Piston Slap: Branded Title = Scarlet Letter?

Sajeev Mehta
by Sajeev Mehta

Darrick writes:

Hey Sajeev,

First of all, I want to say that I enjoy your articles and your love of Panther and Fox body Fords. (Woot! —SM)

I’m writing to you about my 2005 Ford Focus SE ZX4 in the hope that you may give me some guidance.

I moved to the east coast (southeastern Virginia) from the Midwest in 2008. A year later, I received a brutal lesson in what coastal flooding can do to a neighborhood and when said flooding finds its way into a vehicle. My Focus sustained $3,500 in damages, and nearly all that amount was due to airbag and seatbelt system damage. I had insurance, so I was only out of my $100 deductible, but the damage cost was such that I now have a branded title due to flood damage.

I didn’t try to force the insurance company to total it. At the time, I was simply happy to have the car repaired and I didn’t really want to find (and finance) another car. I resolved to drive the thing until the wheels fall off. All this happened at 73,000 or so miles and a month after I paid it off.

Surprisingly, I’ve only identified a bad window regulator and shift selector as ‎caused by latent flood damage. I suspect I could drive it awhile before expensive problems start to creep up. However, I’m close to passing my 10th year of owning it, the odometer is approaching 148,000 miles, and I’m starting to pine for something new.

Naturally, the branded title ‎is presenting a problem. If I finally decide to part with the car, what would you do if you were me? Should I just take what little I can get on trade-in, sell it myself, drive it to Pick ‘n Pull, or donate it? Perhaps there is a solution I haven’t considered? In all cases, I’m certain I couldn’t (and shouldn’t) fail to disclose the status of the title.

In pure dollars-and-cents terms, I should just continue driving it, but I’m curious to know what you think.

Sajeev answers:

That thrill is gone for all of us at some point.

You covered all the bases, but there’s no way to know which gives you the most cash in cases of a branded title. You must get an estimate from each group; market values change all the time. It’s safe to say that the junkyard will be the lowest, unless there’s an unlikely glut of Focus drivers and not enough parts in your area.

Your first step is to get an appraisal from a local dealer or a Carmax. Dealers usually meet or beat Carmax to get a sale, but wait until you’ve negotiated the final price of the new car before playing that card. With that number in hand, sell it on Craigslist for a price that would make it worth your while. Consider the extra time involved (your time is money!) and the tax savings you get from lowering the price of your new car from the trade-in value. If the numbers don’t add up, delete the Craigslist posting.

Car donations are something I have yet to experience, so be weary of the organization. This handy article notes that you can no longer donate a vehicle for market value, unless said charity gives the vehicle to someone to aid in their charity work: maybe like this place.

Do you know an accountant? Ask one about the charity angle, but you’ll never get around that branded title.

My advice is to enjoy that Focus for as long as possible: one trip to Carmax will likely prove my point.

[Image: Shutterstock user Sergey Yechikov]

Send your queries to sajeev@thetruthaboutcars.com. Spare no details and ask for a speedy resolution if you’re in a hurry…but be realistic, and use your make/model specific forums instead of TTAC for more timely advice.

Sajeev Mehta
Sajeev Mehta

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  • NeilM NeilM on May 06, 2016

    Except that the flood damage was 7 years and 75K miles ago. Anything that was going to happen to it as a result has already happened. As cheap transportation that runs it would work for someone.

  • Stereorobb Stereorobb on Jun 01, 2016

    a 10 year old focus with 200k miles on it is a $500 car in my neck of the woods... if it still runs and its payed off, get something new and just drive the focus as a beater until it blows up.

  • ToolGuy North America is already the greatest country on the planet, and I have learned to be careful about what I wish for in terms of making changes. I mean, if Greenland wants to buy JDM vehicles, isn't that for the Danes to decide?
  • ToolGuy Once again my home did not catch on fire and my fire extinguisher(s) stayed in the closet, unused. I guess I threw my money away on fire extinguishers.(And by fire extinguishers I mean nuclear missiles.)
  • Carson D The UAW has succeeded in organizing a US VW plant before. There's a reason they don't teach history in the schools any longer. People wouldn't make the same mistakes.
  • B-BodyBuick84 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport of course, a 7 seater, 2.4 turbo-diesel I4 BOF SUV with Super-Select 4WD, centre and rear locking diffs standard of course.
  • Corey Lewis Think how dated this 80s design was by 1995!
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