How hard is it to get an R title for a car in the state of PA? whats in involved? I was thinkin of picking up a 03 cavi with front end damge and fixing her up but i would need to get an R-title for it

just see how much damage there is before buying it. take alot of before and after pics of restoring it back to the stock look. have it inspected by a good garage or Chevy dealer. then you just apply for the r title. your insurance company can point you in the direction to apply for the r title thou. send all the info to bud George and pray they accept it. when i totaled my old cavalier i bought it back from the insurance company and fixed everything that was wrong with it. sent all the info and photos to bud George. at first they denied it because the tail lights i bought to replace mine had covers on them. they said that they weren't stock tail lights and everything had to be stock replacements. so i took the covers off and resent all the info. they then gave me the r-title for my car. took about 2 months to get the r-title.

oh that *#$@ing sucks. I was gonna go aftermarket on everything.

nope stock or nothing then once u get the title then u can go aftermarket.

Be glad PA is so lenient, in CT you have to bring it to the state inspectors on a flat bed and if anything is wrong they fail it, don't even tell you what else is wrong, so when you flat bed it back up they find somethign else ad imfinum

Ryan Shissler wrote:oh that *#$@ing sucks. I was gonna go aftermarket on everything.

BIG PAIN IN THE ASS...

but, you need to fix the car to factory spec. take 4 pics (front back left side right side) and put them into a booklet you get from notary.

take it to a garage for initial inspection. fill out an application for registration and the booklet (to a T, no typos/mistakes this is a must!) and sent it into the DMV... if your application is approved, they send you back a plate and a registration card. Then you take it to the garage for the 2nd inspection with your registration card and they will sticker the car.

I just went through this on a salvage car last year. Never wrecked but repo'd and given a salvage title for auction purposes.


Dan Trump

2004 Cavalier LS Sport - Victory Red

make sure you don't have any window tint on the car or they can fail you on just that


Don't you bottom out?

- Yes I do

Hey,
I hate to bring this post back from the dead, but I have a related question and was hoping for some insight. It's been hard for me to find out the exact PA laws dealing with some easy-to-do car mods, like bumpers, projector headlights, etc., so I paid a visit to a nearby PA State Police station to ask. (Cops have to know, right?) So the State Trooper I talk to tells me basically, "It's stock or nothing. If it has any mods to it, it has to be branded with a 'reconstructed' title." I'm thinking,"...what the?!?..." but leave without making a fuss. If that's the case, you can kiss any of your resale value goodbye, plus the fact that your insurance company may or may not decide you're a poor risk and jack up your rates because of it. Anyone have any firsthand experience with what's going on with that? I'm having a hard time understanding what's legal and what isn't, and I just can't pour money into a car knowing it might have to be declared "reconstructed" just because I like the style of a different bumper on the car!!!

thats exactly why cops enforce laws and dont make them. that state trooper was blowing smoke up your ass.


01' Z24 5 speed
422whp/400wtq
T4 Turbocharged
Built LD9
HP Tuners

Reading through this thread, one thing comes to mind that is'nt mentioned...Here in Ohio, getting an R title is pretty much the same, except any parts that are put on the vehicle to replace damaged components, we HAVE to present a legitamate reciept for that part. so if I need to replace a bumper, and I've had one sitting around for a few years, and don't have a reciept for it, the car does'nt pass. Does'nt PA require this as well?
On a side to to michaelb, I purchased a car from a guy in PA that just so happened to have a salvage title, and he was fixing up a Grand Am for himself. And he was telling me he had to put door handles and locks, and a trunk lock back on his GA because in PA it is illegal to shave them.

I wonder if the Trooper meant it had to be declared a "modified" rather than "reconstructed" vehicle. I'm not considering "re-constructing" something from a pile of junk; I want to take a decent car and make it better than it was as stock! (And look nicer too!) I can see something in that legalistic way of thinking, up to a point. They have to make sure everyone is not just taking any old idea into their head and running with it. If that happened, the roads might be filled with slapped-together rolling heaps that would be an accident just begging to happen. I myself wouldn't want to hurt someone inadvertently and have it on my conscience for the rest of my life. Then again - if the manufacturer designed and set up the car with the "lowest common denominator" in mind, it stands to reason that specific tuning, aero and handling mods would make the car safer, not more of a danger. Did any of you have problems getting your cars to pass state inspection after you did your mods? Or did they just smile at you and say, "Nice car!"

After some more searching, I ran across this link from PA DOT, about getting a "modified" vehicle title. (It's funny how you can find stuff if you know the "legalese" words they use.) PA Modified Vehicle Titling Procedure PDF I think it might help to actually go to one of the inspection stations mentioned in the document and ask them what's what. They might know better than anyone if they are the ones certifying it for the state in the first place. I can live with a "modified" car... just not a "reconstructed" car!