tromly

Just posted on Ebay is an 08 Pebble Beach with 1,451 miles. Salvage title, accident with airbag deployment, right front fender, bumper, and headlight replaced. Buy It Now price is$35,995. Would Lexus still warrant this car?? What do you guys think??

KaiserSea1

The 08 with so few miles probably cost the insurance company at least $60K to replace, meaning for that car to be totaled as a salvage, the repair costs would be very high if fixed correctly. Would you really feel safe in a car that suffered over $30K in damages for the title to be rebuilt? My guess is the damage was probably water related, which causes problems for the life of the car.

Bon

Warranty? No warranty.

tromly

+1, thanks Bon, now I know I'll pass on the car

EJC

Since it it appears to have been totlled, and is for sale as salvage I would guess Lexus is absolved of any warranty

Habious

I agree...had to be some SIGNIFICANT damage to total an 08 with low mileage...a lot more than a fender, airbag, headlight, and bumper... A LOT more.

PHXSC

An airbag deployment almost always means the car will be considered a total loss. I don't know why, but i suspect it is a liability issue for the insurance company for a replacement airbag.

robsvdp

A brand new $60k car is not automatically totaled for a $5k airbag replacement. There's more to this story than they are disclosing.

scdroptop

iTrader: (1)

I was tempted by similar PB Editions that were bought at auctions in Houston at Sterling McCall Lexus (Dealers are wholesalers in CT and NY that have them). I believe they had a white 07 PB for $32k which is a STEAL. The car looked perfect. I had someone drive it and they said it drove perfect, smelled perfect and looked perfect in every way.

I talked to several banks and they wouldn't even touch a car with this title.

I spoke to my DMV in Texas and that looked like a hassle.

I also spoke to my insurance agent and she said they would not sell a policy for the car...

So...if you have $30k cash lying around and want to take a chance, it would be a FUN gamble!!! Very intriguing to wonder "what if" the cars just had a little bit of water in them and they never damaged anything?

But...as several pointed out, why would they have been totalled?

One time I drove through some standing water in my rx-7 about 12 years ago and it got barely into the floorboards of the car just enough to make it smell a little and get the carpet wet. My insurance agent at the time (State Farm) said no damage was done and all they did was recommend a place to get the car detailed at!!! I tried

IS_250

iTrader: (2)

According to one of my friends that is a service manager at a dealership says they can deny a warranty claim due to a salvage title. If a "salvaged titled" flood car comes in having electrical issues you cant expect the manufacturer to fix it under warranty.

tromly

Thanks for the info, never thought about the insurance issue, will call USAA and see what they say

Bon

Okay, I'll share my story. I have an '06 with a "flood" title. It was drowned in fresh water up to its doors and was declared totaled. I knew this going into the deal. The car has a "salvage" title. I didn't even try to get a loan and paid cash at about 50% of the going price for the car. I had the car checked out by a Lexus dealer before completing the deal and they did a 160+ point check on the car and declared it to be in good shape. I checked with my insurance company and they insured it for comprehensive and collision without any problem; and yes I told them it has a salvage title. They don't do this very often (if ever before) and said I had to have it inspected by our State's Highway Patrol for safety. I called the HP and they said that if it already has a salvage title then the HP didn't need to inspect the car. I then transferred the title and that was that. Right after I got the car I pulled the seats and lifted the carpet to check things out for myself. I'm glad I did because there was still dampness under the carpet. The closed-cell foam underneath the carpet really traps the moisture and just pulling the "body plugs" will drain the bulk of the water but won't really dry out the car. (Don't expect any more that the minimum effort from anyone that deals with reclaiming salvage cars.) With the carpet propped up i used fans to dry the under-carpet area really good: end of problem. This was the only moisture I found in the car. Surface rust here and there from being soaked. No body or floor rust, as these surfaces are well protected, but rather surface rust on various unprotected pieces of interior metal that were not deemed worthy of any kind of protection by Lexus. No electrical problems at all - and I checked out every electrical connector that was down low. Overall, I'm very pleased with my adventure. I paid way less than the going price, the car has never had an electrical or mechanical problem yet (knock on wood), the longer I own it the easier it will be to prove to the next buyer that the car is fine, I can sell it for less and still suffer less depreciation than most. And besides, I installed a LuxLink while I had everything apart - no warranty so I didn't have to worry about voiding one. If you buy salvage, pay appropriately and are diligent there are some good deals out there - buyer beware!

tromly

Thanks for sharing an interesting story Bon, perhaps it will help other 430 buyers with their purchase decisions

scdroptop

iTrader: (1)

Great story!

I spoke in length to the guy in CT and NY about their process to reclaim these flood cars from the gulf coast and they said they inspect each and every electrical plug, lift the carpets, dry out the floorboards, speakers and shampoo and dry treat the entire car and put it all back together, recondition the seats if needed, etc.

He said a lot of times just a little water gets in the cabin or if any, and the insurance company will total them out and he picks up at auction for 50 cents on the dollar. So...a 2007 PB white on red they have is going for $32k. He probably bought for $21k at the auction in Houston and is making a HEFTY profit on this car. Retail that same car is $45k, so HELL YES it's a great deal if you can pay the cash for it and deal with the insurance, DMV details, etc. Each insurance company is different, and I'm sure each state is different on the DMV stuff, but it is definitely intriguing to me....I wish I had the cash to do it!

I heard some credit unions and small banks do allow for these titles, but at a much higher interest rate.

I would LOVE to have that 2007. Here is the link to it:

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail...5&aff=national

WOW!!!! IMHO the coolest SC ever made!!!!

TooCoolSC

LOL....didn't you say that about the Neiman Marcus and '05 PB editions, too? Looks like as long as it's red, you're happy!

Why do you think the '07 PB is the coolest?