Alright heres the deal,

I was in the market for a 02-03 6spd. Recently i spotted an 02 6spd with every option (leather,navi,meridian) except HLSD. A private owner is selling it for an ASKING PRICE of 15.4k obo. The car has 25,000 miles. It is branded with a salvage title and he is the 2nd owner. Original owner got his car stolen and in an accident.

Okay so I went to go check it out yesterday. The car is very clean inside and out. Everything is restored to normal, all options work (pwr windows,seats etc) and the navi is sweet! Took it out for a quick test drive and everything feels fine. Stock VI works because of the surge of energy @ higher RPMs. No symptom of 3rd gear grind common on the 6spds. No clutch moaning either. Throttle is kind of laggy but I guess its the drive-by-wire and I come from driving a 96 5spd which has very responsive throttle (cable operated). But Basically everything runs fine EXCEPT the following....

The current owner showed me some polariod pix that the original owner took when the accident occured. The only area damaged was front drivers side bumper and small part of the fender. Accident doesn't look bad at all. I know fo sure I wouldn't consider this car totalled if I was an insurance company. But I don't know why salvage title was still given (prob cuz it was stolen before too). But heres the weird part.....I examined the passenger side front tire. There seems to be cupping on the tire. All the other tires are fine. but i'm not totally sure if its cupping. I can conclude two things though. Its either cupping from a messed up alignment caused by struts,steering rod, etc....OR....these tires just plain suck cuz they were bought used and it came like this. I dunno....they are dunlops btw (forgot which model)

So what do you guys think? I really want to consider this car. But what do you think is a good price? Should I try to low ball him? or give him a decent price becuz this car is really rare? Also I don't have a family mechanic so what should I do about that? It certainly passed my standards (clean,nice,everything works etc) but I'm not sure thru a mechanic's eye? Any input on this thread is greatly appreciated even if u wanna flame me bout considering a salvage title. Thanks ya'll and God bless

 

I would very highly recommend running as far away from a salvage titled vehicle as possible. Yes, he showed a pic, but it may not have even been the same car. Or it could've been flooded and floated into something to cause the dings. The list of possible problems down the road is endless.

With salvage:
1. You don't know what was damaged
2. You don't know how it was repaired
3. You have a horrid resale value
4. You'll be hard pressed to find full coverage insurance
5. You'll be hard pressed to get warranty work
6. The car is sold "as-is". They typically aren't even confident enough to give you 30 days.

Not a flame, just food for thought.

P.S. I got my '03 6spd Titanium Ed. with everything but HLSD and 28k miles for 19k back in Oct. '03. I'd suggest buying a clean titled '02 with a little higher milage for the same $ they're asking for this salvage.

 

Thanks housecor....anybody else want to input their opinion on this thread?

 

salvaged cars usually have frame damage

frame domage means that every component in the car is offline, everything wears out and breaks down 10x quicker. Salvaged cars usually have frame damage

Frame damage means that every component in the car is offline; everything wears out and breaks down 10x quicker.


The only salvaged car I would ever consider is theft recovery, otherwise stay away from salvaged cars. You never know what kind of nasty accident the car was in, also most of the salvage shops rebuild cars using cheap, used, replacement parts. They have mechanics that make 6dollars/ hour, making mickey mouse repairs.

 

I dont think you should get a salvaged car as well but i will tell you if you are still seriously considering purchasing this vechile go to any well known mechanic in your area and have him check it out. make sure he puts it on the lift and see if there is any frame damage. If he gives you the thumbs up and you dont mind taking all the risks associated in purchasing a salvaged vechile then go for it.

 

WHy's the guy selling it?

If the ins totalled it, it would have had damage about > 80% of its replacement value.

I think that car would be worth about 20k or so? So it must have had like 15 or 16k in damage. Doesn't sound like that pic had 18k in damage.

Or perhaps when it was stolen it wasn't recovered immediately and they paid the owner for it. Then after the payout, they recovered it. But I'm not sure if that gives it a salvage title.

But if it was stolen for that long, whoever had it proably beat the crap out of it.

Too many questions on this one.

 

See below threads (a week or less) on salvage-titled vehicles: lack of insurability, absolutely zero warranty, terrible resale, hidden damage, etc.

I'd give the guy $500 for the car -- what we give as the trade-in value at our dealership for any salvage-titled vehicles.

Given your tire cupping issue, run away. Run far away. The suspension is likely damaged and/or the frame is out of align and needs to be straightened?

 

I think what people are sayin is :
don't buy a salvaged title car!

 

You right about everything execpt number 4. Getting full coverage insurance on a salvage vehicle is easy. I'm speaking from experience of owning past salvage vehicles with full coverage with a few different insurance companies!!!

 

Any idea if your rates were higher due to the salvage title? Did they require an inspection? Just curious.

 

You might be able to find a 6sp that's in perfect condition within 1-2K thousand of this person's asking price. why waste your time with a salvaged piece of junk?

 

Alright thanks for everybody's opinion....I'm going to check out the car again this weekend and this time take it to an alignment shop. I will have them check the frame and see if everything is fine. If it passes inspection then negotiation will start. Since he is askin 15.4 I'm going to try and say "hey since this is a salvage title vehicle, I'm gonna assume your gonna gimme a big discount?"....And hopefully he knocks off a 2-3 thousand or so. If thats the case then i'm going to buy this car. I don't care wut anybody says....12 grand for a 2k2 6spd with navi/meridan/leather is a ****in steal....they retail for around 17 grand with a clean title (kbb,edmunds).

Once again thanks for everybodys input. Keep the flaming goin if u want *puts flame suit on*

 

This is inaccurate...most cars today are unibody and it means little to talk about frame damage like cars used to have with ladder types frames.

Salvage cars can be an ok deal IF repaired well. They are typically valued 30-40% LESS than a non salvaged title. So if the max would sell for 18K it should go for around 12K or so with a salavge title. Also realize that you wi;; have a hard time sellign the car, a bank may not lend you $ on the car and insurance could be a problem. If you are paying cash, can spot a poorly repaired car (which it sounds like you can't) and plan on keepig it a loong time (ie run it into the ground) it can be a good deal. Good luck

 

The dealer that fixed the car has to go through Motor Vehicle inspections. If it passes then car can be insuranced and register. Rates weren't any higher. They only went higher when I got a speeding ticket. I've also seen people buy salvaged cars and had a accident "not at fault" and when insurance totaled it, they gave full value of the car. Sometimes people get $3-4k more than they paid for the car.

 

that's too high for a salvage car. I got mine for $14200, and it's fine (no navi). I'd say 10k max for salvage title.

 

Not true in all states...

 

Your right, I'm just familar with Connecticut's Motor Vehicle laws.

 

what of maxima did you buy for 14200? how many miles? 6spd? what options?

The asking price is 15.4k.....it doesn't hes selling it at that price....it means there is room for negotiation. and i would DEFINITELY not buy this salvaged 2k2 6spd for 15.4.....i'm going to try 11,750 as a starting price and work my way up.