Should I buy a salvage titled Nissan Altima?

Question

Hey Scotty, I’m a young adult trying to get my first car, don’t have a lot of cash and have an opportunity to get a Nissan Altima 2013 120k miles for 5,000 dollars although it’s a salvage title I know the owner personally and know the damaged that was caused to deem it salvage (nothing major). Do you think it’s a good buy?

Whatchamacallit · Accepted Answer

I would stay away; those weren’t good vehicles to begin with but a high mileage, salvage title Altima is just asking for trouble. If you get it, most likely you will be back to square one looking for another vehicle in short order.

jack62 · Answer

As a young adult without much cash you should stay away from any Nissan with a CVT transmission.

I don't care if it was only driven by an old lady to church on Sundays.

There's plenty of other cars to choose from.

The internet is full of stories from Nissan CVT transmission owners and none of them are praising the transmission.

Think of a Nissan with a CVT as a vampire.

It can't bite you unless you invite it into your house.

Here's a link to the NHTSA site. In the Complaints section, Scroll down to the FILTER COMPLAINTS BY AFFECTED COMPONENTS list and click on "Power Train". there's 95 pages of complaints.

https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2013/NISSAN/ALTIMA/2%252520DR/FWD#complaints

Ask yourself if you really want to spend 5 grand to join that club?

Dad2LM2 · Answer

Welcome to the forum!

Salvage title cars have been discussed here many times. Query for "salvage title" in the search field above.

My bottom line opinion is that salvage title cars *can* be OK if it is truly only cosmetic reasons they were totaled (think hail damage). But more often, there could be unknown damage to the frame, engine, or electrical that could lead to problems down the road and possibly be unrepairable. You really have to have extensive experience and expertise to know what to look for. I'm not trying to be insulting, sincerely, but if you have to ask on a forum like this, you probably shouldn't buy it. Leave the salvage cars to the pros.

Also, @jack62 is right, you could lose a lot of $ on the deal. Most people who deal with salvage cars flip a lot of them and can afford to "miss" on one now and then; if you can't afford a loss, don't buy it.

BTW: The fact that you know the current owner is not necessarily an advantage. You might be able to vouch for their trustworthiness, but dealing with friends and acquaintances introduces other risks. You (or they) might be prone to be less careful dealing with a friend. And if something does go sour, you can ruin your friendship as well. Usually not worth it.