By clean title the OP could think that means no lien to loan company .
OP said it was an auction car in the original post then said it was a private sale in his response to my first post. It seems likely it is one or the other. I guess itās a private sale. You may guess otherwise.
Then?
Would you buy the vehicle?
Tester
Whatever it is, Iād steer clear of it, unless it was free
I suspect that the vehicle history shows that the vehicle was flagged for frame damage by an auction. Frame damaged vehicles canāt be sold at a dealers auction, if a dealer finds frame damage on a used car there is a time period in which the vehicle can be returned for a refund.
Ok here is the whole story. In 2013 the car has moderate accident. Then car was sold to second person. In 2015 car was reported to be appeared in auction as frame damage. No accident was reported right before the auction. Then, in late 2015 my friend bought this car from the dealer without knowing the history of the car. Now he is going to sell this car due to his personal reason. No mechanical problem was seen in last 2.5 year.
Unfortunately, none of what youāve posted in any way mitigates my concerns about frame damage on a unibody. Or my confusion about the title. IMHO itās still risky.
Itās a risk decision. If you can afford the risk, if you can afford to lose your purchase price if you discover that the accident damage goes deeper than you thought, and if youāre comfortable taking risks, perhaps itās a good buy for you. But if youāre considering the risk just to get a cheap car because your budget is tight, you may want to reconsider. This is a decision only you can make. Iāve taken some risks that panned out well, and Iāve taken some that didnāt. And, yet, Iām still here. Worst case (assuming it checks out āsafeā with a good shop), you regret the purchase and canāt find a buyer to sell it to because of the carās history. If you can accept that, youāre good to go.
1 Like
Iāll be a little more lenient. If you are buying it from a friend, then he should not object to having a good body shop take a look and determine āexactlyā what the frame damage is or was, and the alignment can be checked at the same time. Depending on that you can proceed or not. If it is ok, just remember that if you try to sell it again that reference could be a big red flag to any potential buyers. Now Iāll admit my son bought a car with a salvage title and it was fine for about the five years he had it. No idea what the original damage was but the only issue was supposedly a rear wheel that could not be properly aligned. He got the car he wanted at a good price and it served him well. Sometimes he listens to me and sometimes he makes up his own mind but you really need to have it looked at and then go in with your eyes open. Your friend should tell you though if there are any abnormal wear patterns on the tire though.
OK, now cars are designed to fold up now to absorb an impact. In the old days they were designed to sustain the impact and bounce off. If the frame or sheet metal gets crushed or bent and then is straightened again, it becomes āwork hardenedā. That means the metal will not bend as easily as it did the first time. So instead of crushing and absorbing an impact, it could resist the impact. So all depends on where the damage was, how bad, and if there is any alignment problem. Adjust price accordingly.
IMHO anyway.
Just move on and keep looking
Thereās plenty of 2012 Altima 2.5S cars out there with no damage
Iād never say never. Itās been driven 3 years but the big unanswered question is how much.
Cheap enough itās worth a shot. Not so cheap then move on.
You seem to have your mind made up. Youāve asked for opinions, and then you debate those opinions.
Whenever you buy any used car, you should have it checked out by your mechanic, and you should pay for the inspection to avoid any conflict of interest. Whether you are buying a car from a friend or a dealership, whether youāre buying a car that once had a damaged frame or a car that was never in any collision, it is imperative to have it fully checked out by a mechanic of your choice before you make the purchase.
ā¦and that goes double for a car that once had a bent frame. Get it inspected or walk away, because buying any used car based on assumptions of its quality is a terrible idea.