Most buyers fear that a used car they’re looking at might have a more checkered history than they’d like. Slightly damaged and relatively new cars—salvaged or brand-titled, officially—are a cheap way to get a good deal, but reputable dealers tend to avoid stocking them. That may change.

According to Automotive Newssome dealerships can start buy lightly used cars that have been issued salvage titles from auctions and placed on lots due to the high demand and higher resale value for two and three year old vehicles. Many buyers have more and more are turning to used cars over the past few years, first due to supply chain issues, then inflation, and now, tariffs.

The salvage title vehicles that some top dealers will stock are not those that have been involved in serious crashes or that require significant structural repairs. Insurance companies can total vehicles for a variety of non-safety-related reasons, with only one repair considered more than the vehicle’s value — if it’s repaired with the correct new part and that repair is performed by a factory-trained technician.

This includes imperfect engines and transmissions, battery packs and electric motors that drive electric vehicles, or even weather-related damage received at the assembly plant, during delivery, or at the dealership. Some of these cars may have only a few thousand or a few hundred miles.

However, it is a slippery slope when the main sales lines start to practice this. It may happen soon, however, because while analysts expect an increase in vehicles that will come to the end of a three-year lease starting in the second quarter of the year and increase throughout, many will be EVs, which can be a difficult sale given the indefinite suspension of incentives for those. Drivers can choose to keep their vehicle at the end of the lease if they still want their car and a similar 2026 model will have higher monthly payments.

In any case, the unpredictable economy and tariff situation are likely to make it a difficult time for people to buy or sell a car this year, and “creative” solutions are in style.