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Should I get this 350z? (rebuilt/salvage)

Old 03-24-2015, 06:20 PM
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furinax
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Question Should I get this 350z? (rebuilt/salvage)

Hello all,

My FR-S lease is coming up and I'm looking for a replacement car. I am already looking at a Mazdaspeed3 as my commute car (a more practical hatchback which is also fun to drive) but I recently came to the conclusion that a 350z would be the best choice for a weekend car. I would like to get a cheap one and slowly work the mods up as well as put a body kit on it. I stumbled upon this:
http://cnj.craigslist.org/cto/4940970132.html

Which looks pretty good. Low mileage, low price, and the internals are most all stock. The only thing I wish it had was VDC probably...

Here is what the seller said:
Take notice that the front of the car did not take any damage, this is just how it came from the auction, without bumper cover, hood, or headlights. The front was not touched. So the actual chassis, steering and alignment specs were never an issue thankfully.

Yes I do, I put the car on my lift and there car is 90% percent oem. Only modified or aftermarket parts include the headlights, tailights, interior white LED map lights, Radio head unit (I do have the original), and the front marker reflectors. Suspension and engine components are 100% oem with the exception of the aftermarket cone filter I've put on since the stock airbox was not included with the car. It's an AEM oil-less washable cone-type filter, the oem MAF intake housing and intake tube were retained, and no engine codes were thrown at the time of installation, as well as 3000+ miles of use
And he sent me these pics:




Now... I ran an autocheck and also paid for the police report. Here is the text from the report (this car is V2 in the report).

THE UNDERSIGNED WAS ON AN UNRELATED MATTER ON SOUTH BRIDGE STREET, APPROXIMATELY 200 FEET NORTH OF THE CRASH, WHEN I OBSERVED V1 STOPPED IN TRAFFIC. I OBSERVED V2 APPROACH V1'S POSITION AND APPLY IT'S BRAKES. DUE TO THE ICY ROAD CONDITIONS, V2 DID NOT STOP IN TIME, AND STRUCK V1 FROM THE REAR. AS A RESULT,
V1 SUSTAINED MINOR DAMAGE TO THE REAR BUMPER AREA, RIGHT SIDE. THE BUMPER WAS DENTED AND BROKEN. V2 SUSTAINED MODERATE FRONT END DAMAGE, LEFT SIDE. THE HOOD WAS DENTED AND CRUSHED, AND THE LEFT HEADLAMP WAS SHATTERED. APPROXIMATELY 30 SECONDS LATER, I OBSERVED V4 APPROACH V2'S POSITION AND ATTEMPT TO STOP. DUE TO THE ICY CONDITIONS, V4 LOST CONTROL, HOWEVER, D4 WAS ABLE TO AVERT A COLLISION BY STEERING INTO A NEARBY SNOW PILE, WHERE HE CAME TO REST. IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING V4'S STOP, I OBSERVED V3 APPROACH V2'S POSITION AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED. D3 ATTEMPTED TO STOP, BUT DUE TO THE ICY ROAD CONDITIONS, V3 BEGAN TO SLIDE TOWARDS V2. D3 ATTEMPTED TO STEER AWAY FROM V2, BUT SLID ONTO
A NEARBY SNOW BANK, THEN STRUCK V2 AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED. V3 PUSHED V2 FORWARD APPROXIMATELY 10-15 FEET, THEN STRUCK V4 NEAR THE FRONT RIGHT QUARTER PANEL. I OBSERVED HEAVY REAR END DAMAGE TO V2 AND HEAVY FRONT END DAMAGE TO V3. V4 SUSTAINED MINOR/MODERATE DAMAGE AFTER V3 GLANCED OFF IT'S RIGHT SIDE.
D2 HAD A MODERATE COMPLAINT OF PAIN, BUT REFUSED MEDICAL ATTENTION. VEHICLES 2 AND 3 WERE TOWED FROM THE SCENE BY VALUE TOWING. D3 WAS ISSUED SUMMONS # B130222, IN VIOLATION OF 39:4-97, CARELESS DRIVING. HIS SPEED WAS A MAJOR CONTRIBUTING FACTOR TO THE SEVERITY AND RESULTING CRASH. BOTH DRIVER 2 AND 3 DETERMINED TO BE AT FAULT.
Strike 1 is that the seller lied to me about the front end damage. In the autocheck report it says: "FRONT IMPACT WITH ANOTHER VEHICLE (Case #:14001910)"

However, I think if I take this to a dealership to get it looked at and they clear it, then this can be a great deal... what do you guys think? (I am thinking of offering full price $7.5k for this)

I also saw some pretty sweet cars that are good deals on the for sale section here... maybe I should just buy a pre-modded one...
Old 03-24-2015, 06:30 PM
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travlee
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four strikes and the seller is a liar... turn and walk

strike one - prior front end damage
strike two - prior rear end damage
strike three - its an automatic
strike four - the words heavy damage in the police report
Old 03-24-2015, 06:33 PM
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furinax
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Originally Posted by travlee
four strikes and the seller is a liar... turn and walk

strike one - prior front end damage
strike two - prior rear end damage
strike three - its an automatic
strike four - the words heavy damage in the police report
Omg it's automatic??? I thought for sure it was a manual. Okay, case closed... not gettin it... =/

I can't believe I saw that ad like 20 times and didn't realize it was automatic. Thanks for your second pair of eyes!

Old 03-24-2015, 06:35 PM
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I definitely wouldnt pay full price for a salvaged title. If I were looking at that I'd call my insurance company and have conversation with them about the car. If all is well there, I'd bid at 5k max. You can get a clean title 350Z for 7500 with decent mileage if you are patient. Are you mechanically inclined or have any friends that could do a full inspection on the car?

IGNORE MY POST
Old 03-24-2015, 06:35 PM
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anytime, now i expect payment in the form of a 12 pack.

dont rush into things, take your time the prices are dropping. i sold my nicely modded HR for under 15k
Old 03-24-2015, 06:36 PM
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not all insurance companies will cover a salvage/rebuilt title either
Old 03-24-2015, 06:48 PM
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furinax
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Yeah.... I spent all day researching the insurance implications.

I'm not mechanically inclined but I have a friend who can do an inspection... though I would take it to a dealership first.

Buying a car takes patience.
Old 03-25-2015, 08:53 AM
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Honestly, never buy a rebuilt car. Why would you? In my opinion, never buy a car from an accident at all. I had an Acura RSX from an accident and now I have a 350z from an accident.

There is a tonne of unforeseen costs that are honestly not worth it. You'll be spending much of your time in shops and wondering what that squeal, squeek, noise, grind is.

It costs more $$ than foreseen
Old 03-25-2015, 04:53 PM
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oldschool350z
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No. No. No. No. no. Does that answer make sense?

Never buy a rebuilt, and never trust ANYONE THAT TYPES IN ALL CAPS. Seriously, I don't understand why someone would lease but you should not buy a rebuilt. It will have no equity and in most states you can't fully insure it.
Old 03-25-2015, 06:11 PM
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Absolutely do not buy this car!
Did you call the seller out on his lie?
Old 03-26-2015, 07:52 AM
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If you're not mechanically inclined, stay away from anything that has been in an accident.
Old 04-03-2015, 10:15 AM
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If you like the car and it runs and drives out good, don't worry about the salvage, it's an 11 year old car after all. You drive the car, not a piece of paper. Doesn't have much affect on price as it would on a 1 or 2 year old car. Mechanical condition is more important on a older car and with just 40,000 miles, you're way ahead there.
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