My position after two rebuilds: yes, narrowly. A salvage car auction buy makes sense only when (a) you or someone you trust can do the labor, (b) the damage is cosmetic or bolt-on, and (c) you plan to keep the car past the point where resale penalty matters. Break any of those and the clean-title car was cheaper all along.
Is a salvage title ever worth it? The eternal debate
Counterpoint from the insurance side: budget for the insurability check before bidding. Some carriers won't write comprehensive on rebuilt titles at all, and liability-only changes the whole ownership math.
And the resale penalty is not a myth — plan on 20–40% under clean-title book no matter how good the repair is. Buy salvage to drive, not to flip.