Salvage title/How and what to look for on car?

[bd1886]

Daughter worked her tail off to save for first car and I ended up purchasing a salvaged title vehicle.

Looked and looked for a lot for her small budget of 1600.00 and ended up purchasing a 93 Accord LX wagon. This car is in very nice condition and drives close (very close ) to it being new. (The true cost was 1340.00 as tabs, state tax,all fee's were in the price.)

Having said that...another cost raised it's ugly head this morning...a state patrol salvage sticker on the door jamb. Was detailing the car and found it while wiping down the jambs. (Dated 7/27/07)

At time of sale,I explicitly asked "Is this a salvaged or rebuild?" and the sales guy explicitly "told" (read "lied")to me..."No... it is not and besides, the state requires them to reveil that information,at time of sale, by law.". Purchase completed with all things being signed including an "as is" agreement form. No form signed deals directly with a rebuild/salvage statement.

Get this... daughters B-day,soon to get back from camping, car lookin' good in the driveway. With a salvage sticker on the drivers jamb and egg on my face!

Now to the pertinent questions... What type of place, is the best place, to get this car safety inspected? What are the main components to be concerned with? Is there a resource to find out what damage was done and repaired? If I'm stuck due to the "as is" form...

Will be dealing with this "dealer" on Monday. No amount of savings is worth my daughters safety!

[papichuloy2k]

First, you have to contact your local DMV or motor vehicles office to obtain information on Salvage title vehicles.

Second, if it has a state patrol sticker on the side, it has been inspected already and has been approved to meet safety standards but do not quote me on this as I am in a different state.

Third, if the car drives and handles as you stated, then I shouldn't worry too much. However, I am assuming that she will be driving the car locally and not across the country or isolated areas with no cellular phone access.

Lastly, I know that Arizona and California disclose 'Salvage" across the top part of the pink slip or title of the vehicle . Not to mention that it has to be disclose by the seller. From a private party, some people are not aware (or that is what some people might claim) that they are selling or that they owned a salvage title vehicle.

A car dealer as well as the salesman know what they have in inventory thus voiding this sale as per CA, AZ local laws (again, I am not really sure but insert common sense here) besides, the salesman lied to you but it will be hard to prove it in court. Go back and talk to the dealership and explain the situation. You might obtain a susbtantial discount here to avoid headaches and going to small claims court. Now, try to get a cash back ( I would settle for around $600.00 for the 93 accord you mentioned) and case closed.

Let me add that before trying to get a discount, have someone drive the car and you follow safetly behind to make sure that there is no frame damage. This problem is really obvious, it will appear that the car is not even at the trunk or at the body lines. Frame damage is like if the car, although driving in a stretch way, is using both traffic lanes but the tires are straight. Or drive through a puddle of water and check for the tire tracks. If tire tracks are heavily misaligned, then chek for abnormal and uneven wear in the tires.

Do not forget to check for the brake system performance. The brake pedal should feel firm and not spongy with no vibration at the steering wheel. Compare the driving feeling of your car with the one you just bought. It should feel normal with no strange noises, pulling or odors.

Hope this help.

[papichuloy2k]

I forgot to mention that you might have the dealer to obtain a car fax report on this vehicle and you will know the reason it was salvage. Or get it yourself if you decide to challenge this sale and go to court.

[jeffcoslacker]

Most common costly problem you run into on salvage vehicles is missing airbag modules...the car can take a mild hit in the front and blow the bags, it might only cost a resourceful person $500 to repair the body damage, but with bag modules over $1000 each they'll replace them with dummy modules or just disable to entire SRS system...

Does this sticker have a new generated VIN#? I saw a few of those when I used to inspect cars....usually meant they were stolen recoveries that the insurance company paid replacement value for...that generation of Accord was a favorite for car thieves, wouldn't surprise me...

[wiseguy01]

i would have a honda dealer inspect it and forward the bill to the place u purchased the car or worse case scenario take them to court and prevent future consumers from getting ripped off or try telling them that you will call the B.B.B-better buisiness beraeu

[bd1886]

Want to thank you all for your responses. Appreciate it as I am much better informed to move forward on this in the morning.

Did take the car out and ran it through some paces. Found that when decelerating from higher speeds,there was a shimmy (although no pulling to left or right) and there was a slight pulsing,in the front,coming from the braking.

Secondly the front left brake is making a rattling noise. Sounds like a thrown/loose pad possibly. I'll check that out in the am.

Started thinking about the possibility of a deactivated/bag system this morning and that is something that would be a priority to have functioning. I'll be looking into that also.

Again... this car is running tight,smooth and with seemingly full compression. Will check out the "tracking" of the tires and alignment also.
(The car came with a brand new set of tires which is good but could be temporarily hiding an alignment issue too.)

Even though I'm having to deal with this deception thing, I'm not going to sell this little car short just yet as it is,in most appearances, a well taken care of car and it is a Honda. (Wish people were of such uniform quality!)

Thanks again for your interest all, bd1886.

[blacknight]

Also take into consideration WHY the car was salvaged.
Was it wrecked or in a flood.

If it was wrecked, and the frame was bent, that could be a problem down the road.
Also, if it was in a flood, there could be internal rust that will eventually spread

[StealthSonic]

Usually Tires place can check for breakes and alignment and they can easily detect if the car has been in major accident or not.

Sometimes salvage title may not sound bad such as: theft recovery, minor accident such as fender bender, or vandalism.

Good luck!