I need some input on if i should purchase this car. Its a 2003 Acura Cl type S Auto tranny, it has only 82K miles on it and is still on its original tranny (i think). I will be the third owner and checked carfax and the car was well taken care of!

PLEASE HELP!!!!

 

Forgot to mention it has a salvage title and am getting it at a price of $4900

 

After owning a salvage CL, I wouldn't do it again. If your intent on buying it, make sure you have another 3k stashed away for a new tranny and a 105k service. Almost make sure the car drives great and the tranny shifts smoothly. Find out why the car was salvage and get it inspected on a lift.

 

I drove it and it rides smooth, it was salvage because it was rear ended not very hard and the insurance company labeled it as totaled

 

I agree with everything ^ mentioned. Just be better safe than sorry. Really test drive the car. How does it perform, feel, and drive. Dont just do stop/go streets. Take it out on a nearby highway/freeway to feel the steering vibrations if any or how it tracks.

 

Oh okay then go for it. May we see the car? Is there an ad or dealer photos?

 

ill post some pics of the car, and im getting it from a what seems to be a reliable person.

 

 

 

 

 

rear end accident is much better then front end. I would still get the underbody inspected on a lift though. Make sure the alignment is good and within spec.

 

I will get a local mechanic/dealer to give it a great inspection, im just torn about it its a great car and dont want to get "jipped"

 

Honestly, I would say that if it was fixed proper, you shouldn't worry too much about it being a salvage title. I know that I will catch flak for suggesting this, but take it from me, the owner of a "Clear Title" CL with two accidents and a few small claims for a broken windshield/ parking lot scratch, Salvage is sometimes better than a "Clean Title".

In Canada, BC Specifically, the car has to pass a provincial inspection ensuring that it is properly fixed and can be safely driven on the road. The car is also usually given to BCAA (the BC equivalent of AAA) who does an inspection on top of the Provincial one to ensure that the car is safe.

Back to the story of my car, I bought it know that it needed a small amount of work, some tires and an alignment, no biggie. I was told by the dealership that it had two accidents, one for $10k and one for $7k CAD, 2004 and 2007 repsectivley and that they had been properly fixed by the insurance crop up here. After about two months of ownership, I am about $1.2k into repairs and they just keep coming and the car keeps getting closer and closer to being qualified for a "hack-and-slash" title. So far had to do rear rotors and pads, alignment, lower ball joints, inner tie rod, brake system flush, had 2 calipers replaced and the exhaust still needs doing and new tires too. This, again, is on a clean title car.

What I am getting at is that Salvage/Rebuilt is fine if the work is done right, and usually with the pressure of a provincial/sate safety inspection and private mechanical inspections, the work is usually done above the minimum required level.

After owning 3 clear title cars with more problems than KM's, I would gladly buy salvage next time. The only real downside is that the resale value is almost nothing because people get scared off by the title. I paid 4800 CAD for mine with tax and dealer fees with 144,000 miles (presumably 2nd or 3rd auto tranny). NBP 01 CL-S Auto with no Navi. but that is up in Canada.

I would check the following areas:
Visually :

Is the car listing to one side (possible frame/suspension damage)
The car's jack up points (by the wheels) - silly I know, but I just found out yesterday that one of mine are sheared off completley...
The Engine Bay for Weld Marks
Brake Fluid - Make sure it isn't black, you will have to change it at a point if it is
Brake Rotors - for heavy scoring/ deep rings around the rotor or vertical lines - this can indicate a seized caliper, worn out pads and/or warped rotors.

Get a mechanic to go over it if you can and if he gives you the green light, ask the dealership if you can take it for an extended test drive and floor it a few times, take it on the highway/interstate and play with the gear shifting to make sure its smooth and check the CV joints in a parking lot by doing some very low speed turns with the wheel fully turned (do it in both directions) a loud repeated click/snap means you will need CV joints. If the D5 light is bilking, run away as fast as you can. The blinking D5 usually signals a future tranny failure.

Lastly, in regards to your CarFax report, they are not always accurate, Autocheck and another auto history report site (forgot which one the dealer waved at me) failed to find the two accidents totaling $17k on my car. These were found via claims submitted to the Insurance Corporation through their claims history report.

*you may notice a lot that was already said before in this post, sorry, TL;DR is a big problem for me still

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auto trans made it 83K eh? you are lucky.......mine made it 71K before it croaked

 

What you need to find out is when was it rear ended and totaled, for example if it was totaled in 2005 when the value of the car was still high then that means there was a lot of damage because in order to be considered being totaled the damage has to exceed 70% of the value so anytime someone says the car was salvaged due to a minor accident is lying minor accident don't cause cars to get totaled unless the car wasn't worth much to begin with.

Also IMHO I wouldn't purchase a salvaged car especially since a very high percentage of them don't get repaired correctly because the people who have them repaired are out to make some money so they cut corners and sometimes the corners they cut could cost you your life. That might sound harsh but its true because if a frame was bent in the accident that totaled most of the time its just bent back instead of being replaced and if you have another bad accident on that weakened area your playing with your life.

I would stay away from it because you can't tell if it was repaired correctly unless you take it to a body shop and they do an almost tear down and that won't be worth it.
I say spend a couple of grand more and be safe otherwise that could be the most expensive couple of grand you ever saved if something bad happens.

 

If it was rear ended, and they had to weld in a new trunk floor where the spare tire is. That was prob what caused the insurance company to give it a salvage title. Its very expensive.

Make sure the rear alignment is within spec, otherwise you will be buying tires every 10-20k miles.