Salvaged Vehicle - Would any of you consider purchasing?

[Bumrush99]

Guys,
Here is the situation- I'm in the process of closing on a home and was told to not lease or finance any vehicles until the actual closing, ETA 2-3 months. To make a long story short my company car is going away at the end of the month and I need to purchase a vehicle cash..

Looking on craigslist I came across a posting for a car I love, a 350z for 11k. Most of them from 2003 start around 19k in my area, up to around 23k. The owner indicated that the vehicle had been labeled a salvaged vehicle in the State of California (basically meaning repairing the vehicle would not be cost effective, over 75% of the value). The car was sold to company in Florida with a little over 1,500 miles. They repaired the car and it looks like every other 305z on the road.The new owner claims that the title in Florida is clean and that he has driven over 44,000 miles on the vehicle with no mechanical problems . He also claims that the damage was limited to the rear axle, not the engine.. The car drives great.

I'm usually very cautious when purchasing a vehicle, but I really really love this car. This is something I would normally walk away from, but assuming that the vehicle passes a lengthy examination by Nissan, would this be something anyone here would consider spending a nice chunk of change on?

 

[sniperruff]

rear axle damage... but anyway $11k seems fishy.

 

[Tuktuk]

If it passes an inspection and is deemed just as good as any other 350z, I could see myself going for it.

But you have to ask yourself.. if its such a great value why is he getting rid of it?

 

[Kromis]

Originally posted by: sniperruff
rear axle damage... but anyway $11k seems fishy.

Quite fishy indeed.

So...no pics?

 

[Aimster]

Nissan dealerships suck. They have horrible people working for them so I wouldn't trust them with anything.
** puts on flamesuit **

As for your other question regarding buying it, NO.
Buy a Civic for now for around 3-4k and then when you have the money in the future buy a non-salvaged 350z.

 

[Bumrush99]

The 11k does seem very fishy to me..
I did some google searches last night and according to some of the sites, owners that knowingly sell a salvaged vehicle without informing the party purchasing the car are liable should something happen.. However the title is clear, I'm wondering if this person may be the only honest human being in Florida or if something else is fishy about this deal

 

[giantpinkbunnyhead]

I would stay away from anythign salvage, just because the histories are SOOOO questionable. What I might do is, buy something cheap and temporary for 2-3 months; then when your house closes, go buy another car then and get rid of the temp.

 

[PokerGuy]

No way would I purchase anything that's been labeled 'salvage'. It means there's something very wrong with the car, not just a minor issue. It might have been flooded for example -- you'd never see if after it's been cleaned up, but you'd be paying the price later when everything starts rusting and you have all sorts of electrical issues. Nope, there are other cars you can get for $11k that will do the job.....

 

[gsethi]

Stay away from Salvage. If getting a salvage vehicle, stay under $3k and use it as a beater. No one will want your salvaged car when you want to sell it. Also, you dont know what kind of damage it is.

Of course, all salvaged cars have very little minimal damage to the body/axle etc and no damage to the engine/transmission. :roll: If nothing was wrong with it, then why is he selling it for so cheap ?

 

[Viper GTS]

Originally posted by: giantpinkbunnyhead
I would stay away from anythign salvage, just because the histories are SOOOO questionable. What I might do is, buy something cheap and temporary for 2-3 months; then when your house closes, go buy another car then and get rid of the temp.

Smart man.

Go spend $2-3K on a ~10 year old, 150K mile import commuter car. In 3 months after you have your house, sell it for the same amount you paid for it and go buy whatever you want.

Don't blow $11k on a previously totalled sports car. There's a reason it's $11k, nobody wants to buy it. You'll be faced with the same situation when you try to sell it.

Viper GTS

 

[lokiju]

If it seems to good to be true...

 

[Toastedlightly]

Spend 3k on a domestic w/ 100k miles and a 3.8L V6

 

[spidey07]

I would NEVER buy a car with a salvaged title. It was salvaged for a reason.

 

[Mermaidman]

Originally posted by: Kromis

Originally posted by: sniperruff
rear axle damage... but anyway $11k seems fishy.

Quite fishy indeed.

So...no pics?

Took me 20s, n00bs!

 

[Bumrush99]

Originally posted by: Mermaidman

Originally posted by: Kromis

Originally posted by: sniperruff
rear axle damage... but anyway $11k seems fishy.

Quite fishy indeed.

So...no pics?

Took me 20s, n00bs!

Thanks for saving me the trip
The logical part of my brain says no fning way, the emotional part really really loves that car

 

[Sukhoi]

I wouldn't buy it regardless, but does the guy even have proof of the California stuff? With the Florida location it sure sounds like a Katrina flood vehicle.

