94BlackSSClone

I have been looking for ls1 cars, preferably a trans am and have found a few with low miles and rebuilt titles. If it drives straight, had all body dents fixed and air bags replaced, what else should I look for not to buy? Or should it just having a rebuilt title disqualify it from my list to look at? I am on a pretty tight budget and from first glance, if I could drive these cars, it looks like the way to go. For instance, I found a 2002 trans am, white with 45,000 miles, brand new tires, borla exhaust, and ram air hood/intake with the high rise spoiler for negotiable $8900. No problems except for a small crack in windshield. The add said that it had been driven for two years after the wreck and never had any problems and always drove straight. I found a couple more like this as well.

Comments?

MJK

iTrader: (3)

Thats a real tough one to call man..

Rebuilt title cars are VERY much on a case by case situation.It really depends on what happened to it.

If you are not familiar with cars and what's "not normal",I would suggest taking a car to two places.

One:a trusted mechanic who could give you a goo idea of what condition it's in mechanically.

Two: a GOOD body shop.A good body repair man should be able to pin point where repairs were made and give you basic idea of what happened to the car if there was a collision.

waldershrek

iTrader: (1)

It's hard to say when you don't know who did the work, the quality of the work or the extent of the damage the car had. I would pass if I could not confirm any of these three details.

Cole Train

iTrader: (30)

my dad builds repairables and i have grown up around them so i've never been scared of 'em. Although i buy 'em from him or pay him to fix ones i buy along with helping him with them i really agree that if you don't know who did the work i'd take it to a mechanic AND a body shop and have them look over it. My Dad shows them before pics of the damage that he fixed and what he had to do to fix them. Allows people to actually see what all was damaged. He doesn't fix hard fixes though. Replaces doors, fenders, bumper covers windshields. Stuff like that, stuff that isn't hard to do.~cole~

qwk93ta

iTrader: (13)

I would stay away from a rebuilt title, you will have a tough time selling the car in the future.

sroach20

iTrader: (31)

i would not pay $8900 for a rebuilt title. find one with a blown engine and repair that. i got an 01 z28 for $5000, dropped in a 6.0 and haven't looked back.

Cole Train

iTrader: (30)

i'm tellin' ya, have a couple places look it over and see. If it's alright then who cares buy it but chew 'em down more. Just one thing about rebuilt is you can use that against them when you purchase. they will be more willing to move on the price because it's harder to sell. If you just plan on modding it and runnin' it hard, the cheaper you get it for the more you can pop on mods~Cole~

andrew69_04

iTrader: (148)

i wouldnt run from one. I buy and fix wrecks all the time. i looked it at this way. i wanted a ta but couldnt afford paying $18-20k for what i wanted. I bought a wreck, 02 ws6 m6 with 30k miles on it, completely rebuilt the car, cam, heads, suspension, etc. and had a 02 ws6 for 10k. sold it for $17,500 with a salvage title. I would look the car over good and if you dont know what to look for, be sure to take it to a body shop, they will easily show you where repairs were made. resale can suck as it takes longer to move it, but if you are lookin for a toy and something to drive the **** out of, then i say go for it. oh and BTW. $8900 for a 02 45k miles ta is cheap. i have a 02 ws6 now for sale for $15k and it has 55k on it. $8900 is a steal

94BlackSSClone

Yeah I figured it was...I need to sell my car now! Ive been trying for a bout the last week. I even found I think it was a 01 trans am, red, m6, 55,000 miles guy was asking like 8000.

y2k_ta

iTrader: (80)

Drop the "u" in "Asphalt, and you'll have it right.

sroach20

iTrader: (31)

what about assfault?

79_T/A

iTrader: (1)

If the car checks out, what about registering and insuring a rebuilt title car?

94BlackSSClone

I'm not sure....I wouldnt think it would be a problem, especially if the person drove it for two years after it was fixed. I would assume he had insurance and that the car was registered.

765joey

iTrader: (47)

There is nothing wrong with buying a rebuilt title car. As long as the work was done right. I have a buddy, him and his dad has been building wrecks and rebuilds for years. I help out on the side when i can. Some body shops will just throw them together to get them done and sold, while others take there time to make every clip, every part is lined, etc.. Cars from the FACTORY are not perfect from no means. They will have a bigger gap from the bottom of door/quarter to top of door/quarter, just an example So it all depends on who has build it and how good there reputation is. I personally do not mind having a rebuilt title. Like my bank does not care if it a rebuilt or not if you go and get a loan for one. I know some banks do ask. For instance I had a 00' Silverado 4x4 79,000 miles reg. cab. Loan value 12,300, I sold it for $7,000 done fixed out the door. I still made a little money and helped out someone when they couldn't afford a $12,000 truck off a used lot. Just my .02 cents


Joey

andrew69_04

iTrader: (148)

i agree. some banks shy at salvage title cars becuase they arent going to loan you $15k on a salvage title car that can maybe be sold $8k, that way they wont get totally screwed if it gets reposesed. most insurance companies will cover you too. I had a friend buy a 04 silverado 4x4 for 14k and drove it for about a year. he rolled it one night dickin around and they paid him out full value which was like $17,300 so he made money! just ask insurance and bank before you buy, if they both ok then you shouldnt have any problems. state farm covers all my salvage vehicles with no problem, just want to inspect them to know they were fixed.

venomhp

iTrader: (13)

once a vehicle is yours, then you and your bank/insurance are the only people that are going to know you have a salvage title if the work was done right. Ive known a few guys that went out and got the loan out for almost 5k over the asking price of the salvage car and then dropped that into mods. that way they have a beautiful car with basically 5k of mods for free for having a salvage title. be extra careful and make sure all options work and there werent any short cuts taken when the vehicle was fixed.

94BlackSSClone

alright, thanks guys. Besides gaps, what are some other major points I should look/feel for when looking at the car or test driving?

gimpala63n70

iTrader: (4)

Id keep an eye out check the frame for as much as you can see of it for welds, i dont like cars that are cut id rather buy one thats been pulled
i buy and sell salvage cars, well i work at cleveland pick a part and we get builders in all the time and of course i get first dibbs being an employee, so far ive only had 2 LS1 cars that werent salvage out of 7 of them. right now every one of my cars is salvage, and well it explains why i have the cars i do, you get them for a fraction of the price and since i do them right nobody notices. I sell my rebuilt cars for just about as much as non salvage ones do, id rather have salvage low mile than high mile clean title, to me miles can never be forgiven.. Youve also got to remeber that when people rebuilt a salvage car, MOST cars and states require a vigouris inspection..And where i have mine inspected well they understand it was wrecked but they arent letting half *** welds and rigged up stuff be allowed on the road..thats my opinion, go with the salvage car dont let perfectionists talk you out of it.

y2k_ta

iTrader: (80)

That's certainly the case here in Indiana. I bought a rebuilt-titled car from Kentucky, and there are many steps to go through with making sure the car is safe. I had to have a police officer visually inspect it to make sure it wasn't stolen and was a sound vehicle. Then I have to provide a photo of the car, and paperwork (signed by the officer) detailing what has been repaired on the car to my local license branch before they'll give me a plate for the car. Since the car was perfectly-drivable when I bought it, I'm only required to put "no work necessary" on the paperwork.

94BlackSSClone

This is my thinking on the inspection and miles.