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buying a car that was damaged

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Old 10-04-2005 | 01:18 PM
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Default buying a car that was damaged

i am looking at buying a z that had about $200 worth of rear damage to the bumper but was repaired.the 2nd owner said he had experienced no problems and in the pictures of the car the area that was damaged looked perfect now.would i not want to buy it?hes asking $20000 and it has 24000 miles on it.the damage happened with the 1st owner.thanks
Old 10-04-2005 | 01:20 PM
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As long as it dosent have a ''salvage'' title, no problem, but get a trusted body man to take a closer look at it,......
Some of the best deals out there are on slightly damaged cars....
Goodluck and ensure that the frame wasent bent in the first place or pulled back out!
Old 10-04-2005 | 01:22 PM
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I doubt that 200 bucks in damage did anything to the frame... you can pull the rear bumper cover off in about 10 minutes... check it out if your that concerned
Old 10-04-2005 | 01:24 PM
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Year? Trim package? Pics?..............
Old 10-04-2005 | 02:10 PM
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to be sure, you might want to carfax it or take it to a mechanic first. if i had a car i really wanted to sell that was in an accident before..."i dont have any problems whatsoever driving - drives great." cant be too sure/safe.
Old 10-04-2005 | 02:11 PM
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*$2000 in damage and its a 2003 performance
Old 10-04-2005 | 02:26 PM
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Get it. well worth it.. a new bumper cover that aint crap... its just like getting a new body kit... DO IT DO IT
Old 10-04-2005 | 02:46 PM
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You need to watch it w/ $2000 worth of damage. I had someone back into my car and they did about 2500 bucks worth of damage but it didn't hurt the frame. It did **** up my front bumper and break the bracket for my radiator, but that was all fixed. And $20K sounds expensive, except we don't know what year and trim package it is.
Old 10-04-2005 | 04:04 PM
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I see a good mechanic in your near future (to check out the car).
Old 10-04-2005 | 04:14 PM
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I will never buy a car that has had damage. Had one mustang cobra with light damage and i swear after putting so much money in it that i would never buy damaged again. Just my experience so its probably not worth much.
Old 10-04-2005 | 04:29 PM
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I would buy a car with light damage as others have said because it's cheaper to buy. The car I bought had light acorn dents in the hood. I'm having them taken out. There was also a scuff on the rear spoiler. I'm having that and the front bumper repainted and a small dent taken out (my fault) Total bill for everything is less than $900. I saved a lot more than that when I bought the car!
Old 10-04-2005 | 06:02 PM
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Originally Posted by Jcolman
I would buy a car with light damage as others have said because it's cheaper to buy. The car I bought had light acorn dents in the hood. I'm having them taken out. There was also a scuff on the rear spoiler. I'm having that and the front bumper repainted and a small dent taken out (my fault) Total bill for everything is less than $900. I saved a lot more than that when I bought the car!
Agreed, just watch yourself.............
Old 10-04-2005 | 06:54 PM
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Originally Posted by cessna
As long as it dosent have a ''salvage'' title, no problem, but get a trusted body man to take a closer look at it,......
Some of the best deals out there are on slightly damaged cars....
Goodluck and ensure that the frame wasent bent in the first place or pulled back out!
...Don't believe anything that the seller says. If its not in writing, its not worth spit. Take the Z to a competent body shop for an inspection. $50 can save you a big headache.
Old 10-04-2005 | 07:44 PM
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Originally Posted by cessna
Agreed, just watch yourself.............
Well cosmetic damage is okay. It's mechanical damage that hurts.
Old 10-05-2005 | 05:37 AM
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Originally Posted by cessna
Agreed, just watch yourself.............
Oh I do. I passed on a car that seemed perfect....until I ran a carfax. The car had a salvage title and despite the fact that it only had about 20k miles, the warranty was invalid. Whoever did the repair work on the car did a good job but with no warranty I decided to pass.
Old 10-05-2005 | 07:05 AM
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I bought my used Z thinking it was an accident free perfect condition car. Boy was I wrong. There was under carriage damage (lucky it was mostly scratches and to that big black metal bar) and upon closer inspection it looks like my car was a theft recovery.

I found a drill bit and a tiny screwdriver under the spare tire. It doesn't get anymore obvious than that. Anyways lucky my car's engine and tranny are good. Found out the tranny had been replaced too (which is a good thing to me).

Luckily my car's drivability is ok overall and I fixed most of the little things that were wrong.

But still I trusted the guy which was a big mistake.
Old 10-05-2005 | 08:45 AM
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personally, I think if the work is done correctly its not that big of a deal.... cars are damaged everyday and are being repaired... I own a very nice body shop. We work on everything from a honda to aston martins, lambos, ferrari and other high end cars... its all in the shop that did the work.... Having a trained eye or have someone that does will help you in checking the quality..
Old 10-05-2005 | 01:55 PM
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thanks,does anyone know a body shop near erie pennsylvania?
Old 11-11-2005 | 05:37 PM
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Originally Posted by benchi445
thanks,does anyone know a body shop near erie pennsylvania?

Jensen's Target Collision on west 12th.


Ask to speak to Rick. They painted my side skirts and did some touch up work on my bumper. They do alot of work on BMW's and Benz.

Tell Rick that Netko sent you. They actually are working on a 350Z that hit a deer right now! 03 Daytona blue. New front fender, lights, hood....eeekkkk!!!
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