Hey guys, I just wanted to get some of your advice on whether this is a worthwhile deal or not. A buddy of mine bought a 2004 Mini Cooper S about a year ago with about 17,000 miles for $19k. He's looking about getting rid of it now and said he would sell it to me for around $12k. It's got about 20,000 miles on it now. The only thing is, the car has a salvage title when you run a carfax on it. He bought it with the salvage title and he says it's been driving fine. The reason it has the salvage title is because the 1st owner forgot to put the e-brake on and the front end rolled into a lake but did not do any engine damage. Supposedly it has a clean title here in AZ but the salvage only comes up when you run the carfax. Any thoughts on this deal?

 

Buying a car with salvaged history is risky. If it weren't damaged in the realm of 80% of a cars value (this is just a ballpark figure, each insurance company has a different percentage), it would have been repaired instead. There are numerous salvaged cars available on Craigslist purporting to have "minor damage" but *I don't think so*. JIMHO.

Objectively speaking, I have heard that a salvage titled car is worth 30% less than the same car without this issue. I personally wouldn't consider paying more than 50% at most, for a car which I might want to build as a track car or short distance commuter. But at the end of the day, the owner faces several issues: more difficulty selling in the future; depending on your insurance company's policy, they may not even offer collision and comprehensive coverage; and lastly, one doesn't know the quality of repair.

In your friend's car, water damaged fixes might have been cosmetically repaired and major electrical pieces replaced. But flood damaged cars have a reputation for having serious reliability problems years after the fixes are done. Things tend to corrode at inconvenient times, and a good odor masking job might not be a permanent fix.

Once again, JIMHO.

John

 

he bought a salvaged car for 19k. ouch.
could have paid a few more gotten a new one.

raja

 

Stay away. You'll have a hard time if you ever want to sell it.

 

i'd make a low-ball offer, then gut it and make a race car.

 

Good idea. IF it's for a dd etc, then just get a car with a clean title instead. Not that much more expensive.