Find history of a slightly pwned Toyota?

[nedfunnell]

I am looking at this as my next car:
http://louisville.craigslist.org/cto/4827959727.html
I want to find out what happened in its history to give it a Salvage title, because the pictures damage does not look serious enough. I have heard mixed reviews about Carfax, and don't want to pay $40 to find out for myself. I could try calling every Toyota dealership within 200 miles to try and find a dealer service history, but that seems like a lot of work to me for not a likely success. Suggestions?

 

[master_shake_]

insurance companies write everything off these days.

it's a lot cheaper than trying to fix a car to a customers satisfaction.

it is possible that the uni-body was shifted and out of square.

looking at the pictures the left front was shoved back in to the fuse panel and IIRC that is where the hybrid controller is.

 

[nedfunnell]

insurance companies write everything off these days.

it's a lot cheaper than trying to fix a car to a customers satisfaction.

it is possible that the uni-body was shifted and out of square.

looking at the pictures the left front was shoved back in to the fuse panel and IIRC that is where the hybrid controller is.

Good to know. The seller says it is drivable, so I will assume no damage to that. I can pull OBDII codes though. Maybe other electrical problems, though.

 

[cbrsurfr]

A non-wrecked same generation Prius as that one around me is 6-9K. By the time you fix everything it needs you are at the same price but will have a car with a salvage title. You may also have to have it inspected to make it registerable again in your state. Not worth it IMO.

 

[Harrod]

The headlight bucket will need to be bent back into place or replaced as well.

I'd be interested in whats missing connected to that thing behind the bumper. towards the wheel, it looks like there is a hose that is no longer connected to anything.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Insurance companies don't write off a vehicle with only $400-500 worth of damage. There has to be something else majorly wrong with this vehicle for them to total it.

I wouldn't touch it personally.

 

[PottedMeat]

lol

THE VALUE OF THE CAR IS WORTH $14500

Vehicles vill need following part
Hood $65.00 Certifit Auto parts show contact info
front bumper cover $36,00 Cetifit Auto parts show contact info
left fender $29.00 Cetifit Auto parts show contact info
left headlight $68.00 Cetifit auto parts.

...sure if you don't paint them

the left fender is about ~$200+ painted

A non-wrecked same generation Prius as that one around me is 6-9K. By the time you fix everything it needs you are at the same price but will have a car with a salvage title. You may also have to have it inspected to make it registerable again in your state. Not worth it IMO.

this

 

[nedfunnell]

lol



...sure if you don't paint them

the left fender is about ~$200+ painted






this

Yeah, he is full of it on the repair costs and the estimated value.

If I could talk him down below $4500 and install my own already-painted panels, it might be a good deal. I asked a shop about doing the work, they wanted over $2000. Still not a total-worthy amount.

Anybody got ideas on finding the true history of this car?

 

[nedfunnell]

The headlight bucket will need to be bent back into place or replaced as well.

I'd be interested in whats missing connected to that thing behind the bumper. towards the wheel, it looks like there is a hose that is no longer connected to anything.

Headlight wiring?

 

[cbrsurfr]

The pass fender and rear bumper are also damaged. The rad/core support looks to be damaged as well, the headlight would bolt to that. It's also missing the splash shield and possibly the under engine aero tray or pieces of it (hard to tell). Also from looking at other photos there's a support bracket under the headlight missing.

Hard to tell but the door gap between the front and rear doors may have been affected as well.

If this was a cheap easy fix a shop would have bought it already. There's no profit in the car and if you have to pay to have everything done you'll end up with more in the car than it's worth.

 

[jlee]

http://lexington.craigslist.org/cto/4818003042.html
http://lexington.craigslist.org/cto/4797978195.html
http://evansville.craigslist.org/cto/4819327696.html

I would do any of those first.

 

[cabri]

A non-wrecked same generation Prius as that one around me is 6-9K. By the time you fix everything it needs you are at the same price but will have a car with a salvage title. You may also have to have it inspected to make it registerable again in your state. Not worth it IMO.

Insurance companies don't write off a vehicle with only $400-500 worth of damage. There has to be something else majorly wrong with this vehicle for them to total it.

I wouldn't touch it personally.

An insurance company will total the vehicle at 75% of book value.

Therefore at the low end, there is $4.5K of damage that they expect. At the high end there is $6K of damage.

Yeah, he is full of it on the repair costs and the estimated value.

If I could talk him down below $4500 and install my own already-painted panels, it might be a good deal. I asked a shop about doing the work, they wanted over $2000. Still not a total-worthy amount.

Anybody got ideas on finding the true history of this car?

$4.5k PLUS the 4.5 of insurance estimated repairs and you are looking at $9K - the high end of a undamaged vehicle.

Find out who the insurance company was that totaled the vehicle and contact them.

Even if you were to obtain the parts and labor at a 25% discount rate; you are looking at $8K for the vehicle.



Sinking $8K into a questionable vehicle and you are concerned about $40 for a carfax report Talk about being penny wise and $$ foolish.

If the owner will not provide you with the needed info of the insurance company; walk away - they are hiding something.

 

[cbrsurfr]

http://evansville.craigslist.org/cto/4819327696.html

I would do any of those first.

In the next to last pic it looks like the guy is using touchup paint on the hood. LOL