Would you guys buy a Salvage title P5?

Here is the deal on the car, by the way: 2003 P5, 37K for $7500...I would try to get the guy down to $7000 though. What do you guys think?

FYI, I recently picked up my 2002 P5 with 57K miles and clean title for $6000 on ebay. $7500 is a good deal for a non salvage with those miles, but for a 2003 with 37k miles I wouldn't pay more than $5k.
 
My testimony:
I live in Northern California. I have a 2003 p5 with a salvaged title. I bought mine in september of 2006 for $7500 with only 18k miles. I now have almost 40k miles and haven't had any problems at all. Still has the original tires on it.
Here's my secret to buying salvaged:

-i found pictures from the online auction site that the car was auctioned from. These pictures showed the damage to the car and why the car was salvaged.
- The pictures showed that the car was salvaged at only 10k miles so i know there couldn't have been any neglect in maintenance by the original owner.
- Neither air bags were deployed from the accident.
- The frame did not appear to be bent
- The suspension did not appear to be altered.
- there was a sizeable dent above the gas filler on the 1/4 panel that needed to be replaced.

When i looked at the car in person, i was able to see the type of work that was done. The car drove stright and sure enough, the frame was not bent. I do have quite a bit of knowledge with cars and repairing cars, so i was able to inspect what was visible. Also, the seller of the car was a mutual friend of mine and i trust his reputibility.

Buying salavaged requires strict attention, however, my experience has proven that simply because a vehicle has a "clean title" does not mean the car is accident-free. I have seen some pretty gnarly cars that have been chopped and clipped together worse than some salvaged titled cars. The insurance companies in California assess a wrecked car...if the total repairs are more than 60% of the total value of the car, they will total out the vehicle. some clean titled cars have even been in multiple collisions with repairs of nearly every panel of the car. In addition, buying from a dealership does not guarantee any mechanical reliability. Most dealerships do not carry any history of the car. Some negligent car owners may drive their car to 50k miles without even changing the motor oil.

I say all this to conclude:
Always do your homework. whether you are buying clean or salvaged...study up. know what you're getting.

Thanks for reading.

-wes
 
My testimony:
I live in Northern California. I have a 2003 p5 with a salvaged title. I bought mine in september of 2006 for $7500 with only 18k miles. I now have almost 40k miles and haven't had any problems at all. Still has the original tires on it.
Here's my secret to buying salvaged:

-i found pictures from the online auction site that the car was auctioned from. These pictures showed the damage to the car and why the car was salvaged.
- The pictures showed that the car was salvaged at only 10k miles so i know there couldn't have been any neglect in maintenance by the original owner.
- Neither air bags were deployed from the accident.
- The frame did not appear to be bent
- The suspension did not appear to be altered.
- there was a sizeable dent above the gas filler on the 1/4 panel that needed to be replaced.

When i looked at the car in person, i was able to see the type of work that was done. The car drove stright and sure enough, the frame was not bent. I do have quite a bit of knowledge with cars and repairing cars, so i was able to inspect what was visible. Also, the seller of the car was a mutual friend of mine and i trust his reputibility.

Buying salavaged requires strict attention, however, my experience has proven that simply because a vehicle has a "clean title" does not mean the car is accident-free. I have seen some pretty gnarly cars that have been chopped and clipped together worse than some salvaged titled cars. The insurance companies in California assess a wrecked car...if the total repairs are more than 60% of the total value of the car, they will total out the vehicle. some clean titled cars have even been in multiple collisions with repairs of nearly every panel of the car. In addition, buying from a dealership does not guarantee any mechanical reliability. Most dealerships do not carry any history of the car. Some negligent car owners may drive their car to 50k miles without even changing the motor oil.

I say all this to conclude:
Always do your homework. whether you are buying clean or salvaged...study up. know what you're getting.

Thanks for reading.

-wes


Is it me or does anyone else find that funny? I agree you can purchase a really good car with a salvage tittle... you just gotta know what to for before you purchase.
 
$7500 is a lot to pay for a salvage...I personally feel that it's a bad investment to spend more money on a vehicle than it's worth based on the insurance assessment and a loan company. I mean, this is what happens with a new car, but the tradeoff is that you get a new car. When I bought my P5 I paid $1500-$2000 less than what my loan company & insurance said it was worth. So if it was totalled this morning on my way home from work, I would be able to pay off what I still owe and make a little money on it. With a salvage vehicle bought for more than half the Nada/Blue Book value, the opposite is true...there's only downside. The total value of the vehicle is less than what you paid for it from the moment you purchase the vehicle...it's automatically a financial liablity. Not to mention that if you don't do your research, or even if you do but miss something, you can end up with all kinds of problems. I don't think it's out of the question in every case, but deliberately paying more than a car is insurable for seems unwise to me...
 
Thank you guys for all of the feedback, I definitely have learned much so far. I'm having a heckuva time finding a P5 close to me, but I'm sure if I hold out that a good deal will present itself...
 
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