God only knows what happened here...

[smoothLSV8]

i dont think they have to put it in the ad. if when someone buys this and the title doesnt say SALVAGE REBUILD (or whatever they call it in the state in question) then they committed a crime. I agree that they will likely waste someone's time showing them the car and then whip out the salvage title at the last second hoping that the buyer glosses it over and just signs everything. its pretty shady because they will waste someone's time who doesnt know its a salvaged car, but if someone is too dumb to read the paperwork then thats their own dumb*ss fault and a testament to the quality of the rebuilders work (although it all looks bolt-on, and thats pretty hard to screw up)

Integrity is doing the right thing when no one watches. Ending a phone call with an "I'll get back to you later" excuse Doesn't cut it, if it's legal or not.

These guys are integer, what you see is what you get: http://repairablecarlot.com/Cars-Vans/2002-Lincoln-LS

And I emailed these guys asking how they can be this much lower than usual. They answered back that these are fixed up salvage cars. That is still o.k. with me.
http://www.goodrideauto.net/2010_Chevrolet_Malibu_Tea_SD_180659255.veh

 

[jrand]

yeah i agree that the guy is definitely wasting ppls time to get them in the door. maybe someone will test drive one without him telling them, they get hurt bc the car was unsafe and he gets the book thrown at him. thats a risk he is willing to take maybe

personally i wouldnt buy a salvage car unless i knew exactly what happened damage-wise (independent pictures at the minimum). probably wouldnt touch a luxury car that was a flood victim bc of electronic issues. and i would have to get a killer deal on it. weather sealing/electrical/suspension are probably the biggest problem areas bc theyre not always readily apparent. everything else should be evident to the naked eye IMO

 

[smoothLSV8]

I grew up in Germany and if you rebuild a crashed car it gets inspected by certified automotive engineers for a hefty fee. Here in Iowa it gets inspected by a Sheriff. Find a Sheriff in a small town and pay him a $30 fee.
This slideshow style video shows what it really takes to straighten a unibody. You can't see every damage, you have to measure using factory reference points. Even a small distortion can make it impossible to properly align the wheels.http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xg1GT-60Mjs
That said, my wife's car was in a light collision and we have no problems with it's alignment. We were lucky.

 

[joegr]

Also, aluminum suspension parts should never be straightened. They must be replaced if they are bent. That said, there may not be suspension damage. It looks like it might have run up under something.

 

[1LoudLS]

I would show them the pics of it wrecked and i would offer them 4500.

 

[Robot]

Here's another one.

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detai...&sortfield=PRICE&certifiedOnly=false&&aff=tpx

 

[Gus_Mahn]

You guys kill me. It's an old car. There's nothing shocking that one was wrecked and fixed. We're talking about a $5,000 Lincoln LS not a Ferrari. I've owned several totaled/rebuilt cars, and saved big money up front. If the repairs were done to some standard of quality, it's really not a big deal.

 

[Robot]

You guys kill me. It's an old car. There's nothing shocking that one was wrecked and fixed. We're talking about a $5,000 Lincoln LS not a Ferrari. I've owned several totaled/rebuilt cars, and saved big money up front. If the repairs were done to some standard of quality, it's really not a big deal.

The problem is when they try and pass them off as a 2006 and its not completely a 2006. The ads make no reference to a salvaged auto. Would you take a 1997 vette with a 1990 vette front end?

2006 Lincoln LS in Cashmere Tri-Coat Metallic.

 

[Telco]

A wreck rebuild may or may not have been put back together correctly. When looking at a salvaged car you are hoping that the rebuilder knew what he was doing, and that he actually made stuctural repairs correctly. When you buy a salvage rebuild, they may have done the cosmetic work but not the structural work. This means that the next time the car is in an accident, the car may disintegrate around you rather than protect you. It's also not guaranteed that the airbags were replaced, or that any wiring repairs were done correctly. On the airbags they may have just cut the old bag away then glued the cover back together because replacement airbags are expensive. A year down the road you may start having intermittent problems just to discover that the rebuilder made wiring repairs by splicing a bunch of lamp wiring with duct tape and now there's no way to trace the problem down because the wiring is no longer color coded. On top of that, a salvage title means little to no payout on the car when it is in another accident because salvage rebuilds have little to no value. No, there's way too many potential problems with a salvage rebuild to want to buy one.