Rebuilt from salvage vehicle - what to look for?

[SolarBell]

I'm looking at replacing my wife's hail-destroyed car. I found what appears to be a good deal, but the vehicle appears to have been rebuilt from salvage after a collision. The deal is good and the issues with financing and insurance don't bother me. However I realize there may be some hidden issues and I don't know what to look for. I was planning on getting it over to my mechanic to check for mechanical issues. Should I try to get it into a body shop to check the frame? Is there something else I should be checking as well? I don't know what I don't know.

 

[smokeyyank]

Really it depends why it was totaled and what the vehicle is. Definitely get it to a mechanic for a PPI and possibly to a body shop. I've seen some major hack jobs that get passed as road worthy.

 

[thejeepgod]

A mechanic is a waste of time/money in my opinion. I have had buyers do mechanic inspections before buying and they didn't even notice the repaired areas, they always just try to sell fluid changes/brakes.

Best thing to do is ask. See if seller has before (while wrecked) pics. Ask them what was replaced and by whom. Also look at who is selling it. Are they a nice normal person who looks capable of fixing or do they look like the sketchy type that would cut corners.

Then crawl underneath and look around, usually you can tell if paint has been touched up, hammer marks, etc. Check door gaps also, that's a sign of a tweaked body.

 

[trippled]

A mechanic is a waste of time/money in my opinion. I have had buyers do mechanic inspections before buying and they didn't even notice the repaired areas, they always just try to sell fluid changes/brakes.

Best thing to do is ask. See if seller has before (while wrecked) pics. Ask them what was replaced and by whom. Also look at who is selling it. Are they a nice normal person who looks capable of fixing or do they look like the sketchy type that would cut corners.

Then crawl underneath and look around, usually you can tell if paint has been touched up, hammer marks, etc. Check door gaps also, that's a sign of a tweaked body.

Brakes plusdoesnt count.

A good shop will give you an evaluation of the vehicle and not try to sell you a bunch of crap. And a good mechanic will catch poor repairs. I vote PPI. $100 could save you a lot down the road.

 

[YELLAHEEP]

Yeah you really need to do your due diligence here as you're talking about having your wife and kids using this car.

Carfax report, and a very in depth inspection.

I just bought a "totaled" '01 Dakota with a salvage title and did the rebuilt from salvage process and "inspection". Trust me, there really isn't an inspection to back up the Rebuilt from Salvage part. The CSP inspector has no information of why the vehicle was salvage in the first place, nor did they ask......nor did I offer it up. Nothing about the inspection involves the repairs made specific to the damage. Just inspected for visual "road worthiness".

The truck has been driving and operating well since I got it titled and registered, but today I had to panic stop and the brake pedal stuttered 3 times as it went to the floor and barely got me stopped. I pumped the pedal and it got firm again immediately after I got it stopped...... scared the keeeeerap outta me though. I need to look into that. No idea if it's related to the damage that got it totaled but just an example that you don't know what you're getting into with any used car, but one that's been confirmed to have been wrecked should be really looked over.....

 

[md21722]

What you really want is an old school guy who works on cars because he loves it, not because he's a flat rate guy rushing though jobs for the next buck and cruise to the Bahamas. Most of the old school guys have project cars on the side and have seen a ton of stuff. A good independent old school alignment shop would probably notice a bunch of things, at least mine would. If it don't align worth a crap you know the frame is off.

 

[xj-grin]

Yeah you really need to do your due diligence here as you're talking about having your wife and kids using this car.

Carfax report, and a very in depth inspection.

I just bought a "totaled" '01 Dakota with a salvage title and did the rebuilt from salvage process and "inspection". Trust me, there really isn't an inspection to back up the Rebuilt from Salvage part. The CSP inspector has no information of why the vehicle was salvage in the first place, nor did they ask......nor did I offer it up. Nothing about the inspection involves the repairs made specific to the damage. Just inspected for visual "road worthiness".

The truck has been driving and operating well since I got it titled and registered, but today I had to panic stop and the brake pedal stuttered 3 times as it went to the floor and barely got me stopped. I pumped the pedal and it got firm again immediately after I got it stopped...... scared the keeeeerap outta me though. I need to look into that. No idea if it's related to the damage that got it totaled but just an example that you don't know what you're getting into with any used car, but one that's been confirmed to have been wrecked should be really looked over.....

This ^^ -- reasons for total losses vary greatly. My 2012 Titan was a rebuilt from salvage title – I did the digging and found that it had a $3,000 repair to the drivers quarter panel. No frame damage, nothing else – a $46,000 truck totaled for $3k in damage (I actually had the receipts for the repair). Book on non-salvage at the time was $31K, I picked it up for $22k. Crazy. Gotta find out why its a branded title... If its a flood, forget it.

 

[SolarBell]

Thanks a ton for the info, guys. Any recommended body shops to look at the frame if I wanted to? I'm in the Wheat Ridge area.