There is a beautiful black wagon for sale in auto trader. It's got low miles, but it has a "past"... It has a salvage title.
To begin with, how was this model year?
Is this a reliable wagon without a past accident?
What do I look for? What questions should I ask? What do I look for in a test drive?
It really is pretty...

Salvage title means that the insurance company wrote it off, it will cost more to fix than it is worth. Unless you can get it dirt cheap, don't bother. The replacement parts may not be genuine, the frame could have been "straightend", there could be more bondo than metal, it will rust soon, it could have been under water for a day or two...

Skip it.
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95 854T, 88 780, 88 245

Ok... the counter view....
Salveage repairs happen for 3 reasons:
1. The car is so seriously damaged it can't be repaired.
2. Its been stolen and recovered (sometimes with crash damage)
3. The cost of a replacement car plus repairs is higher than the cost of writing it off.

If it was written off for number 3 then it may actually have very little damage to it. If 1 then don't touch it. If 2 then bear in mind you have no idea how its been driven until it was recovered (but then you don't know that anyway!)....

Apply the usual methods of checking but just do so even more rigourously...
Also if possible find out what was wrong (photos showing damage are very useful!) and what was replaced and whether genuine parts were used.

Basically just take care....