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Would you buy a crashed vehicle?

zanethan

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#1
Ok so before we go down the road where everyone tells me I’m crazy here me out.

First the situation, I currently have a motorcycle that never gets ridden. I’ve decided to sell it as my wife has no interest in riding and it quite literally just sits. I do, however, get to replace it with a new toy and I’d love to get back into off-roading. Ideally, I’d like something that works well on and off the road as we have 2 very large dogs and parking them into the Fiesta is a chore. I’ve done my research and I think I’ve landed on and Xterra with the manual transmission. This will not be a daily driver per say but it would see some road trips from time to time.

My budget is up to roughly $8k for the right one and most of the ones I’ve found in that range are around the ‘02-‘04 model years with 180k+ on the clock. Which is fine especially considering they are mostly well under my budget. ($3-$5k)

Now the vehicle I found. It’s a 2011 model with 133k on the clock. Maintenance looks good. New clutch with less than 30k on it. Top of the trim range (Pro-4x) but without the “luxury” package. Basically the idea car. The asking price is $8700 which is far under what this would normally sell for ($14,000). The catch is that it’s been in a moderate wreck and the drivers side airbag was deployed. Now I know most of you are saying nooooooo runnnnnnn but based on what I can tell at this point the repairs look to be professionally done and the airbag and seatbelts were all replaced after the accident. It also does not have a salvage title.

My question for you all is would you still even be considering this vehicle at this point? Obviously, I’m proceeding with caution and I would only buy after a mechanic gave it a pre-inspection. I ran the carfax and outside of the crash it looks like it’s been well loved. (2 owners the original and the seller, well maintained, new clutch, new diff fluids, local to the area it’s entire life). Would you consider a wrecked vehicle for the right price?
 


Ford ST

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#2
Yep sure would. My brother has a 2005 Ford Focus we got back in 2012 with 123,000 miles on it with a salvage title from a front end collision. It now has 250,000 miles on it.

Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk
 


OP
zanethan

zanethan

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Thread Starter #3
Good to know. It’s also worth mentioning that the title is clean despite the wreck.
 


Ford ST

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#4
Even better. Nissan xterras are great I hate they don't make them anymore. They really were the best value for a true SUV body on frame. The V6 has plenty of power. My wife has had 2 of them of that generation she loved them both.

Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk
 


OP
zanethan

zanethan

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Thread Starter #5
Even better. Nissan xterras are great I hate they don't make them anymore. They really were the best value for a true SUV body on frame. The V6 has plenty of power. My wife has had 2 of them of that generation she loved them both.

Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk
That’s what I’ve been reading and the 2011 don’t have some of the issues that the 05-08s did with the timing chain guides. So there are a lot of pros to be checked which is why I’m still interested but only if o can get it for a price I’m comfortable with.
 


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#6
Just gonna say, love my old body on frame 1st gen ford explorer. Can find them for dirt cheap any day on clist
 


dmb

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#7
First off my salvage 15 FiST I bought for 8k 7k miles love it. ins. will not pay the car off so beware its worth about 49% no matter how nice it is. A lot of totaled cars have low mileage because they sit that can be a good thing my car was brand new even smelled new. and it takes a while to sort things out. A lot of people do this as a business and are good and they do newer cars. there is no money on older cars so they could be doing this just to grab some money on a car they got for nothing. Everything go's to the auction good and bad, dead people, no injuries. if the guy has a bunch of cars at a yard or shop that he's doing thats a good thing. if you meet him in a alley buy himself, be careful you can get 1000 cards made for $20. 8k is a lot to lose so be on your toes. 49% of the price of a undamaged car. 100k+ miles means a lot of parts are at the end of their service life... if you like it offer 5K then walk away wait a few days then go 55 or 6 k you made 2-3k in a few days. take your time salvaged scares a lot away but if you know what your looking at, save and they don't make you fly a salvage flag so no one will know better.
 


OP
zanethan

zanethan

Active member
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Thread Starter #8
First off my salvage 15 FiST I bought for 8k 7k miles love it. ins. will not pay the car off so beware its worth about 49% no matter how nice it is. A lot of totaled cars have low mileage because they sit that can be a good thing my car was brand new even smelled new. and it takes a while to sort things out. A lot of people do this as a business and are good and they do newer cars. there is no money on older cars so they could be doing this just to grab some money on a car they got for nothing. Everything go's to the auction good and bad, dead people, no injuries. if the guy has a bunch of cars at a yard or shop that he's doing thats a good thing. if you meet him in a alley buy himself, be careful you can get 1000 cards made for $20. 8k is a lot to lose so be on your toes. 49% of the price of a undamaged car. 100k+ miles means a lot of parts are at the end of their service life... if you like it offer 5K then walk away wait a few days then go 55 or 6 k you made 2-3k in a few days. take your time salvaged scares a lot away but if you know what your looking at, save and they don't make you fly a salvage flag so no one will know better.
Thanks for the tips. This one still has a clean title so I’m in a bit of a different situation. Wrecked vehicles have never bothered me but the airbag is a new one for me. I was thinking of offering $6500 as it’s been on the market for a month, has been in a wreck, and has a manual (pro for me but a negative for 99% of the area). Of course that offer is contingent on a mechanic checking it over first. Going to look at it today so I’ll know more then.
 


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Lecco
#9
Even better. Nissan xterras are great I hate they don't make them anymore. They really were the best value for a true SUV body on frame. The V6 has plenty of power. My wife has had 2 of them of that generation she loved them both.

Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk
Yep!..I like the WD22 first generation Nissan XTerra...Very strong and indestructible [rockon].
Also like the old 1984 Toyota 4Runner [thumb]
 


XR650R

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#10
I bought an old salvage title Geo Metro for a song and drove it for years. The guy I sold it to is still driving it.
 




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