saywat?

i was waiting for the z to ripp out of its harness or something lol

ARKperformance

iTrader: (5)

here ill make it up to you! megan racing 350z drift practice..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKfT6Pg7sds

terrasmak

iTrader: (8)

Just read a little and tell me who the idiot is.His family has a shop, his family has access to cheap parts, he has the knowledge and tools to fix the car, and have a nice low mile 08 Z for over $5k less than most pay.

russelh15

iTrader: (7)

Been on spring break on FL and haven't had time to work on the Z. Here's some of the latest pics so far. A total of two weeks have been spent working on it. I'm estimating another week of work for it to be completed.

The first picture shows where we cut out the damage. We took the parts we needed from the salvage Z and placed it back in place.

juju

Time for my 2 cents...

I definitely think that 10k was too much. (Probably could've gotten around 8k, just my opinion though). Regardless, I trust that you and your dad know what you're doing and you wouldn't have bought the car had you not felt you could repair it.

As for the update:

Lookin' good. If you pull this off, you will be a much prouder Z owner than anyone else here. I'm pullin' for ya!

sno

iTrader: (4)

$10k for a totaled car and probably just as much in repairs.

sportbiketed

iTrader: (11)

I highly doubt it will cost much if his family owns the shop and he does most of the work.

rotchcrocket04

iTrader: (12)

No doubt, you definitely paid too much for it. I was going to flame you, however, I thought before I typed... see below:

However, 6 or 7 years ago I was T-Boned in my first car. Damage was similar to your's (although it was on the passenger side), though not quite as bad (just missed major frame damage). My Dad owned a shop for about 15 years and we decided to fix it (because I had almost no money to buy anything else). Purchased pretty much half of another car (I think I paid about $1000 for that) and split it all up and did quite a large and intensive amount of work. Driver side was pushed up on a curb when I was T-Boned so the whole driver side rocker panel had to be replaced as well.

We then primered and painted it. Damn near as good as new. Granted it wasn't the same... it made some noise (rattles), I think because I reused some of the old passenger side interior plastics. I ended up doing the job for about +/- $1600ish. Not to mention the countless hours of labor that my father and I put into it. Though, set and done... I learned more doing that project than I could anywhere else. From the fabrication it took to make it right, piecing it together, making it fit, welding, painting, etc etc. It was a valuable experience.

Keep in mind, this was far from a powerful sports car so it was never really "tested" at higher speeds or track events. Also, parts were cheaper because it was not a sports car and it was 6 or 7 years ago. Nonetheless, I would do it again if I had the chance but probably not as a main project (maybe if I could pick something like that up for half the price you paid, I would consider it). I've got alot more money now (compared to then)... I would just save up and buy something newer

I'm happy that I learned from that experience and had my open-minded and patient father to help teach me through that process. Good for you for tackling something that most would turn a cold shoulder to anymore (seems like no one repairs cars anymore lol). Maybe it wasn't the best choice financially but the experience you can gain (if you choose to) will prove to be worthwhile down the road.

russelh15

iTrader: (7)

Thanks for the responses guys. The donor car was actually free. I just have to order the rear quarter, a rocker panel and a door skin for the driver side door that I also got from the donor car. I'll post up the total cost of repair when the project is completed.

channelmaster10

Here is my knowledge on this fix up.


Ones the car is totally done, getting a full coverage insurance on this car is out of the question, here is were the insurance company will screw you. they will only pay 1/4 of the original value of the car. So if the car is worth 19 - 23 thousand, all you are getting in total lost is 5 to 6 thousand in return. Now there's something to think about.


Here is a good example. There is a car in craigslist 2007 around 8,000 put is not much of a fix like the side hit of your car. here is the listing, now this is the same problem with the salvage vehicle. My brother in-law wanted the get this and i'm like hell no, you will regret it.

http://providence.craigslist.org/ctd/1123366387.html

Vroompsst

iTrader: (26)

^ If I remember right, there was a thread about a month ago on here that contradicts what you are saying. A guy totaled his salvaged title vehicle that he rebuilt but had full coverage on it. He got a full payout for the salvaged re-titled vehicle and upgraded to an 07 then I think. He ended up making out good on it. Didn't seem right to me at the time but seemed like he did get the full payout for the branded car he crashed. If I'm wrong or know where that thread is let me know.

