Hi im looking at some salvage/rebuilt infiniti g35's and wondering if there is a difference between the two, which is better, what to look for and if there even ok to purchase ever... thanks could use the help

 

Just my 2 cents please correct me if i'm wrong, but I believe "salvaged" g35s are ones that have been in an accident in which the insurance company has deemed undrivable, and that the cost of repairing it is not worth it. "Rebuilt" g35s are ones that were salvaged but have been completely fixed or attempted to fix the car. There's really no way to say which is better, it's just how you approach purchasing the car. Sometimes people find extremely good steals in salvaged cars, or rebuilt ones because the price and cost of these cars are much lower then those that dont have that title. Personally, I wouldn't purchase a salvage or rebuilt g35, since your purchasing a G. you might as well fork over slightly more cash to know you bought a clean good car, it's a G, don't cheap out on it by going for rebuilt/salvage. But if you want to purchase between salvage/rebuilt cars, I recommend you ask questions regarding every known incident, have a personal mechanic/friend who knows about cars inspect it (carfax,etc). Good luck to your purchase and remember to be smart!

 

I wouldn't buy either one under any conditions, so I'd be the wrong guy to ask. Sorry.

Unless you're a make/model expert, you could very well be buying something unsafe, or at best, unreliable.

Aside from saving a couple of dollars, why would you do this?

 

alright thank you and yeah just only have about 10k for the car and am in love with the G, just been hard to find one especially since want a black on black one haha i know its picky but thanks again

 

Do yourself a favor. Save your money a little longer and you'll be able to get something really nice that wont let you down.

If you're really motivated, you could just suck it up and work non-stop for a few months and let the cash pile up. You can probably save more than you think you can.

Don't know your situation, but when I was cheesing for my first car I took a second job and saved like mad until I had the money I needed to get what I wanted. I didn't want to settle because I knew if I did it would bug me every time I climbed into whatever I settled for.

 

im the same way and have been doing that for a couple months just have to get a new car now sold my other one but there letting me use it still so i really have to find something but i agree with you....if i could i would

 

Ive owned a few salvaged/rebuilt (every state is different with what they call it) title cars, if fixed correctly they are fine. The only thing to worry about is trade-in value or selling value when you go to get rid of it.

Most you guys on here are prob driving cars that were smashed at one point... just becuz its not on Carfax doesnt mean it didnt happen... The average person cant even tell if theyre fenders or hood or soemthing else has been replaced or resprayed. Gotta know what to look for even when buying a used car from a credited dealership, dealerships are weasels to begin with.. you dont think theyre gonna leave out telling you about a minor accident if they can get away with it?

You need to get under the car and look for structural damage, cut lines in the clearcoat if they resprayed, uneven wear of components, things like that.

Personally I think buying a brand new car is the biggest waste of money a person can make. Next to a house, its one of the biggest investments you make, its how people survive these days, being able to commute. New cars depreciate so fast today, its like basically throwing $5000 or more out the window as soon as you drive off the car lot. If you can find a correctly fixed salvage car, you save $1000s. Im sure there's people out there that like pissing money away on a brand new vehicle every few years becuz they can but the normal person doesnt, and buying a salvage/rebuilt title isnt for everyone.

 

i say if its cheap and ur gonna mod it to hell and beat it with no worries or with no plans on resaling then go for it.

 

ask or PM Bluevelvet on here He has built a salvage to show car in less than a yr. He might have some pointers. He might even know a place to buy one. IDK just my $0.02 worth.

 

Since these cars have been out since late 02, early 03, I G can be tagged for a salvage title for anything. Doesn't have to be a big accident anymore. A stripped interior and some exterior pieces and it will be salvage.

But your resale is going to suck and your insurance in case of an accident is going to suffer.

One would have to know EXACTLY what happened and EXACTLY how it was fixed.

IMHO, that type of research is out of the scope of the OP's ability.

Thus my advice to you, read Geewilliker's advice and ahere to it.

