What to buy

I can buy a 2006 Corvette with only 10k miles for a very low price.
The thing is - it was wrecked and then restored. The title will say
"salvage".
The shop that did the work does only Corvettes and they have an
excellent reputation. There is a warranty. They have photos of every
step in the restoration so I know what the accident entailed and what
work was done.
My intention is to keep the car for a long time and to drive it, not
necessarily daily, but I will be putting miles on it and keeping it
for years.
So how can I go wrong? What's the downside? Pitfalls, and caveat
emptors?

Tikbalang wrote:
> I can buy a 2006 Corvette with only 10k miles for a very low price.
> The thing is - it was wrecked and then restored. The title will say
> "salvage".
> The shop that did the work does only Corvettes and they have an
> excellent reputation. There is a warranty. They have photos of every
> step in the restoration so I know what the accident entailed and what
> work was done.
> My intention is to keep the car for a long time and to drive it, not
> necessarily daily, but I will be putting miles on it and keeping it
> for years.
> So how can I go wrong? What's the downside? Pitfalls, and caveat
> emptors?
>
>

I tend to be shy of machinery that got subjected
to "sudden stoppage."

If this was a gentle crunch you might be ok. If
was "more abrupt" you could be looking at damage
to rotating parts, bearings, shafts and the like.

Does the warranty cover, "hidden damage" If so,
at what deductible or cap and for how many miles?

p.s. my track record on claims for hidden
damage has been p-poor. (zero for three, IIRC)
Claim agents are paid to prove that it was
'pre-existing damage' or 'normal wear.'

--
pj

Unless you are getting it for significantly below the wholesale (not
trade-in or retail) price, say 40 to 50 percent, I would not touch this car
with a ten foot pole. . The car is a SALVAGE which means that the car was
totaled and had very significant damage. You will take that hit when you
sell it, plus you don't know what other damage was done to the engine or
transmission. If either of them were damaged (and you might not know for
years) could cost you thousands and thousands of dollars to repair, never
mind the headaches dealing with the issues A significant amount of force
was applied to all the parts of the transmission and engine while they were
moving in ways they were never designed for. Things can bend, crack or
deform any number of thousands of parts in subtle ways that can cause parts
to prematurely wear, break, or vibrate. You should plan on keeping it a
long time, because it will be next to impossible to sell a car (especially a
Corvette) that has a SALVAGE title in its history. The reason is that the
person buying the car will think the reason you are selling is because you
have found something wrong with it and are trying to get rid of it instead
of fixing it. If the average wholesale price of the car is 38k (retail
would be close to 44k) , I wouldn't even consider buying it for more that
22k.


"pj" > wrote in message
...
> Tikbalang wrote:
>> I can buy a 2006 Corvette with only 10k miles for a very low price.
>> The thing is - it was wrecked and then restored. The title will say
>> "salvage".
>> The shop that did the work does only Corvettes and they have an
>> excellent reputation. There is a warranty. They have photos of every
>> step in the restoration so I know what the accident entailed and what
>> work was done.
>> My intention is to keep the car for a long time and to drive it, not
>> necessarily daily, but I will be putting miles on it and keeping it
>> for years.
>> So how can I go wrong? What's the downside? Pitfalls, and caveat
>> emptors?
>>
>>
>
> I tend to be shy of machinery that got subjected to "sudden stoppage."
>
> If this was a gentle crunch you might be ok. If was "more abrupt" you
> could be looking at damage to rotating parts, bearings, shafts and the
> like.
>
> Does the warranty cover, "hidden damage" If so, at what deductible or cap
> and for how many miles?
>
> p.s. my track record on claims for hidden damage has been p-poor. (zero
> for three, IIRC) Claim agents are paid to prove that it was 'pre-existing
> damage' or 'normal wear.'
>
> --
> pj

I agree.... 50% of wholesale value. Same reasoning. The "salvage" title
will haunt that car all it's life. Once it's 15 yearts old you can move it
to a State with no titles on older cars to finally make it go away... but
that's a LONG time.

-W

"Thrill5" > wrote in message
...
> Unless you are getting it for significantly below the wholesale (not
> trade-in or retail) price, say 40 to 50 percent, I would not touch this
car
> with a ten foot pole. .

On Sun, 17 May 2009 15:19:26 -0500, "Clams Canino"
> wrote:

>I agree.... 50% of wholesale value. Same reasoning. The "salvage" title
>will haunt that car all it's life. Once it's 15 yearts old you can move it
>to a State with no titles on older cars to finally make it go away... but
>that's a LONG time.
>
>-W

Maybe not, there is always Carfax

On May 18, 8:04*am, Fred C. Dobbs > wrote:
> On Sun, 17 May 2009 15:19:26 -0500, "Clams Canino"
>
> > wrote:
> >I agree.... *50% of wholesale value. * Same reasoning. *The "salvage" title
> >will haunt that car all it's life. Once it's 15 yearts old you can move it
> >to a State with no titles on older cars to finally make it go away... but
> >that's a LONG time.
>
> >-W
>
> Maybe not, *there is always Carfax

can you get insurance on a totaled/salvage car ?
If it was wrecked again , what would the ins co say about repairs ?
It like if your already 90% disabled and slip and fall, you could ony
be 10% more disabled no matter how bad you are hurt.

On May 16, 8:07*pm, Tikbalang > wrote:
> I can buy a 2006 Corvette with only 10k miles for a very low price.
> The thing is - it was wrecked and then restored. The title will say
> "salvage".
> The shop that did the work does only Corvettes and they have an
> excellent reputation. There is a warranty. They have photos of every
> step in the restoration so I know what the accident entailed and what
> work was done.
> My intention is to keep the car for a long time and to drive it, not
> necessarily daily, but I will be putting miles on it and keeping it
> for years.
> So how can I go wrong? What's the downside? Pitfalls, and caveat
> emptors?

I bought a car (Acura) with a salvage title. I inspected it then had a
professional inspect it to determine the extent of damage. The car I
bought had exterior body panel damage only. Got it for about 30% less
than wholesale price and made the dealer throw in a number of extras
(tires, major services, routine services). Still have the car after 16
years.

If the Corvette shop took photos of the extensive damage and repair
work this car was a basket case when they got it. This car should be
dirt cheap and come with a bumper to bumper warranty for 60K miles to
make the deal rational. If you intend to put this car onto a race
track, forget about this car immediately.

What's so special about this 2006 compared with a lightly used 2003
that hasn't been wrecked?