Nov 07 2008
Who has laws against title washing, and is any legislation pending?
California, Michigan, and Iowa have tough consumer protection laws prescribing when a vehicle’s title must be branded as salvage or nonrepairable—but other states are less protective. Unscrupulous individuals take advantage of this lack of uniformity and move wrecked vehicles to states having low or no standards in vehicle retitling. In this way, they are able to wipe out the vehicle’s damage history.
Nationally, both Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Senator Trent Lott (R-Miss.) have sponsored bills supporting a uniform national standard for dealing with wrecked and salvaged vehicles. Lott’s bill would classify as “salvage” a vehicle that sustains damage exceeding 75% of its preaccident value, but would permit states to enact lower percentages. It also would require warning labels on rebuilt salvage vehicles. Feinstein’s bill goes further—requiring the word “salvage” to be stamped on the title of any vehicle with damage exceeding 65% of its preaccident value. It also would require owners to disclose any damage exceeding $3,000, unless the damage was entirely cosmetic.
