I'm currently searching for a 4th gen, preferably 97-98, and I recently found a nice 97 white GXE 5sp. Only problem is the car was written off as a wreck sometime in it's past.

Car was REAR-ended when it had 33K miles and insurance co. wrote it off. Dealer then bought it and fixed it up, the car now has 43 000miles and has been certified and E-tested. According to the dealer, there is no frame damage present and car runs like a beauty(doesn't mean much coming from the dealer though )

The car is selling for 12900$ CAN so around 8K US and only has 43K on it. I'm going to check it out sometime this week and wanted to know what you guys think.

 

Wouldn't chance my life to a car that has been in a heavy hit, the car is never the same.

There have to be other Used cars out there, that are in better condition, but may cost more.

-No Price on Safety.

 

unless u did the repairs yourself...i wouldn't risk it.

 

I appreciate the input guys...

I'm just thinking, if the car has been certified and E-tested after being repaired, isn't that some sort of indication that the car was fixed properly since they are aware that they're inspecting a car that had been accidented.

I doubt they would certify a car that still had outstanding damages and did not meet road safety regulations.

 

Its easy to get certs for accident cars, gotta know the right people, and there are quite a few "rolling wrecks" out there. The only way to test if the car was re-built correctly is to smash it into a wall, and conduct all the tests all over.

Do you understand what I mean ? fresh undercoat, and blending and anything can be certified.

Consumer Reports: Wrecks in Disguise

This article should help you out w/ the truths and myths about wrecked cars on the road.

 

An accident car is an accident car. It will always be an accident car. No matter how good someone fixes it, it's still an accident car & always will be. And trust me, you will keep running into problems if you buy an accident vehicle.

 

Your statement is crude and quite general at best. Some of the best rebuilders have rebuilt cars matching OE specs, if not exceeding them in some instances. Always battle scar will remain, but if you know what you are doing, you can rebuild a car correctly, and still turn a profit. This is the case in Florida, where some of the best rebuilders are.

Not 100% of the time. very few rebuilders will actually take the time to rebuild a car complete. Those that use their cars for personal use, always do, but if profit taking is in mind, compromises can/might(not will) be made, depending on work ethic, and damage of car.

 

My '98 SE has a reconstructed title. I bought it because it had front end cosmetic damage, needed a new radiator and the airbags deployed. That was enough of a cost for the insurance company to "total" it.

The frame is straight, and all the problems I've had are normal problems. My alternator died at 60,000 miles and my passenger-side differential bearing went bad at 62,000 miles -- both problems have nothing to do with the accident. I bought the car with 31,000 miles on it, and have had no out-of-the ordinary problems.

I DID see pictures of the damage, and took the car to a frame shop to have them assess the frame's integrity. They said it looked good, and that was good enough for me. My car was worth about $18,000 when I bought it (book value), and I got it for $11,700. I have NOT had $6,300 in accident-related repairs to make, and I don't anticipate having any. In my opinion, my buy was not ill-advised.

Make sure you do your research and have experts look at the car. Nothing is a sure bet, but having two or three sets of experienced eyes inspect the car can't hurt.

 

Maxwell, thank you, your car is a prime example, that even after an accident, life ain't over.

-Peace

 

No way, for $8,000 you could get a clean car of the same trim, with a clean title. Even though it has low miles, it's probably because it was sitting in a body shop for a year. If you can get it for about 6 or 7,000 USD go for it, but otherwise forget it.

 

Work ethic, aren't we getting a bit philosophical? Since when do cars and ethics go together? The insurance co. is in the business of making money, and they total vehicles and wholesale them when beyond repair. It's like buying a home that's a fixer-upper, if you can do the work yourself you can make some cheddar. Who would buy a fixer-upper and then hire contractors to fix it for them at contractor rates?

 

Frank, thank you, I have seen the light.

-I'm in ChimpDj-World. 0(';')0

 

I bought a 90 maxima gxe that had been wrecked. The car was hit hard on the front end and required en entire new fron frame assembly. The shop that re-built the car had before and after pictures and work in progress photos. The car was properly rebuilt and never once in the 5 years that I owned the car did any problems arise. I bought the car for 10k in Dec of 1990 and traded the car in march of 1996 for 7500 with 145,000 miles on the OD. This was a perfect car for a college student, not alot of money and relatively nice. While in college the car was in one severe accident, a head on collision with a mazda 929 at 35 mph. The car held up extremely well and I drove it away from the wreck. I am uncertain if I would buy another re-built car now that I have a good job. But if I had a family I definately would not, but under the circumstances of the time the car served a very useful purpose and provided cheap reliable transportation. Always use a reputable body shop!