ostbandit

Hey guys, im in a bit of a wierd situation and I need some advice. I found a 03 350z touring for a asking price of $8900 with 120k on the clock.

I ran the vin and found a report of a front right crash with another vehicle and it went to auction and the current owner claims he got it from a dealership and the carfax was clean and he never knew of any damage. It could be true because it mentions a lease on the report and he claims he Financed it so I guess it makes sense. He has had the car for 3 years and brought it from 87k to 120k miles so it makes me want to believe him that the car doesn't have any major issues.

Planning on seeing it over the weekend and If I see nothing wrong I will take it to a mechanic.
How much should I offer for it considering its been in an accident? Am I just begging for problems if I purchase it?

mattleegee

to me rebuild/salvage title cars are worth maybe half of book value

know what your getting into, have it fully inspected for safety, maybe a good track/drift rig also

ostbandit

That's the thing though, the title itself was never salvaged but it has an accident followed by an auction and then the sale (which he claims was at a local dealership).

Jennifer 2

Ostbandit, if you post the complete car history report you have, the sleuths here can decipher it for you. The key thing is what kind of auction. Insurance companies auction off cars they have written off. Auto dealerships also send trade-ins and other surplus cars to another kind of wholesale auction, other dealers buy them for resale.

If you take the car to a competent mechanic or appraiser they can easily determine the extent of the damage the car suffered and if it was repaired correctly.

A 2003 car is now over 10 years old; it would be rare to find one that hasn’t been involved is some type of mishap or another. If the damage was small and isolated to bumper, headlight and supporting parts for example, it’s not really that big of a deal. Extensive damage repair is impossible to hide from experienced eyes, especially if it was just slapped together for a quick resale.

Tuco

Went thru this exact thing when looking for my z.
I normally ask if it has a clean carfax, and then check before large $ purchase.
This time I forgot. But to the owners credit he was upfront and did all the work himself.
The car looked great on the outside and was tight and strong thru the drivetrain.
But when he showed me the pics of the tree that fell on it...I backed away.
For me I only intend to keep it for a few years. So for me it is not worth the hastle of reselling a damaged car. If I was planned to keep it a long time I might have bought it.
But that one picture for me did it. I just couldn't get it out of my head as the top was leveled.
That man did a lot of work to it, and it really did look nice.

MeinVinyl

iTrader: (3)

When I was in the hunt for a 350Z before I landed on the one I finally got, I came across one that was supercharged, Recaros, 4 pt cage, 19" LE37s, only 40k miles, and was VERY clean inside and out. I was at the guy's house for almost 2 hours and getting ready to close the deal when he finally dropped the bomb, "Oh, by the way it has a salvaged title." I wish he would have started off with that as he was asking $4k over book because of the massive amount of money he had into it. I ended up passing on it and he traded it in. That was almost 2 years ago and the dealership that bought it STILL has it and STILL asking $16k

kfoote

I had a loan on a vehicle that had a salvage title, and though I knew it had one, the price still made it very attractive to what I was looking for. Yes, it will hurt resale value, but it will also lower the cost of entry.

I would be far less concerned with a vehicle that had a significant amount of mileage on it since the incident in question, as presumably any lingering issues would have been caught and addressed by now with any of the various inspections since the incident.

I'd definitely have it brought to a mechanic for a pre-purchase inspection, but as long as you are looking to get it as a car to drive, and not as a car to sell and make money at, there should be no issues.

SQuaLZ

IMO, if a car was crashed, then fixed and auctioned, the car was a mess.

Bringing the car to an auction means that you know the car isn't worth crap and just trying to get the most you can for it.

I would steer clear and look elsewhere.

I disagree with Jennifer, I am sure there are plenty out there that have never been crashed.

9 grand for a crashed car with over 100k and over 10 years old is way too much.

Just opinion.

quiksilver38

I've bought many cars over the years, fortunately CA has lots of laws regarding cars involved in accidents and floods ect. good rule of thumb when looking at cars if their salvaged 50% of book value in good/fair condition would be my max and even... Its like hooking up with a REALLY hot girl with STD's she may look REALLY good on the outside but on the insides shes, well you know... I bought a car once, never test drove it, only drove it onto the trailer, it was salvaged and twin turbo, biggest gamble ever but the price was about ~40% market value so it made sense. I'm not saying your is salvaged but it sounds like it is. My 350z was in an two accidents before I bought it and the guy didn't mention it until I was at his house (2 hour drive). his insurance paid one of the best shops in the area to paint and repair it, the car was black and immaculate. I mean mirror finish $10,000 paint job in black which hides nothing. I new it was repaired better than it was new from the factory so i bought it. It was still clean title too of course...

cliffs: dont pay over $5k for the car your looking at IMO

vodka

The first thing would be to take this to a trusted mechanic. Get it up on a lift and look at the frame. Look for anything suspicious, especially welds. A good mechanic will know what to look for.

There's nothing inherently wrong with buying a car that's been in an accident, doubly so when the title is clear. I bought my Z knowing that it had been in two accidents and, without looking at the report, I would have had no idea after driving it for 25k miles.

If anything, use the history of the vehicle as a bargaining chip on the price. You might be able to get it for less. The point is, don't immediately discount the option due to an accident. Just look it over thoroughly, drive it, then decide.

Jah70

As with any car, be weary of cars that had previous accidents. If you want it that much I suggest not paying that price due to the mileage and the history.

ostbandit

Sweet, thanks guys for all the input, lots of different opinions, just how I expected it to be . Here is the autocheck report, can anyone with experience perhaps decipher it a bit better? I am going to take a look at it in the next few days.
He claims carfax was clean when he bought it, anyone have a carfax account?









On a second note, I am planning on calling the dealership today, where the current owner claims he purchased it, with the vin. Anything specific I should ask for?

Spike100

ostbandit, Thanks for posting the AutoCheck report.

This car is very “normal.” It has the expected mileage, one minor accident, and a good ownership record. Don’t worry about the lease comments.

Here’s the deal: The car has >100K miles so you will need to do a clutch replacement, and probably some other (but minor repairs). In addition to the purchase price, expect to pay an additional $2.5K for imminent repair/maintenance requirements.

I would offer of $8K, and not pay any more than this.

--Spike

WSchli1672

Good you got the report, but why did he wait so long to tell you would be the major question I would have asked. (Before I walked out).
I have a 350Z Track Model, S/C, etc. with a little over 20,400 miles on it, garage kept, covered parked on carpet and driven only to car shows, or meets. The price he's asking was too high for what he has. Good that you passed it up.

ostbandit

He didn't tell me at all. He claims he didn't know.

YardieXplorer

iTrader: (1)

Ohh..He knew.

nextcore

iTrader: (8)

I used to work at a car dealership and typically most of the cars that have accidents have these kind of reports. and 90% of the time its really minor with no mechanical issues.

But if you're having this much doubt, i wouldn't bother with it.. id rather pay for something that i have a good peace of mind about, even if it costs a little more.

idcalex

i bought my z for a lot cheaper because she was in an accident, fixed her up, alls i had to do was replace the control arms, totally worth it