On a 18 year old car a salvage title means nothing. My 1jz car has a salvage title. It was no extra work at all to get in my name. I just smogged it and went to pay the fees at dmv and I was done. A mk3 can be salvaged because something as simple as scratched paint. If you don't want the car after it got scratched and you want a payout instead you just go to the most expensive paint place in town and get a quote, if it's more then bluebook for the car, it's salvaged. That was the case with my mk3, there were minor dents and scratches and they got a payout and then bought the car back for $200 and drove it around for a few years before selling it to me. The car you want to buy had no major damage, I drove it and worked on it myself in the past.
