Salvage/Rebuilt Titles

[nsxtasy]

Originally posted by huckster:
I suppose if you could get a salvaged nsx completely rebuilt for say 20k with less than 20k in mileage--then you would have a 'good' deal right now.

But you can't.

Huckster put it very well. Typically, these salvage cars sell for way too much to make them any kind of bargain.

A car that has been wrecked and needs $20-30K in body work will sell for $15K. When you're done, you have a car that's worth maybe $25K but cost you $35-40K. What kind of bargain is that?

And don't forget, there's a reason that the owner of the salvage car is selling it as is, instead of repairing it and selling it. It's because it doesn't pay to repair it. And that means that it won't pay for the buyer to repair it, either.

Too often, a buyer falls for the "great deal" that isn't there - the $15K NSX. The only person who will buy this car is someone who has little to no body repair experience but somehow believes that it won't cost more than $10K to fix. This is someone who doesn't realize that his lack of experience prevents him from having enough knowledge to estimate the repair cost accurately.

This is not intended as a slight to those of you (including steveny and pbassjo) who do have the experience to understand what it costs to repair a wrecked NSX. I'm sure you experienced folks would be more than happy to buy a wrecked NSX if it made economic sense to fix it up and sell it. The fact that you're not, shows just what a bad deal these wrecked cars usually are.

Thanks, all, for sharing your experience.

 

[steveny]

Here is some info on the warranty of salvage vehicles. I could not find anything about the vin plate marking, to the best of my memory I think it was either Florida or Pennsylvania DOT inspection station that marked the vin with some type of yellow paint. I will do some more research and post if I find anything.

Audis have a front sub frame? Albeit it is not a frame, but I stayed away from any cars with "frame damage", sub or entire frame. I do not have frame pulling equipment. If the front sub frame was damaged enough to be replaced and the car was priced accordingly then I would consider a purchase. As I am sure you know if the sub frame is damaged that bad then the engine, engine compartment and components are surely trashed as well. Those type of deals are few and far between. I tried to buy cars that had been rear ended. Rear parts are more plentiful and less expensive than front parts any way.

My hat is off to you for having the skill to rebuild a A-8. I never attempted a aluminum car and never will. It requires a great deal of skill and tools which I do not process.

My past experience rebuilding cars greatly helped me in looking for a never wrecked NSX. I never even considered anything less.


http://www.crestviewcaddy.com/service/manuals/cadillac_all_warranty_2002.pdf

Page 9 last paragraph, Cadillac owners manual
http://www.carbuyingtips.com/auto-auctions.htm

about 2/3's of the way down, Even the manufacturer's warranty is voided on a rebuilt or salvaged title.

 

[steveny]

Here is a e bay auction of a repurchased Audi S-8. The seller states the warranty is still in effect. Now I am confused.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1871710267

 

[LJSB]

I know. It is confusing.

 

[NSX-GUY]

Don't see anything to be confused about here.

Customer leased the Audi. Complained it wasn't any good. Audi bought it back, checked it out, and sold it to a dealer to re-sell to a new customer.

Audi is warranting that there is (or never was) anything wrong with it and is standing by it's original warranty.

This is completely different than a car that is declared a total loss by an insurance company, padi off on and then re-sold with a rebuilt or salvage title.