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Last post on Aug 02, 2010 at 1:52 PM
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#187 of 236 Re: I have found this one in a body shop 03 Pathfinder [fatdaddys]
by cccompson
Sep 22, 2006 (2:16 pm)
Find out what it's private party value would be if never damaged. Then subtract AT LEAST one-third for the salvage title (40-50% would be better) to determine what to pay for it.
#188 of 236 more than meets the eye
by boomchek
Oct 10, 2006 (9:05 pm)
Here's a good example of buyer beware when buying cars that are written off or have been in a big accident:
My good friend's brother in law recently picked up a 2006 Infiniti G35 sedan with 2000km on the odo. The car has been used as a company car by Infiniti and was involved in an accident where the side airbags deployed, and the feneder and the door skins needed replacing. He picked it up for about $11000CDN.
He replaced the fender, airbags, and got a repaint done. The guy he sent the car to for the repaint was in the process of moving shops or was being kicked out of the shop. He rushed the job and did such a crappy repaint that there were dust bubbles and overspray on all of the mouldings. (That's another story as to why he even paid for the job).
So now $24000CDN ($11000 for car plus $13000 for the above)later the car is still not road ready:
The passenger doors don't close properly, and the car is now having other problems that are popping out. It's overheating, the dash lights don't light up, some mouldings are loose and the tail lights don't work at all.
Infiniti won't fix it under warranty because it was sold as salvage for a reason. They knew it wouldn't be worth fixing it because there could be too many hidden problems. Now to diagnose all of the above it would need to spend a good week at the dealership and labour is not cheap.
Good thing is he bought it for his wife and not to sell it and make money. After seeing the car I told my friend that his BIL should keep the car for 10 years to make it worthwhile, because he'd be lucky if he finds any buyer for it at all if he wants to resell it.
But it makes you wonder how much more money he will have to
sink into it as he has no warranty on it at all. And on top of that how much stress he has to put up with.
Now he's stuck with a lemon
Moral of the story is buyer beware.
On the flipside though i did own a rebuilt 93 Civic for 3 years that i had no problems with at all. It's just these new mid and high end cars ares o complicated with electronics that you never know what hidden problems are damage they may have.
#189 of 236 How much am I worth?
by supacool
Nov 13, 2006 (1:14 pm)
My 06' saturn ion was damaged in an accident and the dlrshp is repairing it. How do I figure the depreciation of the vehicle compared to the current value if it had not been wrecked. I had front end damage.
#190 of 236 Re: How much am I worth? [supacool]
by boomchek
Nov 13, 2006 (2:42 pm)
How much was the damage? How much front end damage, ie: engine, suspension, or just cosmetic?
The way I determine value for my customers is getting my manager to give me to appraisal prices: one with no accidents, and the second with accidents.
#191 of 236 Re: How much am I worth? [boomchek]
by supacool
Nov 13, 2006 (4:04 pm)
It was about $4200 worth including towing. damage include paint, suspension and/or axle, front tire, bumper, and replacing drvr door.
#192 of 236 Infiniti G35 T Bone
by gmccardle
Jun 08, 2007 (6:16 pm)
Please let me know what you make of this situation. My 2003 Infiniti G35 sedan with the sports suspension and all the goodies was hit hard in the passenger side rear door and wheel by a driver who pulled out in front of me while she was making a left hand turn. She hit so hard she spun the car around in a circle and set off the passenger side airbag.
The body shop has had it for about 5 weeks now because they say they are looking for parts. They estimate at least another couple weeks until they have it to paint and get it to the Infiniti dealer for the mechanical stuff. I can't believe it wasn't totaled. The frame was bent and at this point they say I have $13,900 in damage. What does it take to total a car. I live in Florida and my insurance Co. is USAA.
I know when I get it back again it won't be worth nearly what the pre collision value was. The ins co tells me they estimated that at about $20,500. How do I figure out the post crash value? I was planning on trading in the car before the accident and now I think I'm just going to lose a ton of money. Any ideas from anyone on how to make the best of this situation? To make matters worse, the other driver was underinsured and only covered $10,000 in property damage coverage.
Thanks!
#194 of 236 GOOD DEAL OR BAD DEAL?
by mischief316
Aug 10, 2007 (8:24 pm)
Hi everyone.
Well as i was doing a bit of shopping around. I ran across a small dealer who is offering a used honda si 2006 for $14k. Yeah sounds weird right? Well the catch is that the car is a salvage. Yup. But the car look like new. No noticeable damage the paint and everything matches together. According to the guy it was rebuilt only from the front. That no real damage was done to the outside.
It looked great to my eye. I checked the rims and tires and they are the originals because they show some tare and ware. But not enough to notice a big accident. The bottom of the car is intact, but there is some residue of what looks like cement. The guy said it was the spill from the battery because it leek. That made me kind of nervous. Inside the hood everything seemed normal. No major discrepancies. He said he changed a couple of things on the car but nothing major. He said that the car was only damage from the front.
Well the car seemed nice and fit to me. The price is good and it can probably be lowered. I plan to keep the car for a long time. Is it worth is? How can i check if the car was severely damge? I tried carfax but it does not go into any specifics.
(http://www.carfax.com/viewEmailReport.do?a=p7qiXw1fXsXVl1UReDEsYLHd%2Bv88CJr9kc- Cv7NNWuAtIcX5x2qyApnxkrGrCZjrf)
i hope the link works.
any advice will be greatly appreciated.
#195 of 236 Re: GOOD DEAL OR BAD DEAL? [mischief316]
by joel0622
Aug 13, 2007 (2:34 pm)
He said he changed a couple of things on the car but nothing major.
If there was nothing major then the car would not have been a total loss and be on a rebuilt title. This car has had the crap knocked out of it and sounds like a good body man pieced it back together. I would be scared, very scared.
#196 of 236 Re: GOOD DEAL OR BAD DEAL? [mischief316]
by jlawrence01
Aug 13, 2007 (2:48 pm)
Personally, it sounds like a flood car ...
Avoid like the plague unless you like a problematic car at a pretty steep price.