itssr20

One of my good friends coworker has a 1998 GS400, 60,000 miles for sale. It had rear end damage, but there is nothing visible wrong with and it drives perfect. The interior isnt in the best shape, and it does have the door lock problem. The owner wants 11,500 for it. It is not the cleanest GS out there but the miles on it are very low. My price range is roughly 11-12k, so I could either get one w. clean title with much higher mileage or pick this one up...

Whats your thoughts?

bighitbike

I think of eating poop. You just don't do it.

JeffTsai

iTrader: (1)

Eh, I would recommend you stay away from it. I'm pretty sure you can pick up a decent condition, non salvaged GS400(same year but higher miles) for about that same price. It might have more miles, but honestly it's gonna be a lot better than having a fixed up salvaged car.

bighitbike

Plus when buying a GS you shouldn't really be worrying about miles. Just make sure they have gone through all of the checks and you will be fine. Just get a higher mileage GS for the same price. Salvage can have a lot of problems in the long run.

pingu

Stay away from any car that has been salvaged. There is a reason it has been salvaged. Do not believe the bs these sellers say about how it was just in a "minor accident" and the insurance company totaled it. I know of a few friends who were burned. Cosmetically, it may look fine but im sure there are problems.

rodel

iTrader: (3)

That's actually overpriced. I looked up the true market value (TMV) on Edmunds.com.

With all optional equipment and "average" condtion, a 1998 GS's private party selling price should be under $11,000.



Here's a CarFax definition of salvaged:

Salvage Title - A Salvage Title is issued on a vehicle damaged to the extent that the cost of repairing the vehicle exceeds ~ 75% of its pre-damage value. This damage threshold may vary by state. Some states treat Junk titles the same as Salvage but the majority use this title to indicate that a vehicle is not road worthy and cannot be titled again in that state. The following eleven states also use Salvage titles to identify stolen vehicles - AZ, FL, GA, IL, MD, MN, NJ, NM, NY, OK and OR.

If you wanna take a risk and intend on keeping the car for a long time, having a salvaged title is less relevant. I would negotiate a price less than $11,000 to compensate for the car being salvaged with poor interior. So how low do you go? I dunno...but to get a basis, I looked up the Edmund's.com TMV for the 1998 GS400, with all options, "rough" (not salvaged) condition; the private party value is approximately $9500. Since $9500 is for a car that is not salvaged, I would negotiate a price below $9500.

MrExecutiv

iTrader: (2)

I think the price is too high for a salvaged GS.

ElitistK

iTrader: (4)

salvage accident in california means:

the cost of repair exceeds half of the current value of the vehicle.

I've known cars that has been in accidents that deserves the salvage title, but has not been salvaged by insurance companies through DMV, so generally, I'd stay away from salvage title cars becasue usually they have frame damage or some sort of extensive damage.

itssr20

The thing is I dont want a salvage title just in case I plan on selling it, but my friend works at a salvage yard and they cut and reassemble cars there, and he and some other friends have owned several salvaged cars like this one. Acuras, Subarus, Hondas, Lexus. My friend didnt directly work on this one though.

My only gripe is the price tag and he seemed firm on it, ya I agree, If it was 9k I think I'd jump on it.

salimshah

Assuming there is nothing wrong with the car .. other than the tag "salvaged"
Guess how much the salvage yard paid for the vehicle. You can add labor and parts on top if you are generous. Compare that with how much they are selling it for.

One of the nice thing about used cars is that you can potentially flip the vehicle for 95-105% of what you bought it the next day. So even if you plunk 9grands, would you be able to sell it with the salvaged title for 9k?

Salim

mole

iTrader: (3)

The way I look at it, if it were 7500, maybe if all looked ok, but try selling a salvage car, everything your doing right here is what the next buyer will be doing. Why buy something that causes you to wonder if you should buy it when you could buy something without reserve for a bit more or the same price?