Buying Auto W/Salvaged Title
#21
(11-03-2016, 07:26 PM)GPnative Wrote: Back to topic....
1 its salvage
2 its a ford
3 its 1 and 2 from a dealer.
I'd run far and fast from that one.

I agree and the funny thing is I have a Ford and I bought it with a salvaged title LOL.

I crawled all over that thing before I bought it and I could not see where it was ever wrecked. It was spotless underneath, a 4X4 that IMO NEVER went off road. I could tell it had been painted.

Anyway, years later bondo that apparently whomever used it didn't use enough hardener started cracking.On the  roof and behind the drivers door.
Now I'm pretty sure a tree had fallen on it.

I've had it at least ten years. It's an awesome truck and is still mechanically perfect. I routinely haul 2 1/2 tons of gravel in it to maintain my road.
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#22
(11-03-2016, 06:41 PM)Oscar Wrote:
(11-03-2016, 02:08 PM)Valuesize Wrote: Anyone have experience with this? 2010 Ford focus SES with 80,000 mi. The dealer gave me the Carfax on it. It was rear ended, totaled and then repaired. No airbags were deployed. Other than that the car looks great and they're asking just under $5,000. I thought I'd offer $3,000 and if that doesn't fly I'd leave them my card and walk.

Have ever heard the old saying "If it's too good to be true, it probably is."

I would consider (or think) about buying this "car" as much as Michael Moore would consider voting for Donald Trump.

I know cannot see this Focus from way up north in Seattle, but I think it might a cut and splice job. Where they get two cars and cut the undamaged part of one car and weld it to the damaged part of the other. You might want stay away from it.

However if really want it. Have checked out by a body shop to check the quality of the repairs.

Here two cars in Grants Pass for sale that I would buy instead:

https://medford.craigslist.org/ctd/5841714194.html  - 2008 Corolla

https://medford.craigslist.org/ctd/5859387886.html  - 2006 Focus

Thanks Oscar. I'm near Portland now and those cost more than I'm willing to spend.
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#23
(11-03-2016, 07:25 PM)tvguy Wrote: Just buy a Japanese car.

I've got two now. I haven't noticed any less cost owning them as all autos need fixing at about the same intervals. Seems the cost of repairs are about equal except for Volvo, Jaguar, BMW, Mercedes etc.
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#24
(11-03-2016, 07:26 PM)GPnative Wrote: Back to topic....
1 its salvage
2 its a ford
3 its 1 and 2 from a dealer.
I'd run far and fast from that one.

I hear you but...

1. Iv'e never considered buying one before so that's why I'm asking. If I decide to take a chance, I'll have it checked first.

2. I've always thought Ford was the best US auto maker.

3. True, but it just looks like a great car for the price.  Laughing I could sell my 20 year old Suzuki 4X4 that's all set up for being towed from a motor-home for $2,500 and ride in style for $500.

[Image: 636128458318090569.jpg]
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#25
(11-03-2016, 08:45 PM)Valuesize Wrote:
(11-03-2016, 07:25 PM)tvguy Wrote: Just buy a Japanese car.

I've got two now. I haven't noticed any less cost owning them as all autos need fixing at about the same intervals. Seems the cost of repairs are about equal except for Volvo, Jaguar, BMW, Mercedes etc.

What about the amount of miles they rack up before they die?
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#26
(11-03-2016, 08:45 PM)Valuesize Wrote:
(11-03-2016, 07:25 PM)tvguy Wrote: Just buy a Japanese car.

I've got two now. I haven't noticed any less cost owning them as all autos need fixing at about the same intervals. Seems the cost of repairs are about equal except for Volvo, Jaguar, BMW, Mercedes etc.

I had a few cars in my life:

1975 AMC Pacer, it was okay for a car that cost $75 as a teenager. It was the car I based a comedy sobriety test, that used on drunks when worked the streets, I mean as a cop. If you could say "Presley's pathetic plum purple Pacer performance parts" twice in thirty seconds. I would believe the drunk was not under influence of booze.

