GOT SCREWED! - bought used car /w SALVAGE TITLE!?

[Koondoon]

hey ,
well long story short i jumped the gun and bought a used acura 1.6el from an older fellow without knowing that it had a salvage title.

i was told by the registry when i attempted to register this thing

It was just such a good price , exterior looked great aside from the rear bumper dmg , interior mint everything wrked , sunroof .
but i guess the old age saying applies here "u get what u pay for"

the entire body is awesome condtion minus the rear dmg,
dmg is 2 dents in the rear bumper and the rear bumper area only


could this have caused the car to be written off ? the dmg doesn;t look severe at all



just wondering if any beyonders have experiance with salvage inspections is it worth doing on a car like this ?

do i have make arrangments to do repairs prior to thesalvage inspection
or do the inspectors arrange for that?



thanks any advice would be appreciated



dmg here quoted at 5000
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f318/mogasin/DSC05428.jpg

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f318/mogasin/DSC05426.jpg

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f318/mogasin/DSC05430.jpg

[Cooked Rice]

It's illegal for someone to 'knowingly' sell you a car with a salvage title and not tell you.

[boxer23]

well did the previous owner write on the bill of sale "as is"?

so was the car already being driven? because then you wouldn't need a salvage inspection?

[Koondoon]

yea on the bill of sale we wrote "as is"

i went to registry and they said i wouldn't be able to register until i get a salvage inspection done. since it had a salvge/repairable status.

waht would you suggust i do , should i confront the seller first?,cops? civil court?

[BlackArcher101]

Find out why it was salvaged, if you can't find out from anyone then do a CARPROOF report which would hopefully give some clues (ie damage type and cost of repair). Depending on the car and what you paid for it, it still maybe be worth what you actually paid if you get the inspection done. So check to what extent the damage was then go from there... if you are still leary... well, I'm sure others will give you pointers on how to go about getting your money back.

[Koondoon]

yea next time ill do my homewrk

shouldve couldve wouldve

[italianunit]

"as is" does not hold up. He mislead you, legally you would be able to take him to court and get your money back.

There is a legal reasponsability to disclose any safety issues, and this would qualify- he has to do his "due dilligence" to ensure you are informed about the car.

back in the 70's- you would get what you pay for and it would be as is.

dealers cannot use as is, nor can private sales.

i am pretty sure if you hand him papers to small claims- you'd get your money back for 27.00.

[ragu]

From what I've read on beyond and not sure how far this is true, "AS IS doesn't mean anything" and you can still solve this issue....

[Koondoon]

okay ill give seller a call tmr and c what he has to say.


any of you think it would be worth fixing any ways cause i bougth this way below market value . even if it costed $1000 its still about half the price of a 99 el

[dr_jared88]

did you run a carfax? I used there buyback guarantee when the same thing happened to me. it was a bitch but they finally lived up to it.

[Joe-G]

Well how much did you pay?
Maybe it was electrical, or maybe its rusted to pieces underneath?

[Koondoon]

"paid" 2400

no rust ,everyhting electrical wrks,

just rear bumper dmg
ill take pics so u guys can judge severity

[ragu]

Originally posted by Koondoon
paided 2400


I never thought someone could manage that, epic!!! :banghead:

[rc2002]

If the repair has been done properly, it could be a decent vehicle - especially at that price. You could pay to get it inspected, it shouldn't cost more than a couple hundred bucks at most.

If you approached the other guy, he might even be willing to chip in or pay for the inspection.

[ROBOCOP]

Originally posted by ragu


I never thought someone could manage that, epic!!! :banghead:

:rofl:

[corsvette]

I have seen cars written off for such minor damage you can hardly see it,most older cars such as your acura would get written off for little damage.Salvage inspections cost around $750 and are VERY fussy,the car must be in excelent mechanical order,they will also require a alignment be done on the car as well.They do not let anything slide AT ALL!and no shop is willing to put their licence on the line,and the fine that goes along with seedy inspections.You must also take pictures of the car before the repairs were done,so take a pic of the car in all four corners anda close up shot of the rear bmper where all the damage is.So you may want so see if the seller will return your money,he likely bought the car himself not knowing it was branded and found out how difficult they are to pass inspection.I think itis against the law to sell a salvage car without telling the buyer.

[funkedelic2]

Talk to the seller, there will be no way that he isn't aware it has a salvage title if he had the car insured and registered.

I would be pissed off but i would have done my research even if it wasn't a huge amount of money that you paid for the car. Call him, explain your situation and ask for your money. If he doesn't know why it was salvaged, you could take your vin and find out online. Best of luck to you.

[finboy]

Originally posted by Koondoon
paided

i don't think falling for a salvage title is your only problem here :dunno:

[SNAATCH]

Originally posted by corsvette
I have seen cars written off for such minor damage you can hardly see it,most older cars such as your acura would get written off for little damage.Salvage inspections cost around $750 and are VERY fussy,the car must be in excelent mechanical order,they will also require a alignment be done on the car as well.They do not let anything slide AT ALL!and no shop is willing to put their licence on the line......blah blah

LOL, a salvage inspection is NOT $750. I shopped around and found them for $250 including the alignment. Yes they are picky but if the car has been kept in good order and has good tires/brakes/suspension/cv joints, then you should have no problem. I sold someone a 1990 salvage Celica and the only repair he had to do was change out a sensor. Did it himself brough it back and they passed it. Best deal he ever got. He has a 1990 Celica in absolute mint condition for $1300 with a new motor.

[DonJuan]

Originally posted by finboy
i don't think falling for a salvage title is your only problem here :dunno:

LOL!

