Georgia VIN check

Georgia’s salvage test: two major parts

Titles in Georgia are handled by the Motor Vehicle Division of the Georgia Department of Revenue (DOR). Most states define salvage by repair cost against value. Georgia also counts parts. A vehicle is salvage when getting it running again would mean replacing two or more major component parts. It is also salvage when an insurer paid a total loss claim and it hasn’t been repaired, whatever the damage. The five major component parts are:

• the front clip: fender, hood and bumper
• the rear clip: quarter panels, floor panel assembly and roof (a soft top included)
• the engine and transmission
• the frame
• a complete side: fenders, doors and quarter panel

A salvage vehicle can’t legally be driven on Georgia roads. An insurer that keeps a total loss must apply for a salvage title in its own name within 30 days of settling the claim. A car that was scrapped, dismantled or demolished goes the other way: under O.C.G.A. § 40-3-36 its title goes to the MVD Salvage Unit, and the car can’t be repaired or legally driven again.

The rebuilt inspection, before the paint

Anyone who buys a salvage or wrecked car to restore it must be licensed as a rebuilder. Once the car is restored, but before it is painted, it must pass inspection by a DOR state inspector or a state-approved private inspector. DOR rules bar the builder, rebuilder or owner from inspecting their own car. The inspector checks the VIN, the damage photos and the labor and parts certification, and fills in a Salvage Motor Vehicle Inspection Report (Form T-172).

For the title application the rebuilder gathers:

• photos of the car in its wrecked condition, taken before any repair
• Form MV-1 (title and tag application) and the original salvage title
• Form T-22R, the request for inspection
• Form T-129, the labor and parts certification, in the rebuilder’s name
• receipts for every part with names and stock numbers, and for used parts the VIN of the donor car

A private inspection is generally done the same day, and the inspector is paid $100. A state inspection takes 4 to 6 weeks to process, costs $118 with the title fee, and the salvage car has to be towed there. If the car passes, DOR issues a title with REBUILT as the legend and the rebuilder’s name on it.

What the Georgia paperwork can’t show

The rules list what the inspector verifies: the VIN against the salvage title, the parts on Form T-129, and the photos of the unrepaired car. Nothing in that list measures the frame or tests how the car drives, so get a mechanic’s opinion too. And a car totaled in a state with weaker branding rules may reach Georgia without any of the brands listed above.

A history report fills that gap with title brands, insurance total losses, odometer readings and salvage auction sales from other states. If the car went through Copart or IAA, the auction report shows the lot photos and the damage recorded at the sale.

Lemon law buybacks in Georgia

Georgia’s Motor Vehicle Warranty Rights Act covers new vehicles for the first 24 months or 24,000 miles after delivery. When a manufacturer reacquires a car under it, or under another state’s lemon law and brings it into Georgia, it must tell the next owner why. It must also warrant the defect for one year or 12,000 miles and notify the Consumer Protection Division. The first retail buyer reads and signs the Georgia Lemon Law Notice for Reacquired Vehicles before the sale.

Before you buy in Georgia

1. Check the title for REBUILT and the rebuilder’s name.
2. Ask for the inspection documents: pre-repair photos, Form T-129 and the parts receipts.
3. Compare the photos with the car. Damage to two or more major parts should show up in the repair.
4. Get a history report for brands and total losses from other states, especially flood or water.
5. On a late-model car, ask whether it was reacquired under a lemon law and ask for the signed notice.