Michigan VIN check

Who brands the title in Michigan

Titles are issued by the Michigan Department of State, the office of the Secretary of State. The rules for damaged cars sit in MCL 257.217c of the Michigan Vehicle Code. They turn on the term late model vehicle, which for a car or light truck of 8,000 pounds or less means the current model year and the five before it (MCL 257.24b).

When an insurer pays a claim and takes a late model car, the repair estimate for parts and labor, measured against the car’s value before the damage, sets the outcome. A stolen car recovered with no major component part missing or destroyed is an exception.

The salvage vehicle inspection

A salvage car gets no new title or plates until a specially trained officer certifies it. That officer is authorized by the Secretary of State and is a Department of State employee, an on-duty or off-duty police officer, or a former certified officer appointed by a local police agency to do these inspections. The officer certifies that:

• the vehicle identification numbers and parts identification numbers are correct;
• the applicant can prove ownership of the repair parts used;
• the car meets the equipment standards of the Vehicle Code;
• a properly licensed mechanic in the right specialty certified, on the department’s form, that the repairs were done in a workmanlike manner. The mechanic can’t be the same person as the officer.

The paperwork travels on form TR-13A, Application for Salvage Vehicle Inspection. Each police agency sets its own inspection fee, up to the cap in the statute. After a satisfactory inspection, the state issues a title bearing the legend “rebuilt salvage”.

Brands from other states follow the car

Under MCL 257.222, if another state issued a flood, rebuilt, salvage or scrap title, Michigan issues the same type of title, printed in a different color from ordinary titles. The title application also asks whether the car is a flood vehicle or ever held a flood title elsewhere. Michigan added its flood title in 2002 after the Department of State warned that water-damaged cars could be brought in from other states and given a regular title.

Those rules only work when the earlier brand shows up. A car totaled in a state that branded it lightly, or titled in between in a place that dropped the brand, can arrive with paperwork that looks clean. A history report lists title events state by state, so a gap or a brand that disappeared stands out. See flood damage check.

Rust from road salt

The Michigan Department of Transportation salts state highways through the winter, and many local road agencies salt their own roads too. Years of that brine attack brake lines, fuel lines, rocker panels, subframes and the seams around the rear wheel arches. None of it shows on a title, and a history report only hints at it through how long and where the car was registered.

1. Use the report to see how many winters the car spent in Michigan or other salt states, and whether it came from a dry state.
2. Put the car on a lift, or look underneath with a flashlight, before you agree a price.
3. Treat fresh undercoating on an older car with suspicion: it can hide scaling.
4. Check the brake and fuel lines along the frame rails, not only the body panels.

Checklist for a Michigan purchase

1. Read the title for salvage, scrap, rebuilt salvage or flood wording, and notice an unusual title color.
2. If it says rebuilt salvage, ask for the TR-13A with the officer’s and mechanic’s sections and the receipts for major parts.
3. Run a history report for total losses, auction records and brands from other states.
4. If the car was sold at a salvage auction, compare the lot photos with what you see now.
5. Check the underside for salt damage and have a mechanic inspect it before you pay.