 

i own a rebuilt g35 coupe, got a good deal, never had a machanical problem with it at all, only problems i have had was the stock 6disc changer stopped working and the passenger window motor went out

bought it last year with 64k now has 86k, all other problems i have had with the car have been bad luck, nothing against the car

 

Seriously dude...?
Before going into what constitutes a "salvage title" or "rebuilt title" you need to realize that your 10K to spend on the car is just the TIP of the iceberg. Depending on the damage you can spend another 10K EASILY, and even 20K by the time you get it all done. Any decent 2-stage paint job will run a minimum of 3K just say painting half the car and blending & buffing the rest. First class 'whole car' paint jobs including all the jambs, inner fenders, under hood, under trunk etc. can and will run 5K+ to get the sheet metal filled, primed, blocked, body lines and panels aligned, sealed, sprayed, cleared and buffed.

You said you are looking for "black on black", right? Remember that while a black car can indeed look very nice.... there is a huge problem with a black car that isn't so much of a problem say on a silver car. Black cars show each and every scratch, dent and wrinkle.

You would be better off to just buy a cheap 'beater' car for transportation and save for a clean used Z if you don't really need the back seat. Of course I (and most here) know the G calls out to ya', and if you gotta' have it, then you gotta' have it. Again, you need to just wait it out, save more money, and buy a nice NON WRECKED clean used G. Hopefully if it's got enough miles on it and a first generation model you could get lucky and find one that has had the engine replaced. (darned oil burning problem)

OK... as for "salvage" vs "rebuilt" titles.
For the most part, salvage titles are telling you the car has been wrecked and the cost to repair was more than 65% (generally) of the value of the vehicle. Therefore the Insurance Company totalled the car out and applied for a salvage title in order to sell it at a wholesale auction.

Rebuilt titles are what you get AFTER you have bought a salvage title, repaired the car, then had it inspected by the state authorities in the state which it was repaired.

This is general information state laws differ. For instance, NC brands ALL their wrecked cars as "salvage/rebuilt" from the beginning of the accident and/or claims process. Say you have a car titled in GA and it's totalled... GA will brand the title as "salvage" until it's been repaired. (that's provided it qualifies for a salvage title and IS NOT branded as "parts" from the get-go) The same car in NC will be branded as "salvage/rebuilt" when it's totalled.

The real problem here that people don't understand when they are just looking for a 'bargain' is that unless you have access to the Insurance Company file and a complete history on the car, you have NO IDEA how bad the damage is/was from the accident that just got the title branded as anything other than a clean title. The car could have been wrecked one, two, three... or more times and not branded as salvage as long as it was repaired every time by the owners (or other drivers) insurance company.

The only thing you would know when you buy a salvage vehicle is what you see then and there. Whatever damage is showing is what you know. Anything you can't see... you don't know. This could be a busted engine block, cracked transmission (happens a LOT) and thousands upon thousands of dollars in unseen damage. (not to mention any previously repaired damage)

Finally; if you still want to buy, I strongly suggest you buy a car that is NOT repaired and have the repairs done yourself. Take the car to a RESPECTED shop and do NOT get caught-up in "bargain basement" type of repairs. Make sure you are in touch with the repair shop DAILY!!! You need to keep up with the repair. Have the shop take photos and notes on each and every stage of the repair. (Several major insurance companies these days require this from their "preffered shops") Either that, or you go in and check on the car 2~3 times a week. (Which tends to **** off the shop, unless you know the guy that runs the place.)

Best advice....
RUN AWAY Forest Gump... run, run, run!
Unless you are well versed in auto repair, especially structural and body repair... it just isn't worth it in the long run. That being said; if you want to build-out a ground up custom street machine then have at it. Then again, can't do that for 10K though, can we.

Wanna' spend 10K on a fun car? See if you can find the last run of the 300Z in a twin-turbo. Now THAT is a fun car and will not drive ya' crazy rebuilding a crashed car.

 

^ This.

You can get some good deals, but you need to know enough about the car to fix it yourself, even if you don't, to inspect it.

I almost bought a 2010 Mazda6 for $10k with 3,000 miles on it that was a rebuilt title, it had been stolen, joy-ridden, ending in a weird angle in a little ditch. It wasn't found before the insurance company had written it off and replaced it, so after new rims, some fender work, paint and new CV boots, it was for sale again. Only things that kept me from buying it was that I was helping a guy shop for cars and he was interested (and so broke he couldn't leave something down for the weekend to hold it), it was an automatic and I was holding out for another G35.

