If you are in the market for a vehicle, you might see the title of the vehicle you are looking at is “branded”. But what does that actually mean? If a vehicle has been in a collision or suffered some sort of serious damage it will be documented by the title. These are the most common types of titles.
Salvage Title Brand
Probably one of the most common branding you will see for a title. If a vehicle suffers serious damage that amounts to a higher repair bill than the market value of the car it is issued a Salvage title. Insurance companies basically declare these vehicles as a total loss, however not all salvage vehicles are total losses.
Rebuilt Title Brand
The other most common title brand you will see. A Rebuilt Title brand is when someone takes one of the Salvage titled vehicles and repairs it enough that it is roadworthy. These vehicles will have to pass some sort of government inspection process to be able to earn the rebuilt title.
Water Damage Title Brand
With the slew of hurricanes we have experienced the last few years, you can expect to see more of these. Amongst other natural disasters, anything water related will cause serious damage to vehicles. There is the issue of electronics, rust and of course the mildew and mold that may ruin vehicles.
Lemon Title Brand
Most states have lemon laws in place which allow consumers to return vehicles to the manufacturers that have proven to be excessively defective. Lemon Laws will have certain requirements on the types of defects that qualify, repair attempts that must be attempted and how the vehicle is bought back. If a vehicle is bought back under a Lemon Law it will have it’s title branded as Lemon.
Hail Damage Title Brand
This is the most straight forward title brand you will find. Any vehicle that has suffered hail damage which amounts to a significant portion of its value will result in the vehicle being branded as Hail Damage. In some cases this can be an easy fix but be warned, hail damage can be serious.
Good luck, and happy shopping!