I just bought this, how did I do?

[WhipperSnapper]

EDIT - very good news. We brought the title into the DMV and it was titled with no problems, the new title is clean. I guess it must not have been electronically classified as salvaged! I almost had anxiety-driven heart attacks last night. We are now so happy! So how do you think we did on the purchase in terms of vehicle value?

My search for a third vehicle is over for now, though maybe I'll want to replace an older 1998 Nissan Altima with something else soon. Here's what I bought from a Craigslist ad. The whole thing happened very fast as I knew it would when the right combination of vehicle/model/equipment/year/miles came along. I wanted something that could carry a little cargo without guzzling too much gas and ended up with this. So, how do you think I did?

2008 Kia Rondo, about 98.5k miles, $3500 cash. Very minor cosmetic damage on the passenger side, has a few quirks (radio issue) but seemed to run and drive well and looked taken care of. May need a little suspension work in the near future (at least one strut). It has almost new Toyo Celsius all-weather (semi-Winter) tires which is funny because I just put a set on the Nissan in early November (and it kicked ass in the snow).

EDIT, I can't delete this thread. Nevermind, about how I did. I fucked up because I wanted the vehicle and didn't think it through. The original listing was for $2500 but sold immediately as I had contacted the original owners. I think a flipper got it claiming to be the brother of the driver. It looks like I'm gonna have a salvage title issue at the DMV tomorrow since the insurance company salvaged it and I just have the title with the original seller's (probably not the flipper's) name and address with the check box for insurance company salvaged. I'm sure my state's DMV is going to tell me what to do with myself and the car tomorrow. There might be a process to get the title rebuilt assuming it doesn't have some invisible side frame damage that's non-repairable, but it looks like I probably lost $3500 to a scammer. I wonder if I could contact the original sellers and give them the car back and get the $2500 the flipper gave them back. Hopefully I can have it inspected at a salvage inspector, have it declared safe, and ultimately get it titled and move on in life.

Well, at least I'm not being prosecuted for rape or murder. I guess life could be a lot worse than being out $3500. What's sad is that the vehicle runs and drives great, I just won't be able to legally register or title it and legally drive it. I guess my lack of understanding of the system got me totally bamboozled. I gave the VIN to my insurance company who I assume scanned all insurance claims for the VIN and they didn't seem to think it was a big deal since it wasn't expensive to insure. Somehow I'll survive and move on, a broken, robbed man now $3500 poorer. Next time I'm buying from a dealer only I think.

EDIT - very good news. We brought the title into the DMV and it was titled with no problems, the new title is clean. I guess it must not have been electronically classified as salvaged! I almost had anxiety-driven heart attacks last night. We are now so happy!

 

[deadlyapp]

Just because it has a salvage title doesn't mean you can't title it? I don't see how you view yourself as out $3500.

Yes, you got taken for a ride, but as long as you view that you got a good deal (not that someone made money off your stupidity) then you didn't really lose.

Now, if you were an idiot and didn't look at the title before handing over the money, or it was falsely claimed as having a clean title, then yes, you did fuck up.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

EDIT - very good news. We brought the title into the DMV and it was titled with no problems, the new title is clean. I guess it must not have been electronically classified as salvaged! I almost had anxiety-driven heart attacks last night. We are now so happy!

Just because it has a salvage title doesn't mean you can't title it? I don't see how you view yourself as out $3500.

It wasn't really a "salvage title" - just the original title with the check box saying that the vehicle had sustained damage in excess of 80% of its actual cash value. I was concerned that at that point it meant the vehicle couldn't be re-titled anywhere else until it had a formal rebuilt salvage title and that I had a vehicle that was not legally driveable and that might be intelligible to be rebuilt. So, I was worried it was a total $3500 loss.

Yes, you got taken for a ride, but as long as you view that you got a good deal (not that someone made money off your stupidity) then you didn't really lose.

Now, if you were an idiot and didn't look at the title before handing over the money, or it was falsely claimed as having a clean title, then yes, you did fuck up.

I assume the prior title with the prior owner's check box mark of death is in a shred bin and marked for destruction now. My new title shows no indications of a salvage issue, so it's clean too! (Not that we're planning to sell this anytime soon.) All's well that ends well, I guess. We really like the vehicle though I wish that maybe it had some more cargo capacity. It does have 64 inches of flat floor so it should be able to take a bulky item like a 65" TV box, which is a functionality we lacked in our other two vehicles.

Now that that's all taken care of, how do you guys think we did on the purchase in terms of vehicle value?

 

[zinfamous]

It has almost new Toyo Celsius all-weather (semi-Winter) tires which is funny because I just put a set on the Nissan in early November (and it kicked ass in the snow).

Not sure if this is relevant to you, but I mention it because I saw it in my inbox this morning and then read this bit

https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls?nhtsaId=19T004

 

[WhipperSnapper]

Not sure if this is relevant to you, but I mention it because I saw it in my inbox this morning and then read this bit

Fortunately, no, but thanks for thinking about it though.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Looks like you found a nice SUV, and you got a great deal!
I hope it serves you well for many years.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

Looks like you found a nice SUV, and you got a great deal!
I hope it serves you well for many years.

Boy, I sure hope so. It just needs to get up to 135k miles and we'll have gotten or money's worth. It's not an SUV. It's best described as a mini-minivan. It's too bad that no one's making or selling anything like it in the US now. Mazda discontinued it's Mazda5 and Kia also discontinued the Kia Rondo. Maybe they just had low sales volume.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Boy, I sure hope so. It just needs to get up to 135k miles and we'll have gotten or money's worth. It's not an SUV. It's best described as a mini-minivan. It's too bad that no one's making or selling anything like it in the US now. Mazda discontinued it's Mazda5 and Kia also discontinued the Kia Rondo. Maybe they just had low sales volume.

Yea, I guess technicaly, it's an MPV .... They don't do well in the US for some reason, even though they are pretty big in other parts of the world
Main thing though, is you should be able to haul some stuff with it

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Boy, I sure hope so. It just needs to get up to 135k miles and we'll have gotten or money's worth. It's not an SUV. It's best described as a mini-minivan. It's too bad that no one's making or selling anything like it in the US now. Mazda discontinued it's Mazda5 and Kia also discontinued the Kia Rondo. Maybe they just had low sales volume.

I could unjustifiably consider myself quasi-expert on used car ownership. I'm a veteran of about 8 or 9 used cars over a lifetime, and one new one. Three of the others were same year and make as the new one -- I developed a "fleet" with interchangeable parts.

Keep an eye on peripherals like the alternator, starter, radiator, AC compressor, PS pump and so on. They may last until you reach your 135K breakeven point, then again -- who knows? Hoses and belts eventually require replacement, but that's considered routine maintenance.

Important to keep in mind that the vehicle is "orphaned". But parts should be available. You may salvage it if the engine needs overhaul; a tranny replacement may be a flip of the coin to you. Wait a minute . . . sure. Rockauto still offers most parts -- only a couple marked "out of stock". If you can get it at Rockauto, you can also find it elsewhere.

I'm running an "orphaned" vehicle, don't plan to get rid of it soon. Happier than a pig in s***.

 

[Dr. Detroit]

It's not an SUV. It's best described as a mini-minivan. It's too bad that no one's making or selling anything like it in the US now. Mazda discontinued it's Mazda5 and Kia also discontinued the Kia Rondo. Maybe they just had low sales volume.

We still have the wonderful Ford Transit Connect - redesigned this year too.

Rondo is definitely more minivan than SUV.