carproof results: salvage title, but no insurance claims?

[jus]

hey,

i'm hoping somebody can shed some light on this. i've been looking at buying a used car for a while now. i found one that looked really promising from a private sale this weekend. checked out the car in person and with a friend of mine who knows lots about cars. we test drove it and it drove really well; so well in fact that i actually put a deposit down on the car on the condition that it passes my mechanic's inspection.

so anyway, i get home and decide i should do my due diligence and run a carproof on the car. i thought if anything, i might find a $500 claim for a fender-bender or something else that was minor. so, i was really surprised when carproof pulled up a salvage title for the car. i studied the report a little further though and found that there were no insurance claims on the car at all. isn't that odd?

so does anyone know how that could happen? that a vehicle can be written-off without a claim attached to it? could it be possible that carproof was wrong?

any insight would be greatly appreciated. i really like this car but at the same time i don't want any potential problems that might come along with a salvage title either.

thanks!

[jus]

nevermind... figured it out (i think).

i guess since i ran carproof so late at night last night, it wasn't able to tap some of the insurance databases. found out this morning that $30k worth of damage had been incurred on the right door of the car...

i'm torn... car drove great and when we looked for signs of accidents (door seams, uneven panels, etc.) they didn't even show. car is relatively cheap and low kms (i guess from just sitting around as salvage for a few years).

maybe i'll still get the mechanic to check it over and see what he says...

[xg3]

$30,000 worth of damage? and a salvage title and you still considering to buy it?

You are kidding me right?

[kbjy11]

putting down a deposit on a used car is a huge no-no.

I hope you didn't agree to a price thinking it had a clean title...

anyhow, did you ask the seller if the car was a rebuilt/salvage?

If he lied to you about it, you may have a case in court to get your deposit back.

[jus]

it was a private sale and car looked great and drove awesome. no signs at all about accidents or whatever. i asked the guy about the history and he said minor accident, but otherwise clean so it should be

anyway, deposit should not be hard to get back. seemed like a pretty decent guy... plus i know where he lives. ;)

.. yeah, i realize now to stay away. thanks for talking some sense into me. its hard when you find a car you really really like and already start forming an emotional attachment... damn!

[Bidou78]

Keep in mind that the structural integrity of the right side has been compromised and will never be anywhere close to as safe as it once was. Cars are designed to save you once, asking this car to stand up to another impact may be a bit too much. Get your $$ and keep shoping.

[BartBandy]

it was a private sale and car looked great and drove awesome. no signs at all about accidents or whatever. i asked the guy about the history and he said minor accident, but otherwise clean so it should be
He lied to you. He flat out lied to you.


anyway, deposit should not be hard to get back. seemed like a pretty decent guy... plus i know where he lives. ;)
I hope you're right.

[blainehamilton]

$30k in damage for a right door? Maybe if it's a ferrari or lambo.

My guess is a major T-bone. Not just the door, but fender, quarterpanel, doorframe, roof, and floorpan have probably been repaired.

Either that or this screams of a VIN swap onto a stolen car from another vehicle.

Take the carproof back to the seller and tell him you want your deposit back. I assume you have a receipt for the deposit stating it is for the sale of the vehicle pending a clean record.

If he gives you any trouble, remind him if you take him to court, he'll probably be responsible for the deposit along with court costs.

Get your money back and walk away.

Lesson learned: Don't put a deposit on a used vehicle. If you do, get a written receipt and contract stating it's dependent on a clean record and inspection.

[urameatball]

i asked the guy about the history and he said minor accident

I don't know of a single used car salesman (even if it's a private seller) who said "well, it was in a HUGE accident and the car was written off instantly".
It's always been, "minor accident" or "fender bender".

The most honest one I've met showed me pictures of the car right after the collision. Even then, he said it was in a "light front end collision"... the entire front end imploded!

[chickenbones]

$30,000 damage means serious frame damage that can not be repaired. Even if visually nothing can be seen, the frame is damaged and the car will never handle the same. In an accident the car will probably split in half.

But it's your choice since you are set on the low price.

it was a private sale and car looked great and drove awesome. no signs at all about accidents or whatever. i asked the guy about the history and he said minor accident, but otherwise clean so it should be

anyway, deposit should not be hard to get back. seemed like a pretty decent guy... plus i know where he lives. ;)

.. yeah, i realize now to stay away. thanks for talking some sense into me. its hard when you find a car you really really like and already start forming an emotional attachment... damn!

[jus]

if you're curious, its an audi a4...

...and don't worry... i've been thoroughly talked out of getting it now. price was nice and it drove like a dream. but ultimately i'd worry about the safety of my passengers...

so yeah.. thanks for all the tips and advice and waking me up to reality.

unfortunately for me, the search continues...

[xg3]

i realize is over..

but yah.. an new A4 is prolly 45k? and damage of 30k?? did he ram that thing into a wall front and back and side?

[leon200608]

Keep in mind that the structural integrity of the right side has been compromised and will never be anywhere close to as safe as it once was. Cars are designed to save you once, asking this car to stand up to another impact may be a bit too much. Get your $$ and keep shoping.

In fact only unibody cars ave you once. BOF cars can save you infinitely many times.

[jus]

i realize is over..

but yah.. an new A4 is prolly 45k? and damage of 30k?? did he ram that thing into a wall front and back and side?

well, the only thing that carproof tells me is that it was the right side door, and that damage was estimated at $29912.

here's the carproof if you're interested. it might be useful if somebody else is in the market for an A4 and stumbles upon the same car... or if you've never seen a carproof before and want to know what it looks like (a bad one anyway):

http://reports.carproof.net/view_report.aspx?id=C0169FA823A6

[BlizzardNeon]

It would appear that only in Quebec it had a salvage title on the car and it was rebuilt in Ontario which means it passes all safty inspections and it worth full price to the insurance company.

I would stay clear of the car anyways and the best way to see if its a salvage or rebuild or clean record is look on the owner ship and it should say it on it cause thats how I found out some moron was trying to sell me a salvage was cause it was stated on the ownership as salvage.

[kastro187]

damn the car sat for 3-4 years.. no way i'd touch that.. i currently own a 05 a4, how much was the asking price if u dont mind., and i currently got an in a accident friday.. right door/fender wheels caved in.. all that fun stuff.. hope its not a 30 000 fix it job...