Hello to anyone or Scotty if you can respond but I’m looking into buy a manual transmission sedan car. And I’ve seen a 2014 Honda Civic Si and its reported as Hail damage. Is it a good idea buying it? Since I know salvaged are cheaper and looking into buying one and just doing some modifications to it.
I would highly advise you to educate yourself on the whole salvage and salvage rebuilt process before you buy. If you are talking about a salvage title, the vehicle is not allowed to be driven on a public road until it is certified as salvage rebuilt, which means that the car must be towed when purchased.
Basically here is the process:
A car is manufactured and issued a clean green title and sold at a dealer. Let's say that the buyer purchased the vehicle and got into an accident, which resulted in a 70% or greater damage to the car. In such scenario, the car is deemed a total loss, the buyer gets a check from the insurance company and the car is issued a salvage title and put for sale on an auction. Whoever buys the car must tow it to the place where it will be rebuilt and once the car is rebuilt, it must pass state approved certified inspection to be issued a salvage rebuilt title.
Here is the problem. The inspector's main job is to ensure that the car is not rebuilt with stolen parts, which is why you must show receipt for every part you purchased. In addition, the inspector will make you start the car to make sure it runs. That's it. There is no safety inspection, no electrical inspection, no flooding or any other mechanical inspection.
Here is what this means for person buying such vehicle:
-the warranty of the car is gone. You will need to pay for everything out of pocket should something happen.
-You will pay double for auto insurance until the day to get rid of it.
-The car is yours. For good. Salvage rebuilt title has no resale value.
-You could end up spending thousands in repairs down the road.
As someone who own a car with salvage rebuilt title, I would advise you to get one with a clean title. The only scenario where you can consider buying such car is if you buy it for $5-6k cash. This way if something goes wrong you are not that deep in the hole. But even then, when you add the high insurance cost and maintenance expenses over 12-15 year of ownership, it would make more sense to buy a new subcompact car or 2-3 yrs. used mid sized sedan.
Had I known what I know know about salvage rebuilt titles, I would have purchased a brand new one as that;s how much it would end up costing me when I get rid of it in a year or two. I pays $5700 for car with 53,000 miles with salvage rebuilt title, another $4300 in repairs, and around 3-5k in additional insurance because of the orange title. Overall, I would have been better off buying brand new car for $16k.
If it is a simple hail damage, take it to a mechanic and if he tells you there are no problems, offer a sum that you can pay cash and be done with it. Just remember that you will most likely not be able to resale it.
He who has the most knowledge always wins. Do some research, educate yourself, and good luck.
If the hail damage to the body doesn't bother you then go for it.
Just be sure that it was totalled because of hail damage.
What jack62 said. Be sure to have a good mechanic check it out and only buy it if you are getting a great price... if you end up wanting to sell it later, you will have a hard time finding a buyer at a decent price
I have personally had good luck buying rebuild cars. Like high mileage cars, it can be a good way to get one cheap. What you want to do it get the CARFAX to get the details about the accident and get a pre purchase inspection from your mechanic. The pre purchase inspection is something you would want anyway, but it is especially important for rebuilds because you want to make sure that it was properly repaired.
If it was hail damage then that is purely cosmetic anyway.
First of all, look at the price. If it is not a good %30-40 off clean title prices, just walk away.
On the other hand, if you are happy with the price, then only consider buying it if a mechanic can check it out and make sure of the mechanical condition of the vehicle. If it really only is cosmetic hail damage, it could last a very long time. Just don't try to sell it a few years down the road because the resale would be far from ideal.
As a general rule, I don’t recommend salvaged title, unless you know what you are doing, or you hire a mechanic to check the car out.
There can be great deals found with a salvaged title. There can also be horrible finds too.
I'll stand by my usual advice. Never buy a rebuilt or salvaged title vehicle.