 

Best advice I can give you is get any used car properly inspected before buying it. Find a good shop. It doesn't matter if the title is clear or salvaged, or whatever, there are crappy cars to be bought out there and most people wouldn't know how badly it may have been damaged on their own. There are plenty of salvaged cars that had some minor damage, or no damage at all. Some are just theft recovery cars, and replacement parts are much cheaper at a junkyard than at a dealer. The are also lots that really should not have been rebuilt, but that goes for cars with clear titles as well. I have seen some of the kinds of cars with clear titles that get rebuilt, and trust, me, you would not want to get into an accident in those cars.

Once you have settled on a car, and are 100% certain you want to buy it, before forking over the cash have the car looked at by someone well versed in bodywork. It may cost you $100-150, but it will be more than worth it in the long run.

 

I totally agree with ya' dude. It could be said that wrecked and salvage cars have supported my family for 28 years now. Some here (on the forum) know that I owned a towing service for almost 18 years. Dealt with wrecked (new and disabled) cars every day. The wife is a Title Manager for a nationwide salvage yard (that's where the 28 years comes in) that has lots in every state, [including Alaska and Hawaii]. At her location they sell well over 500 cars/trucks/bikes EVERY WEEK. Of course she oversees the Title's on 80% at least.

Back to the cars that shouldn't be on the road. And BOY IS THAT THE TRUTH !!!!

I remember probably back in 95 at least where I was delivering two cars from the auction to a 'tote-your-note' car lot in a small town about 50 miles north of Atlanta. Actually two of the same model, one crunched in the front, the other in the rear... which means cut them down the middle, weld them together, and whammo' you have a rebuilt, salvage title car. Now this wasn't your 'back water' type of place... the guy was well known, had a nice lot, all the latest and greatest collision repair machines. Two drive-on frame racks that back then even, ran $50K~$75K at least, three floor pull systems, even a brand spanking new down draft spray booth (that he must have dropped $125 grand on!). The family name is one that has a number of businesses in the area and everybody knows them. All of that is fine and good, but to see his practices of repairing up close and personal was enough to have me call the state inspectors on him.

When I walked in the shop there was a fairly new convertable on the frame rack, perfect on the front, both fenders flawless, even the windshield and dash was fine. But my eyes about popped outta' my head when I noticed that everything and I mean EVERYTHING from the dash back that was above the floor panel was GONE! This car had been rearended by a tractor trailer that literally drove up and over the darned thing!!!

In order to avoid the proper rebuilding procedure, (IE jump through a loophole in the law), he left the floorboard intact, all the way to the back bumper, yet cutting EVERYTHING ELSE off the car both above and below the floorboard. The trick is cutting across the car and welding two cars together down the middle. That is frowned upon for sure. Replacing more than two major components required the car to have a rebuilt title FOREVER, one that cannot be 'washed' later and get a clean title. (As is possible with pretty much all wrecked cars out there.) In this instance he had to replace all the rear suspension, both sides, and the entire rear clip. Whereas typically one would replace a quarter panel and suspension components, or say a side clip and rear quarter, orrrrrr both rear quarters, etc.

But noooooooo this dude, in an attempt to circumvent the State Inspection procedure (which didn't allow a weld going straight across from one side to another in the floor) decided to pull and bang on the floor and rear suspension hump so it wouldn't show any signs of welding. To just hang new doors, then weld on both inner as well as outer rear fenders plus suspension towers and even new mounting points to the bottom of the old (crumpled) floor panel. This was a front wheel drive car at least, so the driveline was intact, but there is NO FREAKING WAY that the car should have EVER been back on the road again.

When a buyer was looking at the car he could say that he replaced a rear quarter panel, or even both, but not have to own up to the floor being pushed and crumpled up to just behind the freaking floor console. I doubt he owned up to replacing the doors. But basically if they put it on a rack nobody would know that when he started repairing it that nothing was left of the car but the dash, engine and front end.

That dude ended up being reported to the local news, not to mention the State Inspectors several times over 5 years and lost his dealers license... TWICE. Don't know if the family still has car lots these days or not, but they did when I sold my business back in 02.