i'm looking for a car around the 10k range and mostly they were 1st gen. fits. i found this one however it does have a salvage title.

***2009 HONDA FIT SPORT 5K AUTOMATIC***

basically rear right taillight, rear bumper, and right quarter panel were replaced. should i go for it?

edit: ill try to post up pics of the accident later tonight

 

For a new car like that I would personally stay clear of a salvage title. For a car to get a salvage title doesn't it have to have damage that is half or more of the cost of the car? Some thing like that I would think you would be having unseen problems down the road. I would just keep looking for another deal.

 

i'm assuming the quarter panel is very expensive

 

I would buy it. Run it as SCCA H-Stock. Win lots of titles. Have fun and improve your skills as a driver while doing so.

 

A salvage title is an automobile title with a notation that the vehicle has been damaged in excess of approximately 70% of its pre-accident market value. The exact percentage depends on the insurance provider and any applicable laws and regulations.

Quarter Panels are WAY expensive to fix!

I would get it myself and IM ANTI USED CARS.

I think its funny how they removed the license plates but you can see the streets on the signs hahathats even worse for people to find a take!

 

where does it say salvage title??

 

i havent run a vin check yet, but the craigslist poster had it up before and it said salvage title. i guess he decided to put up another post w/o saying salvage. i didnt get the vin yet because when i was talking to the owner he wasn't home.

however, i could care less about resale value. i plan on driving this car
til the wheels fall off.

 

in an auto fit? fun and auto in the same sentence is an oxymoron

 

it has paddle shifters.. they are kinda fun lol

 

hahaha, i tried finding out where these pictures were taken. the poster only wrote "ohare" which is just an airport. the only street sign i saw was berwyn.

 

A gearhead buddy salvaged a Fusion; did the work himself, saved a bundle, and it came out very well.
He claimed that picking a 'salvage' car well was most of the battle; making an accurate assessment of what's bent, what ain't, and what can reasonably be fixed or what has to be replaced.
He also claims that there is some gaming of the system by repair shops and insurance companies.
I'd be a little leery of work done by someone I didn't know and trust, though there is a huge difference between replaced panels and those frankenstein cars made of two good halves.
Moon

 

I'm kinda a stuck-up guy for this sort of topic,
despite, personally, not being to afford such a creedo - but I wouldn't buy a used video-game, I definitely wouldn't buy a used car (on-top of that a salvage title).

Just because for the sake, I like to know where my things have been - yah know?
I'd say, be careful with it. By judging the pictures - it looks clean as hell; but you can never be so sure.

Cross your t's, dot your i's.

(Also a side-topic on the Automatic, I have an AT 2007 Fit Sport - and the "Teptronic" Paddle-shifters are a LOT of fun, despite the fact looking back, I'd rather have done MT.)

 

Wouldn't touch it with a 10-foot pole. Take the advice given to you by all these good-hearted people. Definitely not worth the risks and potential heartaches involved.

 

Not trying to be rude but if you had 10K to buy it might as well down pay and get a new one and you monthly payments will be like 3ish (at most) for brand new with warranty. than again if you wanted to buy it just to mod the hell of it than it maybe worth it depending how messed up it is especially in the suspension and wheel well.

 

It's still in warranty. It only has 6k. I'm going to take a look at it tomorrow and post up pictures from the accident. The reason why I'm looking at spending 10k is because money is pretty tight with me. Is there anything I should look at particularly the quarter panel to see if it was replaced correctly instead of a hack job? I have a good eye regarding body damage.

 

Read this from Edmunds.com re: cars with salvage titles.

Used Car Deals: Program Cars, Rental Cars & Salvage Titles

 

anything that looks bondo'd, step away.

 

I see two issues to look out for:
1. You want to make sure you avoid something with frame damage. I wouldn't hesitate to take it to a frame shop BEFORE you buy it to ensure the frame is actually not bent. Otherwise you either have a car that won't handle properly and / or you'll wear through tires a lot. Any money you save on the car would then be spent on tires.
2. Flood damage. If a car is immersed then you can expect that sooner or later the electronics will likely fail at an accelerated rate.

Otherwise there are a lot of good deals out there in the salvage market. It is a little more unusual for such a new car though. An old car is not worth as much as so it would be more likely that an insurance company would "total it" and the result would be a salvage title. A new car has a lot of value so an insurance company has determined that the appropriate repairs exceed the value of the car. And they have a lot of experience in this and base their comnpany's profit on it.

 

I couldn't bring myself to buy it.

I would not recommend buying it to use it but you could try to 'flip' the car and sell it for a profit.

 

In PA, there are major restrictions on what you can do with a 'salvage' title. IIRC, it can be sold but not traded, among other things. I know some guys make a side income doing salvage cars, but in this litigious age, I'd want to be mighty damn careful about it.
Moon