1993 Toyota Corolla, the car I put 400K + miles on. I had the engine replaced, not because it wore out. Some security guard shot the car with a 9mm handgun. All I can say is that some people say that Toyota engines are bullet proof. There not, once a 9mm slug goes into a engine, it will not hold oil pressure. Oh, never mind.

1986 Chevrolet Nova, this was best GM car made in the 1980s. Why? GM did not make it. Toyota made it. It was JOINT production car... Yah, it was a true Toy-o-let. Get it? Half Chevy, half Toyota?

2003, 2004 Dodge I don't Caravans. I don't care about them either and neither should you.

1996 Subaru Outback, these are high maintenance cars. They have problems with head gaskets. The average head gasket repair job cost about $2800. After three head gasket jobs, I gave up on this Subaru. I had this car stolen 25 times in Seattle. These always found the dumb thing. The last thief blew the engine up.

2003 Ford Focus I purchased from a neighbor for $1000. It's a good buy for a car with only one issue to be repaired and that is covered by a recall from Ford. Sure, its a base model with no A/C, power windows or CD player. However for a car with only 79K miles was not expecting a new Cadillac.

I stop Rambling, on about cars. I also have a 1977 Gremlin. It was never called a Rambler... Oh never mind.
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#27
(11-03-2016, 09:28 PM)tvguy Wrote:
(11-03-2016, 08:45 PM)Valuesize Wrote:
(11-03-2016, 07:25 PM)tvguy Wrote: Just buy a Japanese car.

I've got two now. I haven't noticed any less cost owning them as all autos need fixing at about the same intervals. Seems the cost of repairs are about equal except for Volvo, Jaguar, BMW, Mercedes etc.

What about the amount of miles they rack up before they die?

We don't put many miles on and usually buy low mileage used cars. The '97 Toyota we bought in '06 has about 150,000 and the '94 Suzuki I bought in '12 has 168,000. They have the most miles of any cars I've ever owned. The '94 needs to go now while it still has a year and a half before it needs to pass another smog check. (I BARELY got through the last one)

By die do you mean it's too expensive to consider fixing and just junk it? I've never had that experience.
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#28
(11-03-2016, 09:38 PM)Oscar Wrote:
(11-03-2016, 08:45 PM)Valuesize Wrote:
(11-03-2016, 07:25 PM)tvguy Wrote: Just buy a Japanese car.

I've got two now. I haven't noticed any less cost owning them as all autos need fixing at about the same intervals. Seems the cost of repairs are about equal except for Volvo, Jaguar, BMW, Mercedes etc.

I had a few cars in my life:

1975 AMC Pacer, it was okay for a car that cost $75 as a teenager. It was the car I based a comedy sobriety test, that used on drunks when worked the streets, I mean as a cop. If you could say "Presley's pathetic plum purple Pacer performance parts" twice in thirty seconds. I would believe the drunk was not under influence of booze.

1993 Toyota Corolla, the car I put 400K + miles on. I had the engine replaced, not because it wore out. Some security guard shot the car with a 9mm handgun. All I can say is that some people say that Toyota engines are bullet proof. There not, once a 9mm slug goes into a engine, it will not hold oil pressure. Oh, never mind.

1986 Chevrolet Nova, this was best GM car made in the 1980s. Why? GM did not make it. Toyota made it. It was JOINT production car... Yah, it was a true Toy-o-let. Get it? Half Chevy, half Toyota?

2003, 2004 Dodge I don't Caravans. I don't care about them either and neither should you.

1996 Subaru Outback, these are high maintenance cars. They have problems with head gaskets. The average head gasket repair job cost about $2800. After three head gasket jobs, I gave up on this Subaru. I had this car stolen 25 times in Seattle. These always found the dumb thing. The last thief blew the engine up.

2003 Ford Focus I purchased from a neighbor for $1000. It's a good buy for a car with only one issue to be repaired and that is covered by a recall from Ford. Sure, its a base model with no A/C, power windows or CD player. However for a car with only 79K miles was not expecting a new Cadillac.

I stop Rambling, on about cars. I also have a 1977 Gremlin. It was never called a Rambler... Oh never mind.

