As a dealer, I can attest to the fact that outside of very few cases where the vehicles is purchased far, far back of book and requires minimal work, cars with salvage/rebuilt-branded titles are NOT worth the time or hassle.
1) Its an immediate red flag to anyone looking to purchase.
2) Attempting to convert a title from 'salvage/rebuilt' to a clean title is called title washing and not only is it disingenuous and illegal, but damn well near impossible in this day and age thanks to databases like NVMTIS (National Motor Vehicle Title Information Service)
3) As El Mechanico mentioned, people who buy European imports are the worst clientele to deal with because they always know more than you and scrutinize everything a more sensible person wouldn't.
Like I said, I'm a dealer, so I pretty much have to take anything in trade, so when I occasionally take in a car with a branded title for salvage/rebuild, I put absolutely pennies on the dollar for ACV (Actual Cash Value). That way, I know I could always throw the sled up on Craigslist and get out what hard money I put in it. The most recent one I had was an '00 Accord EX-L V6 sedan w/150k miles and a rebuilt title. I gave the lady $600 for it on trade because - like El Mechanico mentioned - a $5000 and under cash buyer is going to be less discriminating over something like a title brand as long as the vehicle itself is all there. I ended up retailing it for $2700.
Now, there are some real buys out there IF you have access to them. For example, Manheim Tampa runs a salvage-type sale every Monday and you always have a mix of police impounds, old city vehicles, cars that dealers and banks won't run in the 'regular' sale because they are mechanically-inoperable or have significant collision damage, and daily rental companies (Avis, Hertz, DTG) who dump cars with cosmetic damage. There are a good number of dealers who buy up most of those damaged rental units, fix them up quick, and try to run them in the following week's sale before the damage is reported to CARFAX/Autocheck. Sometimes it works, sometimes it bites them in the ass, so its a risky proposition with late-model cars and can be expensive as well.
tl;dr - dealers with lots of cash, resources, and floorplan money have been doing this for years already with mixed success.
My advise to you if you're looking to flip cars on the side, its always good to have some knowledge of bodywork and mechanical work. If you don't, consider partnering with a trust friend who does. You can also learn yourself how to wrench on things. I don't know your market, but start slow and on the cheap. Try to tap into that $5000 and under cash buyer market.
Scour Craigslist, the local paper/flyer, and even just drive around looking for cars that people just want to dump quick. This is where mechanical knowledge and/or a partner with good knowledge comes in hand. A lot of people want to get rid of cars because of issues they are tired of trying to fix. If you can find those 'diamonds in the rough,' fix what turns out to be an affordable problem, recondition, market, and sell the car, you can turn a decent profit. But you have to be there quickly and with CASH IN HAND TO BUY. Make a lowball offer, but back it up with cash. People are obviously most responsive to that. Keep in mind, most private sellers get dozens of jerk-me-off phone calls with people who try to negotiate beforehand and never even show up. I've bought many cars this way for retail and wholesale.
1) Its an immediate red flag to anyone looking to purchase.
2) Attempting to convert a title from 'salvage/rebuilt' to a clean title is called title washing and not only is it disingenuous and illegal, but damn well near impossible in this day and age thanks to databases like NVMTIS (National Motor Vehicle Title Information Service)
3) As El Mechanico mentioned, people who buy European imports are the worst clientele to deal with because they always know more than you and scrutinize everything a more sensible person wouldn't.
Like I said, I'm a dealer, so I pretty much have to take anything in trade, so when I occasionally take in a car with a branded title for salvage/rebuild, I put absolutely pennies on the dollar for ACV (Actual Cash Value). That way, I know I could always throw the sled up on Craigslist and get out what hard money I put in it. The most recent one I had was an '00 Accord EX-L V6 sedan w/150k miles and a rebuilt title. I gave the lady $600 for it on trade because - like El Mechanico mentioned - a $5000 and under cash buyer is going to be less discriminating over something like a title brand as long as the vehicle itself is all there. I ended up retailing it for $2700.
Now, there are some real buys out there IF you have access to them. For example, Manheim Tampa runs a salvage-type sale every Monday and you always have a mix of police impounds, old city vehicles, cars that dealers and banks won't run in the 'regular' sale because they are mechanically-inoperable or have significant collision damage, and daily rental companies (Avis, Hertz, DTG) who dump cars with cosmetic damage. There are a good number of dealers who buy up most of those damaged rental units, fix them up quick, and try to run them in the following week's sale before the damage is reported to CARFAX/Autocheck. Sometimes it works, sometimes it bites them in the ass, so its a risky proposition with late-model cars and can be expensive as well.
tl;dr - dealers with lots of cash, resources, and floorplan money have been doing this for years already with mixed success.
My advise to you if you're looking to flip cars on the side, its always good to have some knowledge of bodywork and mechanical work. If you don't, consider partnering with a trust friend who does. You can also learn yourself how to wrench on things. I don't know your market, but start slow and on the cheap. Try to tap into that $5000 and under cash buyer market.
Scour Craigslist, the local paper/flyer, and even just drive around looking for cars that people just want to dump quick. This is where mechanical knowledge and/or a partner with good knowledge comes in hand. A lot of people want to get rid of cars because of issues they are tired of trying to fix. If you can find those 'diamonds in the rough,' fix what turns out to be an affordable problem, recondition, market, and sell the car, you can turn a decent profit. But you have to be there quickly and with CASH IN HAND TO BUY. Make a lowball offer, but back it up with cash. People are obviously most responsive to that. Keep in mind, most private sellers get dozens of jerk-me-off phone calls with people who try to negotiate beforehand and never even show up. I've bought many cars this way for retail and wholesale.