Just spoke to someone on the phone, he's selling his 2002 insight CVT with 73,000 miles on it, the car has salvage title, thief recovery not accident according to him, asking for $7500 I was able to negotiate it to $7000, he said the dealership just replaced the battery pack and the module under warranty, I thought salvage vehicles are not warranty. Should I take the deal.
Just spoke to someone on the phone, he's selling his 2002 insight CVT with 73,000 miles on it, the car has salvage title, thief recovery not accident according to him, asking for $7500 I was able to negotiate it to $7000, he said the dealership just replaced the battery pack and the module under warranty, I thought salvage vehicles are not warranty. Should I take the deal.
No warranty, except 8/80 on the battery and catalytic converter. Be aware that one state's rebuilt salvage title may not be honored by another state. Also, a salvage title means "cannot be registered". A rebuilt salvage title means "repaired to a safe operating condition and can be registered".
__________________
2000 MT #4227 175K miles - Citrus Yellow, BetterBattery
As far as I have ever heard/read, a salvage title immediately terminates any and all warrantees. I have heard many times that Honda will not honor any IMA warranty on a salvage title vehicle.
If I were you, I would investigate further into the incident and ask to see copies of any receipts for repairs or battery replacement. The salvage title may not have come from a theft recovery, check carfax. The battery may not have been replaced, check with Honda.
If all checks out, and you don't care about future battery replacement (you can get one from Ron Hanson pretty reasonably) you may still be interested in this deal. I'm not familiar with CVT Insight pricing and don't know if this is a good deal. I would say you should expect to pay 1-2k less for a salvage title Insight verses a clean titled one. My gut tells me this guys story sounds a bit too unbelievible, with too many doubts and questions in my mind. Unless it is a strange BUT TRUE story and you are very convinced or get a great deal, I'd walk away. There are more insights out there. Try a search on oodle.com, that helped me a lot.
Best of luck.
Kevin
__________________ "Is your car man enough to wear a skirt?"
TPS mod; Scanguage; K&N air filter; Window Tint; Engine block heater; 100% gas (recently)
There are more insights out there. Try a search on oodle.com, that helped me a lot.
Good advice for you. Run away. You don't need this kind of headache, regardless of the story. Patience, my friend, patience, there are plenty more Insights out there, and one of them, without a suspect title or history, has your name on it.
__________________
Driving on down the road in my 2001 CVT, going "Boogety Boogety" ...and until avatars are provided, my car looks just like the original silver Insight on the header, above... =)
Just ran a carfax and it said " JUNK TITLE/CERTIFICATE ISSUED ", don't want what that means?
That means the car had a salvage title issued. If you don't see any later titles issued by a state, then the car cannot be registered until it is repaired.
__________________
2000 MT #4227 175K miles - Citrus Yellow, BetterBattery
Yeah, I gonna pass on the deal, the guy said thief recovery, carfax said severe damage. Thanks for the advice guys.
I suggest you pass on it also, but not because of "severe damage".
By definition, a car is "totalled" when the cost of repairs exceeds 75% of the value of the car.
Let me tell you what that meant in my case.
The previous owner rear-ended somebody. Here is the damage:
Bumper cover torn
Front bumper pushed in one inch
headlight broken
washer bottle broken
fender damaged
hood damaged
lower control arm damaged
Now that is about $1000 to get fixed (mostly paint) and would be about $2000 retail. Here's the kicker: The airbags deployed. This means that the airbags, airbag controller, clockspring in the steering wheel, seatbelts and windshield all had to be replaced at a retail cost of over $3000. Depending on your state, that is only about $500 from junkyards.
I spent $3000 fixing my $2300 Insight, mostly because NY state required me to buy new airbags from a dealer at a cost of $1500.
So "Severe Damage" isn't necessarily an indication that the car is unsafe or unfixable, just that at retail prices it would be expensive. If the car was stolen and the airbags were stripped out, you're talking $1500 alone, but I certainly wouldn't be afraid of buying a car that was totaled because someone stole valuable parts.
__________________
2000 MT #4227 175K miles - Citrus Yellow, BetterBattery
I will pass, the guy won't even meet me closer to sell me the car, I'm 2 hours away, my current car has some problems, so I told him my car might not make the trip, and he said he cannot meet me any where but his business (not a used car dealership, just his store). He bought the car without any keys, had to bring it to Honda dealership to make new one. If the car is really thief recovery, will it say in Carfax that is a recovery? Or just junk title? Thanks for all your advice guys.
I wouldn't rely on CarFax to tell me the sky is blue.
__________________
Driving on down the road in my 2001 CVT, going "Boogety Boogety" ...and until avatars are provided, my car looks just like the original silver Insight on the header, above... =)
The AutoGuide.com network consists of the largest network of enthusiast-owned enthusiast-operated automotive communities.
AutoGuide.com provides the latest car reviews, auto show coverage, new car prices, and automotive news. The AutoGuide network operates more than 100 automotive forums where our users consult peers for shopping information and advice, and share opinions as a community.
How bad is salvage title?