I've had over 50 cars LOL. I think it's 55. I sat out in my shop one night writing down every one I could remember.
And then as time went on I remembered a few more.

Yes Subaru's do have a head gasket issue. I bought mine right after it had a new head gasket. That's the one I've driven for about two years. My other one I drove for ten years. A 93. I still have it and it runs great. Never had a head gasket problem and I can sell it today for twice what I originally paid. I can't bring myself to sell it LOL.
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#29
(11-03-2016, 09:50 PM)Valuesize Wrote:
(11-03-2016, 09:28 PM)tvguy Wrote:
(11-03-2016, 08:45 PM)Valuesize Wrote:
(11-03-2016, 07:25 PM)tvguy Wrote: Just buy a Japanese car.

I've got two now. I haven't noticed any less cost owning them as all autos need fixing at about the same intervals. Seems the cost of repairs are about equal except for Volvo, Jaguar, BMW, Mercedes etc.

What about the amount of miles they rack up before they die?

We don't put many miles on and usually buy low mileage used cars. The '97 Toyota we bought in '06 has about 150,000 and the '94 Suzuki I bought in '12 has 168,000. They have the most miles of any cars I've ever owned. The '94 needs to go now while it still has a year and a half before it needs to pass another smog check. (I BARELY got through the last one)

By die do you mean it's too expensive to consider fixing and just junk it? I've never had that experience.

By die do you mean it's too expensive to consider fixing and just junk it? I've never had that experience.


Yes that's what I meant. But back in the day, for most of my life there was nothing too expensive to fix.
I had a 69 and a 72 Chevy truck for a combined total of 25 years or so.
There was literally nothing on the 72 that I didn't fix LOL. I put four different engines in that one.
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#30
(11-03-2016, 09:38 PM)Oscar Wrote:
(11-03-2016, 08:45 PM)Valuesize Wrote:
(11-03-2016, 07:25 PM)tvguy Wrote: Just buy a Japanese car.

I've got two now. I haven't noticed any less cost owning them as all autos need fixing at about the same intervals. Seems the cost of repairs are about equal except for Volvo, Jaguar, BMW, Mercedes etc.

I had a few cars in my life:

1975 AMC Pacer, it was okay for a car that cost $75 as a teenager. It was the car I based a comedy sobriety test, that used on drunks when worked the streets, I mean as a cop. If you could say "Presley's pathetic plum purple Pacer performance parts" twice in thirty seconds. I would believe the drunk was not under influence of booze.

1993 Toyota Corolla, the car I put 400K + miles on. I had the engine replaced, not because it wore out. Some security guard shot the car with a 9mm handgun. All I can say is that some people say that Toyota engines are bullet proof. There not, once a 9mm slug goes into a engine, it will not hold oil pressure. Oh, never mind.

1986 Chevrolet Nova, this was best GM car made in the 1980s. Why? GM did not make it. Toyota made it. It was JOINT production car... Yah, it was a true Toy-o-let. Get it? Half Chevy, half Toyota?

2003, 2004 Dodge I don't Caravans. I don't care about them either and neither should you.

1996 Subaru Outback, these are high maintenance cars. They have problems with head gaskets. The average head gasket repair job cost about $2800. After three head gasket jobs, I gave up on this Subaru. I had this car stolen 25 times in Seattle. These always found the dumb thing. The last thief blew the engine up.

2003 Ford Focus I purchased from a neighbor for $1000. It's a good buy for a car with only one issue to be repaired and that is covered by a recall from Ford. Sure, its a base model with no A/C, power windows or CD player. However for a car with only 79K miles was not expecting a new Cadillac.

I stop Rambling, on about cars. I also have a 1977 Gremlin. It was never called a Rambler... Oh never mind.

1993 Toyota Corolla, the car I put 400K + miles on. I had the engine replaced, not because it wore out. Some security guard shot the car with a 9mm handgun. All I can say is that some people say that Toyota engines are bullet proof. There not, once a 9mm slug goes into a engine, it will not hold oil pressure. Oh, never mind.


LOL That's hilarious. I remember one year in Ohio the stores were sold out of 12 gauge deer slugs. I finally found a store and the guy sold me these magnun 3" slugs that were not made out of lead but some alloy.