[corsvette]

Originally posted by SNAATCH


LOL, a salvage inspection is NOT $750. I shopped around and found them for $250 including the alignment. Yes they are picky but if the car has been kept in good order and has good tires/brakes/suspension/cv joints, then you should have no problem. I sold someone a 1990 salvage Celica and the only repair he had to do was change out a sensor. Did it himself brough it back and they passed it. Best deal he ever got. He has a 1990 Celica in absolute mint condition for $1300 with a new motor.

From my experience part of the salvage inspection is that the car must be looked at by 3 licenced mechanics,a general tech,a structural tech,and a body man,hence the $750,as it takes about 5-6 hours for the complete inspection.(my uncle does them)i guess i got screwed then $250 is a good deal,thats cheaper than anyone i have ever heard of.Good luck anyway!

[msommers]

If the motor runs great and from the exterior the only thing you can see that needs repair is the rear bumper, it would definitely be worthwhile getting checked and probably keeping. On the otherhand, if the frame is bent, you could be in for a big headache.

[ralliart_girl]

Yea, $ 250 for the inspection is a steal. Typically I hear they are about $300ish.....but I have never heard of them costing like $750.

[derek_k]

frameworks on barlow south set of lights after the tims, the charge 250 plus tax allignment included

[corsvette]

It wasa few years ago when i had one done,looks like the prices have come down quite a bit.

[Zero102]

Its a $2500 car. Why are you so worried about it being a salvage car? Get it inspected, if it comes through okay, who cares? You shouldn't be worried about resale value on a $2500 car. If all the mechanicals are in order and it is a newer model vehicle then $2500 is doing pretty good. Go after the old man for the cost of the salvage inspection, but if it comes through okay who cares.

[Koondoon]

thanks for all the input , whether it be positive or negative

my bad lol , correction "paid"

okay well i "paid" for a carproof report and on the accident and collsion section this appears....

10/6/2008 Estimate REAR CENTER 4921.00
10/24/2008 Estimate REAR CENTER 4816.00

does this realli justify the costs?

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f318/mogasin/DSC05428.jpg

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f318/mogasin/DSC05426.jpg

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f318/mogasin/DSC05430.jpg

[G-ZUS]

Hard to tell, but it looks like the trunk took some of the damage. There might be some damage underneath if the estimate was 4900

and they are really anal on the inspections now

[Koondoon]

trunk opens freely and remote unlock still wrks

[gen2teggy]

that estimate looks about right.

rear bumper
rebar
rebar styraform
trunk lid
trunk lock
trunk inner tail lights
what ever else is damaged
+all the misc clips and bolts

plus painting and larbor.

[ROBOCOP]

.

[71/454]

Salvage inspections aren't that bad. Going rate is 250 and up plus the alignment (which is mandatory including the printout) in my experience, I'll have to try the place listed. It requires only 2 techs. A car with a rebuilt title, that is a salvage titled car that has been fixed and passed inspection, has a decreased value when compared to a non branded car. Not a great deal less, but on average it seems to work out to around 30 percent. If you are not familiar with the salvage game and the vehicle could require more than just the accident damage repair i.e. brakes struts frontend parts I would very actively pursue your money back. But if you are keen to do some work yourself and you feel you got a smokin deal, do it. Salvage cars are cheap for a reason, they will require some wrench time.

[Makaveli2k]

Lift up the trunk carpet see if there are any crinks in the trunk floor pan. Take a look underneath the car for anything that looks fishy(I.E Not lining up properly, bends in metal etc.)

[rumeo]

holy! $5000 to fix that?! get your money back from the old man

[Cody D]

If all else fails, part the car out, you could probably recover most of your $2400.00.

['93 SR-V]

Is the trunk damaged or just the bumper? For the quote to be that high I'd expect that there's frame damage, not just bolt on stuff (bumper cover, rebar, etc). If it's just bolt on stuff you should be able to find used parts to keep the cost low. On the other hand you should't have a hard time getting your money back if the seller didn't disclose the title to you.

[R!zz0]

Originally posted by Koondoon
bought a used acura 1.6el from an older fellow without knowing that it had a salvage title.


This "older fellow" was he driving the car before?

I don't understand. If the registry says no, that's it.?
Let's say the car got inspected and was road worthy, the registry still wouldn't register it?

A good lawyer will be needed here.

[G-ZUS]

Originally posted by R!zz0


This "older fellow" was he driving the car before?

I don't understand. If the registry says no, that's it.?
Let's say the car got inspected and was road worthy, the registry still wouldn't register it?

A good lawyer will be needed here.

If it is branded as "Salvage", he will have to get a inspection and once they register it it will be branded "Rebuilt". If the car is branded as "Non-Repairable" then it can't be put back on the road! inspection or no inspection

[realazy]

Ok, now I have a question.

Can it be only branded salvage if the insurance company paid out on the claim? That means the old man bought the car back from the insurance company to sell to you.

or can a car be titled salvage without insurance paying out? (ie. damage doesn't get fixed, owner keeps the car or maybe it was only insured on liability)

[Koondoon]

Originally posted by realazy
Ok, now I have a question.

Can it be only branded salvage if the insurance company paid out on the claim? That means the old man bought the car back from the insurance company to sell to you.

or can a car be titled salvage without insurance paying out? (ie. damage doesn't get fixed, owner keeps the car or maybe it was only insured on liability)



thats a good question on the carproof report its indicates that an insurance payout hasn't been made yet

"This vehicle has been in an accident, however, the insurer has not yet paid out a claim. The information contained below is provided by an estimating facility which has estimated the value of the damage to the vehicle."

[gen2teggy]

i think they compare the damage to blackbook value.
so if the car is worth 4k in the black book
and the repair is over 5k, its a writeoff.