Wimimc

iTrader: (2)

would any of you buy one? now i know there are many factors involved. but lets say it has a clean title and the frame is good, and whatever was hit was fixed?

another question while i'm starting a thread, whats the highest mileage camaro/firebird you would buy? LS1s that is

FordGirlGoneBad

iTrader: (1)

A few years back I used to buy salvage cars, repair them and sell them (or keep them if they were f-bodies). I looked for a couple of specifics -- no core support damage, no frame damage and no water damage. They were the most expensive and were the most likely to cause problems in the future.

Out of the cars I've sold - not one person has called and complained and it's been two years since I've sold any. My black T/A is a salvage car, fixed it and four years later everything is wearing perfectly and no weird issues.

Don't be scared - take advantage of the good pricing, but go into it leaving your heart at the gate and make sure that the salvage laws aren't crazy in the state you live in. Sometimes that's enough to make you say no -- and unless you live in NY or NJ, just say no to salvage cars from those states.

vetteboy99

DEW IT!!!!! It's a great way to make hell alot of money

fasteddie94

iTrader: (2)

Core support damage isn't that big of a deal if you know what you are doing. Measure twice weld once and call it a day.

Wimimc

iTrader: (2)

oh i'm not thinking about buying one and fixing it, i'm talking about a used one that was in an accident, it was fixed, it is now for sale.

specifically this one

https://ls1tech.com/forums/what-wort...-2002-z28.html

i'm shopping around right now and at first was aiming for one around 70k or 80k miles with about $8,000 as my limit, but now i'm sort of opening up to ones with lower miles but cost more. and a few of them (including the one above) have been in accidents

caramaro

i say do it. i've had wrecked,and bought wrecked,it all depends on what you want to do with it.if you want to keep it forever as a show car,or collector car,no...but a driver,racer,whatever...no worries.they are getting harder to come by and i kind of like the fact someone fixes them and doesn't knock it in the head for parts. as for mileage,if it's been taken care of,they will go 300k easy.i would stick to around/under 150k if you want a driver.

TooLateVTEC

iTrader: (2)

Buy the nicest, lowest mile car you can afford.

When I was looking at them, I wasnt going to buy one with over 50 or so thousand miles, but thats just me.

Wimimc

iTrader: (2)

thanks for all of the advice, i'm trying to sell off some 3rd gen parts so i'll wait till the end of this month or july and see what i have for a down payment.

though one car that really has my eye is one of the guy's on here with 140k on the body and 51k on the motor and trans

samson_420

iTrader: (1)

Just depends on how well the restoration work was done. . . .


I seen way too many hack jobs. . . And I did half of them. . .LOL


If it is done right, you can restore a car to like new condition with very extensive damage it just cost money and takes time.


When, I do indepth work a lot of times people want to save money - Saving money = Cutting corners

TAtoad

iTrader: (22)

mine's salvage. everything fixed it came out to $8700. it was 5 years old and had 30K. i think it came out to a good deal. the only things i don't like about my car, or that bother me about my car are not related to it being salvage. e.i. squeaky worn rear suspension, weak diff, window motors. the usual

Sharpe

iTrader: (7)

Drive it first and make DAMN sure it doesn't pull one wa or the other. If it does, don't buy it.

JUICED1

iTrader: (3)

If your not a pro or at least good enough to reconize bad body work yourself then don't buy it without someone else looking at it. I remember when I was younger and I would look at cars and think they were great. I'd have my dad give them the once over and he'd say....don't buy this pos. That being said I'm sure you know someone good with cars or can find someone on this site to take a look at it for you. There are plenty of cars out there that were repaired professionally and you'd never really know the differnece from new.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Many cars get into accidents. This alone is not a reason to avoid them, some are very minor damage that is just cosmetic. IMO, buying a previously damaged car is no big deal so long as it was fixed properly (meaning, it looks and drives correctly).

bp944

iTrader: (4)

You are playing your luck a bit. Cosmetic damage is one thing but a serious accident with damage to the frame leaves you guessing a bit.

lt1pwr1

iTrader: (1)

You also need to remember that a salvaged title doesn't necessarily mean it was in an accident (although most of the time it is). You can get a salvaged title from a car being in a flood. That is something I wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole with today's advanced modules and electrical components. Can you imagine those modules and connections, wiring, corroding after a while and having to replace them or worse yet paying someone else? Also, alot of theft recoveries get a salvage title if enough was stolen off the car.

That is one I would personally look into. My dad's friend bought an 07' Tahoe that was a theft recovery and the engine and trans were taken out of the truck along with the wheels and two doors I believe. He knew people at auto salvage yards and was able to get everything for pretty cheap and he doesn't have to worry about the frame not being straight or flooding since it was a theft recovery. My point is don't go into it blind. Try to get a police report or something to see exactly what happened.

NastyNate65

I bought my car with a salvage title last year, have put 17k miles on it with no drivability issues whatsoever. Everything was fixed right and the car looks great. I couldnt be happier, especially since i saved like 4 grand

Wimimc

iTrader: (2)

no thats what i mean, the carfax says the frame is good as well as the title.

hmm i guess my next step would be the police report. how would i go about seeing it? especially if it is in another state?

well right now i have about 4 in mind.
next week i'll go check them all out.

i'll also flat out ask the dealer where the vehicle hit/was hit

FordGirlGoneBad

iTrader: (1)

If Carfax says the frame is good (and I don't know why they would put that in writing unless they've personally inspected the car) if there is any frame damage you could go after them.

Also, I doubt you could get a police report - that's between the drivers of the cars, the police department and the insurance company. If you weren't involved or if no one was ticketed, that's probably not public information.

If it's drivable, take your test drive to a trusted body shop and ask them to check it out and it wouldn't hurt to pay a few bucks to a shop for a "used car" inspection with your local mechanic.

Good luck to you.

Wimimc

iTrader: (2)

hmm thats weird then, because at on at least one of the vehicles it actually says which case number.

thats the thing though, these cars are about an hour + away =/

Dirty Vegas

iTrader: (12)

There are far too many used f-bodies out there with clean titles to even consider a salvage. You might have to travel some, but it will be far worth it in the end. You won't catch me paying full price for a car with a salvage title! My advice is to be patient, and ready to travel to get a deal.