 

[teckmaster]

get the vin and order a carfax report

 

[Bumrush99]

Originally posted by: Sukhoi
I wouldn't buy it regardless, but does the guy even have proof of the California stuff? With the Florida location it sure sounds like a Katrina flood vehicle.

The new Florida Title is Pre-Katrina.

The owner claims that the company that did the rebuild is located in Tampa, Florida and that he is going to email the companies website and contact information. They supposedly specialize in repairing these types of vehicles.

 

[gsethi]

Originally posted by: Bumrush99

Originally posted by: Sukhoi
I wouldn't buy it regardless, but does the guy even have proof of the California stuff? With the Florida location it sure sounds like a Katrina flood vehicle.

The new Florida Title is Pre-Katrina.

The owner claims that the company that did the rebuild is located in Tampa, Florida and that he is going to email the companies website and contact information. They supposedly specialize in repairing these types of vehicles.

Ask for invoice from that "company" for all the work done on this particular car.

Ofcourse, I can claim that I got my car fixed at the dealership but the reality could be different.

 

[Googer]

A lot of Hurricane Katrina damaged cars are ending up here in Florida. I would steer clear of any thing that has a salvaged title, your just begging for trouble. If you really want this 350z, I suggest you wait a few more years for it to drop down in to your price category. In the mean time, keep putting money away because wealth does not come by accident. Prosperity comes through savings and hard work. And anyone stuck making car payments will never ever become wealthy, you will always be poor. Buy a classic Z and be done with it, at least those may appreciate in value. Bill gates would not be a Billionaire if he went and blew all of his savings on things that went down in value.

 

[Bumrush99]

Originally posted by: gsethi

Originally posted by: Bumrush99

Originally posted by: Sukhoi
I wouldn't buy it regardless, but does the guy even have proof of the California stuff? With the Florida location it sure sounds like a Katrina flood vehicle.

The new Florida Title is Pre-Katrina.

The owner claims that the company that did the rebuild is located in Tampa, Florida and that he is going to email the companies website and contact information. They supposedly specialize in repairing these types of vehicles.

Ask for invoice from that "company" for all the work done on this particular car.

Ofcourse, I can claim that I got my car fixed at the dealership but the reality could be different.

Of course..... They sold him the car... It could be a BS story, at the end of the day unless I'm at least 99% sure that car is structurally and mechanically sound I'll walk away from the deal.

 

[essasin]

Find out exactly what happend to the rear end. What did they repair, replace, and the degree of the accident. For the most part, once a car has been in a really rough accident it never rides the same from a performance point of view.

 

[Bumrush99]

Originally posted by: Googer
A lot of Hurricane Katrina damaged cars are ending up here in Florida. I would steer clear of any thing that has a salvaged title, your just begging for trouble. If you really want this 350z, I suggest you wait a few more years for it to drop down in to your price category. In the mean time, keep putting money away because wealth does not come by accident. Prosperity comes through savings and hard work. And anyone stuck making car payments will never ever become wealthy, you will always be poor. Buy a classic Z and be done with it, at least those may appreciate in value. Bill gates would not be a Billionaire if he went and blew all of his savings on things that went down in value.

I agree to a large extent and have been very good with my spending, I haven't made a car payment in 5 years and don't really want to start making payments on top of my other expenses. We try to save at least 3k a month, but I'd also like to enjoy something if it is feasible and a good deal.. However judging from everything here, it really looks like I have to be near 100% certain that the car was not flooded. If I can verify that it had rear end damage and can verify 100% that the damage inflicted was repaired properly, it may be something worth getting. One thing I won't do is lie when I sell it to the next purchaser, which already guarantees that I won't get much for it if and when I decide to sell it.

 

[AaronB]

If I believed that this was an accident issue and not a flood issue then yes, I would pay 11k for that car as long as I was satisfied with the repairs. Resale wouldn't be an issue since I would be keeping it long enough that it would be a moot point.

I used to be a mechanic though and I know what to look and listen for. A PPI should help you determine if this vehicle has been repaired properly.

If it was a flood vehicle I wouldn't pay anything for it.

 

[spidey07]

Bumrush, don't buy that car.

Here's my salvaged title story. Bought a car, mechanic checked it out and said everything was good. So I bought what I thought was a great deal!

Two months later transmission shot. one month later, motor problems, suspension problems. Finally found out the frame was bent (from an accident) causing all these problems. Tried to get the attorney general to do something...it's totally legal to sell a car that isn't fit to be driven.

There is a reason it is salvaged and there is a reason it is so cheap. You don't want to be driving down the road and have your rear axle fall out do you?