to drive, it can still be sold for parts. Essington Avenue Used Auto Parts buys salvage vehicles and junk cars for cash. We remove any parts that are still in quality condition and add them to our used parts inventory.

Reconstructed Titles

Sometimes, the owner of a salvage vehicle wishes to rebuild it so it can safely function again. In this case, the vehicle would require a reconstructed title. It denotes that the car was at one point issued a salvage title, but is now safe for driving. In order to legally obtain a reconstructed title, the vehicle must meet certain requirements, such as:

• restored to its original operating condition
• meets vehicle equipment and manufacturer’s original specifications
• passes an enhanced safety inspection

We Pay Cash for Junk Cars

If you have a vehicle with a salvage certificate and would like to make some extra money, contact us for a free quote by calling (215) 492-5700. We gladly serve Allentown and all nearby communities with our used parts inventory, used cars for sale, and clean and organized salvage yard.

Source: VanSomeren, Lindsay. “Rebuilt vs. salvage titles: How are they different?” Web article. Credit Karma. 17 Feb. 2021. Web. 22 Mar. 2023.