Titles & Documentation

Yes, the name displayed on the driver's license must match your account information! Otherwise, per DMV regulations, the title cannot be transferred to you.

NOTE: If the title will be in a company's name, please provide us a letter (on company letterhead) stating that the customer (i.e. purchaser of the vehicle) is the owner or an authorized employee of that company.

Yes, but any requests for changes to the address/name have to be done in advance by either phone or email. Otherwise the title WILL BE ISSUED IN THE NAME OF THE PERSON ON THE ACCOUNT and it will be mailed to the address on the account. Please make sure all information is accurate upon registration. Also, if you want us to mail the title to your shipping company, please request that in advance by calling our offices!

As a courtesy, Elite Auto Auctions processes titles for vehicles purchased by our affiliate dealers on behalf of our customers. We are unable to provide an estimated time frame for delivery of the title to the customer due to many factors, e.g. submission of title by auctions, volume of title processing, delivery of processed titles, etc. Please plan any transfer of title and/or shipping of vehicle with these potential delays in mind. Elite Auto Auctions utilizes USPS Certified/Registered Mail for title delivery. NOTE: Elite Auto Auctions reserves the right to choose the appropriate delivery service. All titles are processed in the order they are received.

Per the Purchase Order Agreement, Elite Auto Auctions does not guarantee title types. That being said, the customer may receive an equivalent title type to the one displayed in the online item description.

Differences between title Types and Designations are minor, for example 'Arizona Salvage Certificate' is displayed in the online description, but the customer receives 'Nevada Salvage Title'. Local/Regional laws and regulations sometimes require our affiliate dealers and/or insurance companies to transfer the title to the state in question. Differences in title Type/Designation bear no change in equivalence.

When a vehicle is involved in an accident, and salvaged by an insurance company, it has to be reconstructed before being placed back on the road. After the vehicle is repaired, it's inspected by an authorized mechanic and certified by the DMV as reconstructed to manufacturer specifications. The DMV issues a 'reconstructed' title, which is treated the same way as a 'clean' title regarding registration and insurance purposes. Please note Elite Auto Auctions does not guarantee that all title denominations can be reconstructed in any particular state or country. Please refer any title questions to your local DMV.

The reconstruction process is simple and straight forward, but varies somewhat from state to state. In overview, you will first have the vehicle repaired (i.e. 'reconstruction process') per your state's guidelines, have the vehicle inspected, and complete and submit the proper DMV forms. In return, the DMV will issue you a title. The last step is to register and insure the vehicle to be driven on the roads.

In most states, yes. After completing repairs, the vehicle must pass a state salvage/rebuilt inspection that verifies the VIN matches the title, checks the quality of the repair, and confirms parts weren't sourced from a stolen vehicle. Once it passes, the DMV issues a "rebuilt" or "prior salvage" title, which allows registration — though a small number of states restrict or prohibit rebuilding salvage titles entirely, so check your specific state's DMV rules first.

Any vehicle listed with a clean title was never declared a total loss and will register normally, just like a private-party used car purchase. Vehicles listed as "certificate of destruction" or similarly designated for parts-only, on the other hand, cannot be registered for road use under any circumstances — that status is permanent. Always check the title-type field on the listing itself; it's the single most reliable indicator.

Yes, this is one of the most common reasons buyers purchase salvage vehicles at auction. The general path is: repair the vehicle, get it inspected by your state's DMV or a state-approved inspection station, and apply for a rebuilt title. Insurance, financing, and resale can all be more limited on a rebuilt title compared to a clean one, so it's worth factoring that into your purchase decision, not just the repair cost.

Generally no — once a vehicle is branded salvage, that history stays on the title permanently in almost every U.S. state. After repair and passing inspection, it becomes a "rebuilt" or "prior salvage" title, which is legal to drive and register but will always disclose the salvage history. It won't revert to a clean title.

The listing's "loss type" or "damage type" field is your first stop — it'll show a category like collision, flood, fire, theft, or vandalism. For more detail, a vehicle history report pulled by VIN can sometimes show the insurance total-loss claim and the state where the salvage title was issued. Beyond that, an in-person inspection is the only way to confirm the actual physical condition behind the designation.

The title-status field on the listing will state it directly, the same as with cars and trucks. If you want independent confirmation, a VIN-based vehicle history report works for most motorcycles too, and many state DMV websites offer a free title-status lookup tool where you can verify before you commit to bidding.

In most cases, yes — a clean/clear title combined with a verified "runs and drives" status means the vehicle is legally road-ready once you've completed payment, paperwork, and any state-required temporary tag or transfer. It's still smart to confirm current registration validity and insurance coverage before driving any distance, especially across state lines.

No — auction inventory is typically a mix of salvage, rebuilt, and clean-title vehicles, sourced from insurance total-losses, repossessions, fleet turnovers, and dealer trade-ins. Each listing clearly states its title type, so it's easy to filter for whichever category fits your needs, whether that's clean-title used cars or salvage units priced for repair and resale.

Not necessarily. Low prices at auction usually reflect the sales channel rather than a scam: these are often fleet, repossession, or insurance-related vehicles being sold in bulk without the markup of a traditional dealership lot. That said, "clean title" only describes the paperwork status, not a full mechanical inspection — always review listing photos closely and, if possible, inspect in person, since cosmetic listings can still hide mechanical issues not visible in photos.

"Clean" in the title-status field means the same thing as clear or clean title elsewhere — the vehicle was never branded salvage. Combined with a verified run-and-drive status, you should be able to drive it away after completing your purchase, subject to the storage facility's own pickup and release procedures (which can include scheduling a release window or showing ID and payment confirmation).

In short: a salvage title means an insurer or owner declared the vehicle a total loss, usually because repair costs exceeded a state-set percentage of its value. It can't be legally driven or registered in that state until it's repaired and passes a state inspection, after which it becomes a rebuilt title. Financing and insurance options are typically more limited for salvage and rebuilt vehicles than for clean-title ones, which is worth weighing alongside the lower purchase price.

Not automatically — this just identifies State Farm as the entity that took ownership of the vehicle, most often after paying out a total-loss insurance claim. Most insurer-sourced vehicles are salvage, since that's the typical reason an insurance company ends up owning a car, but always confirm the title-status field directly rather than assuming based on the seller name alone.

It tells you the vehicle came out of a rental fleet, not its title status — fleet vehicles from companies like Avis or Budget are very often clean-titled, since they're typically rotated out for resale on a mileage or age schedule rather than damaged. As always, check the dedicated title-status field to confirm rather than inferring it from the seller name.

Most auction search tools let you filter by seller type or seller name, so you can narrow results to insurance-company sellers specifically and exclude dealer or third-party resale listings. This is the most reliable way to avoid buying a vehicle that an individual or dealer already bought from an insurer and is now reselling at a markup.