JJ350

ouch

Three Fifty Z

Dude, things like these are possible, if you're doing your own labor. My dad used to have a little shop, and I know exactly what this guy is doing, it's been done before. We used to buy salvage titled cars, fix them, and then sell them. As long as whoever is working on it knows what they're doing, the car will be fine.

EDIT: Its totally possible to get all the parts and paint in under 5 grand, like I said, though, it's only profitable if you're doing your own labor. Also, I don't mean to sound like a dick, but besides a few knowledgeable people who know some things on this subject, most of you sound like you've never opened the hood of your own car, again, didn't mean to be mean, but its funny to see people who are clueless on the subject act like they're hot ****. This is nothing new, people have done this before, and in total they ended paying 5-7k less than you would for a new car. The problem is that its a salvage title car, and if you decide to sell it, it can be tire-some until you find the customer that knows this type of thing, that's the choice YOU have to make. Also, you could run into some insurance problems, I guess, though, I never have. My dad used to have a salvage 02 Eclipse GT, he got rear ended, and the insurance company paid the full amount in order to get the repairs done, no one said "oh, well, this is a salvage title car so we're only going to appraise it at a quarter of its price." if that was the case, the car would have been totaled.

icase81

I don't have an issue with buying a wreck and fixing it yourself, I've done it a few times. Granted, not to that extent of damage. However, most auctions and insurance buybacks go for roughly 10-20% of the value of the car, meaning that paying 10G's, you could have gotten a wrecked $50-100K car instead of a $30K car. Even with 14K miles on it, it doesn't matter at this point since its wrecked.

Congrats on the purchase, and good luck with the rebuild!

johns350

That is incorrect. MAYBE it varies by state - but that is definitely not true in Texas - and I am pretty sure it is also not true in NJ (lived there all my life before moving to TX 2.5 years ago).

Good luck to the OP.

JEKL

iTrader: (24)

I think people here are not considering the appreciation for this car the OP will have when this is done. It probably won't be 100% and it will have a salvaged title, but it will be an experience with his dad that the vast majority of people will not have. There is a lot of value in that.

Good luck OP, keep posting updated pics.

bstfugtfomrfn

iTrader: (1)

Good luck OP, and thanks for the pics. My first car was a 1972 volkswagen westfalia (camper van) which I bought for 500 dollars. It didn't run, but was complete. I brought the car back from the dead and really appreciated it mostly because of the work I myself put into it and getting it running again. There is a certain sense of gratitude you will have for the time and effort that went into your Z that those of us who just buy and drive may never appreciate.


2003 Z33 350Z Silverstone Track, Heavily Modded
2009 R35 GT-R Obsidian Black Premium, Bone Stock

nosurf2day

iTrader: (28)

ROTFLMAO!!!!!

Hey atleast you have a car that will soon make you happy. Good luck with the re build.

Dmaciorowski

what auction did you buy it off? I just bought mine of IAAI in NJ for 5500 with 398 miles on it.
Almost done ill have pics of after soon

<a href="http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b270/polak1035/?action=view&current=5292468_1_I.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b270/polak1035/5292468_1_I.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b270/polak1035/?action=view&current=5292468_3_I.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b270/polak1035/5292468_3_I.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Dmaciorowski

Exactly. Me and my father have been rebuilding cars since i can remember and if you do the job right, there will be nothing that can possibly go wrong. As to the parts situation, there is places that if you open up an account as a body shop, and your in business with them for a few years, they are willing to give you as much as 50% off, so getting parts is not as much of a big deal as many people think it is. The Z that i posted underneath this is going to take about a week and a half to fix, and its going to come out to about 8gs total. Every car i have owned so far has been a salvage title, and never in my life have i had a problem registering it, or getting insurance for it. Some of these myths floating around are just rediculous