He said they were used by cops to stop cars LOL.
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#31
The Subaru had to go. It was a twenty year old car that got 17 to 18 MPG, that needed at least $2800 in work to make it derivable again. So when my neighbor wanted $1000 for the Focus. What the heck?

I saved $1800 and get better fuel mileage. I know a deal when I see it. Cars just objects, they have no feelings. I never gave up on daughter, but I did give up on a lousy Subaru.

I sold the Subaru for $500 to someone who wanted it an got another $300 for the wheels and tires. In reality I paid $200... Wait the state of Washington wanted $300 for sales tax and license plates. So for $500 out of pocket I got this... boring, bland and beige. Its so me.
[Image: 29326024434_1999dfa4ac_c.jpg]2003 Ford Focus by Gremlin72, on Flickr
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#32
(11-03-2016, 09:00 PM)Valuesize Wrote:
(11-03-2016, 07:26 PM)GPnative Wrote: Back to topic....
1 its salvage
2 its a ford
3 its 1 and 2 from a dealer.
I'd run far and fast from that one.

I hear you but...

1. Iv'e never considered buying one before so that's why I'm asking. If I decide to take a chance, I'll have it checked first.

2. I've always thought Ford was the best US auto maker.

3. True, but it just looks like a great car for the price.  Laughing I could sell my 20 year old Suzuki 4X4 that's all set up for being towed from a motor-home for $2,500 and ride in style for $500.

I'm not one of those anti ford guys. Hell, I know several people who have had various Fords, from pick ups to sedans and they seem to be solid vehicles. My main reason for not buying them is they just don't hold a decent resell value compared to other options. But on the flip side, you can get into them on the cheap when you find the right deal.

Regarding Subaru, I also have known 2 people who owned outbacks. One had the head gasket go out and they paid around the estimates quoted here to fix it. The other folks, never really know what happened, it always have some mechanical issue, they finally thought it was fixed and then one day the thing just blew up on them while driving down the freeway.

I'm not a fan of Subaru, mainly because I am not a hipster dufus, millennial nor do I live in Ashland. Razz
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#33
(11-04-2016, 06:51 AM)GPnative Wrote:
(11-03-2016, 09:00 PM)Valuesize Wrote:
(11-03-2016, 07:26 PM)GPnative Wrote: Back to topic....
1 its salvage
2 its a ford
3 its 1 and 2 from a dealer.
I'd run far and fast from that one.

I hear you but...

1. Iv'e never considered buying one before so that's why I'm asking. If I decide to take a chance, I'll have it checked first.

2. I've always thought Ford was the best US auto maker.

3. True, but it just looks like a great car for the price.  Laughing I could sell my 20 year old Suzuki 4X4 that's all set up for being towed from a motor-home for $2,500 and ride in style for $500.

I'm not one of those anti ford guys. Hell, I know several people who have had various Fords, from pick ups to sedans and they seem to be solid vehicles. My main reason for not buying them is they just don't hold a decent resell value compared to other options. But on the flip side, you can get into them on the cheap when you find the right deal.

Regarding Subaru, I also have known 2 people who owned outbacks. One had the head gasket go out and they paid around the estimates quoted here to fix it. The other folks, never really know what happened, it always have some mechanical issue, they finally thought it was fixed and then one day the thing just blew up on them while driving down the freeway.

I'm not a fan of Subaru, mainly because I am not a hipster dufus, millennial nor do I live in Ashland. Razz

My mechanic can fix the heads on my Subaru for $1600. He is a legitimate business.

A bad head gasket is not a death blow. Paying 1600 bucks for a used car that has no monthly payments is a bump in the road considering you can get 300,000 miles out of the car. And the article where I got this info says they almost NEVER have to do the heads on a Subaru twice.
I have a 2000 outback. From what I've read the ones with the most head gasket problems are earlier models.

My wife says I've had this car three years. So IMO it's basically paid for itself already. I love the car and it's my redneck side not my hippie side LOL. I HAVE to have a wagon for what I do and haul and I drive it like I stole it.
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