^ the thing about auctions is buy as is kinda risky too

 

Very, very true. I will be going with an older dealer friend who's been doing this for years, so hopefully he will help. And I will have it inspected by a mechanic, I'll have access to carfax, and be able to see it pre-auction. Still seems similar to buying it private party, I guess? You never really know what it's been through.

 

thats good that u have all those resources available to you.
buying private vs. auction isnt nessasarily the same to me. when i bought mine, i like drove it, opened it inspected in and out, every single place u could imagine, etc.

 

Don't buy a salvaged car unless it's some real cheap car that costs like $2K. Any salvaged/rebuilt car is going to be 10x the gamble of a straight up car.

I bought a real low millage car with a salvage title that was rebuilt back when I was a teenager(Nissan 240SX). Sure it looked great when I bought it and seemed to run nice, plus I got it for a good price... but a whole bunch of horrible problems started to pop up real shortly after I bought it and there was no warranty on it because it was rebuilt. The motor blew a few months after I got it too, even though I babied the hell out of the car, and I ended up having to put a new one in. Fortunately, I found a used junkyard motor for $500 that was pristine and put it in the car myself so it saved a ton of cash compared to what I would have had to pay to have a mechanic do the work.

I think a G35 is still too expensive of a car IMO to gamble that kind of money on. Pay a little more and get something with at least a year or so of factory warranty left on it in case something goes wrong up front with the drivetrain.

 

Ah I see. Quick question that I think could benefit OP as well as myself. Any important areas to check on a used car, or standard procedures to run to see if things check out fine?

 

thread jacker! jk jk
i checked everything because i was like super ****, but some of the quick stuff im just shooting out are....
first of all run VIN number.
some important stuff are like rattles/weird noises, different spots of paints (signifying accidents , repaint etc), engine bay clean or not, seat condition, corrosion of paint, uneven coloring paint, interior seats, oil leaks on engine, dipstick, headunits, a.c., heater, etc.
internal part on oil filler neck (no clogging), oil sludge, bad weldges / repairs, timing belt, clutch, grinding gears, etc.


most of it is just common stuff, like obviously if the car is beat up and they state they only drove 15k miles for examples theres something fishy going on
and driving it should be a red-flag or green-flag right away

sorry for long posts/reply, hope it helps give feedback

 

Definetly look for a friend with a dealer license, my G is a Salvage title, crashed in the front but no engine damage. 05' 21k miles $5,000
Had no problem insuring my car with Geico.

 

On a rebuilt title, some banks will loan out 75% of the value, atleast mine will. It all depends on who rebuilt it, I probably wouldn't buy one unless I knew the work done on it and who did it. I bought a salvage title vehicle and rebuilt it myself and it was better than some clean title g35s out there.

 

You got an 05 w/ 21k miles salvage for $5k!? Was that in auction? Noticed you said there was no engine damage, but was there frame damage?

 

I've seen suspension damage on a salvage where the front passenger wheel was an inch further back from it's proper position. It drove like a tank and a wheel alignment was impossible. many thousands to fix too. Unless the car has been fixed perfectly, there's no way you'll know how much you'll have to spend on hidden expenses down the road. Big risk for little return. It's worth it to by a car that has a known history.

 

my G is a rebuilt... never had a single problem *knock on wood*... i drive it hard.. take care of it like its new.. oil change, synthetic etc. motul fluids etc.., carfax won't approve it since it got into an accident but there are soo many other cars on the road that get fixed "under the table" where you will never know...

i would say, the only bad part about a 100% functioning rebuilt car is the resale value... as long as it drives fine and has no further problems... the car is as good as new.

I bought it rebuilt because i'm an impulsive buyer and the color, make , model etc. was just right except for the fact thati t was rebuilt.. and since this is my project car.. i don't really care about selling it.. you can pick up a rebuilt 2004+ 7 series for 13000$... it still costs a **** load of money to maintain it... never buy a rebuilt car because its "cheaper" .... you should look into all the other factors as well...

my 2 cents.

 

^+1

Very good points for people to look at! I have got at least 10 crashed cars and fixed them my self and because I did it I know they were as good as knew. BUT one of them that I did a car fax oon came back that it had only been in that one crash, come to find out after taking the car a part it had been in 3-4 crashes that the person never claimed. So you would have never know if you bought it right at the dealer and spent double.

I would all so not just do it for money. All the ones I have done are because I mod them and there project cars. I love my last G because it was a theft car. They took the rims,hood,bumpers,seats and I got it for under 6k. Then I bought a kit, cf hood & trunk, bucket seats and I had a modded G35 for under 10k that had never been hit before. Imo you cant beat that