what to look for

[lotz6996]

im going with my gf to look at a 98 crv lx. my main question is that it has a salvage/repair title. what should i look for to make sure its all straight. or repaired properly. he says it was repaired in 2002, hes not sure what it was from cause he bought it a couple of years ago. it looks good and straight from the what i can see in the pic, he said it drives straight. thanks.

 

[SwiftEKtuner]

do you know what kind of colision it was in?

 

[somejaykid]

try doing the the carfax thing op

 

[lotz6996]

dont know what kind of accident yet. my aunt owns an insurance company and im going to see if she can check it out tomorrow.

 

[SwiftEKtuner]

ya get the vin number and do that...just dont buy it if it was in a serious accident

 

[lotz6996]

ya get the vin number and do that...just dont buy it if it was in a serious accident

duh. here is a link to it. it actually looks pretty good for being 8 years out of the accident. it looks like it was at least taken to a good shop. im going up to look at it on sat.
http://toledo.craigslist.org/cto/1617049357.html

 

[1991civicZC]

165k on a wrecked suv... look at all the fender lines and suspension look to see paint matching where the damage was and make sure all fluids and all are full. any hesitation starting up or smoke when first starting is a bad sign of course

 

[Mr. Jollypants]

Get under it and check the frame make sure it's not bent, also check under the hood, see if the fenders have been bent to fit properly, ect. ect.

When it comes to things like this, I'd rather move on and get one that has a clean title then one that has been in an accident and you don't know how well the repair was made.

 

[oc_civic]

I'd rather move on and get one that has a clean title then one that has been in an accident and you don't know how well the repair was made.

IMHO its a bad buy.. when something is hit bad enough to need to modify the title of the car you KNOW it was more than likely in pretty bad shape....

 

[jerk334]

STAY AWAY. IMHO, if its the CRV i hit, i f**ked that thing up :/

 

[lotz6996]

did the carfax. no structural damage. only minor damage reported. then the insurance company just totaled it. and the owner bought it back and had it fixed.

 

[Mr. Jollypants]

I doubt it was only minor damage. I'd say pass on this.

 

[oc_civic]

did the carfax. no structural damage. only minor damage reported. then the insurance company just totaled it. and the owner bought it back and had it fixed.

i have taken the time to highlight the most important aspect of what you posted..

 

[lotz6996]

ya. i know. reported was the big part. im going to look at it anyway cause hes meeting me near where i need to pick up some other s**t anyway.

 

[oc_civic]

ya. i know. reported was the big part. im going to look at it anyway cause hes meeting me near where i need to pick up some other s**t anyway.

the issue is you may look at it.. and not SEE any problems.. may drive great.. start right up.. but if the structure of the vehicle has been compromised it MAY have created a situation where if you get in ANOTHER accident you (or the others in the car) MAY get SERIOUSLY f**ked up.... it sucks because that is the gamble that you take.. and YES ANY car COULD be f**ked up like that and MAY be unsafe.. but by buying a car with a salvage title to me you are GREATLY increasing the likelihood that the vehicle has been severely damaged..

 

[Mr. Jollypants]

My thinking has always been, if it has a salvaged title it has a reason. The ONLY time I'd think of buying a salvaged title is if it was a theft recovery and didn't have any structural damage.