The Most Common Car Titles

Vehicle titles are records of ownership that are issued by the state where the owner lives. They include the car or truck’s vehicle identification number (VIN) as well as basic information such as make model and color.

Of more interest to those considering buying a vehicle, they also often include “brands” or descriptions of major incidents in the vehicle’s history. Owners can use these to help decide whether or not a vehicle suits their needs. Among the most common brands are:

A Clear Title

This title does not mean that a car has never been in an accident. However, it means that the vehicle has never had an accident so severe that the state where it is located has decided to write it off due to extensive repairs.

Salvage/Rebuilt Titles

A salvage title can occur with any vehicle where the insurer or the state decided that the car would cost more than 50 percent (or even higher in some jurisdictions) to repair. This is also known in some states as a “junk” title. It is also used in many states, mainly along the Atlantic Seaboard, to refer to stolen vehicles.

However, an owner may still choose to have the vehicle repaired, and if it passes inspection, then the title may be labeled as “salvage rebuilt.” This means that the vehicle suffered significant damage, but was repaired to an operable condition.

Lemon, Theft and “Fleet”

Some vehicles may have designations that don’t make immediate sense to all potential owners. For example, “fleet” is a common designation you might see on sedans or larger vehicles. These mean that they were operated by a number of operators, whether law enforcement, taxi services or even rental car fleets. It may mean that there is above-average wear on the vehicle.

In the 39 states that don’t list stolen vehicles as salvage, there is also a “theft” brand, which may mean any number of things happened to the vehicle. And finally, if a car had to be returned to the dealership under the state’s “lemon” laws for defects can also be listed. Each of these brands requires care, but does not necessarily mean that the vehicle would be a bad purchase.

Non-operable

There are several types of vehicle branding that are critical to buyers. These include the irreparable or wrecked designations. A vehicle with an “irreparable” brand is one that can only be used for parts, while wrecked should not be seen on a brand, because it means that the vehicle should have been destroyed.