I’m in the market for a new family car. Normally, I’d steer clear of anything that has a history of wrecks. But I ran across a “rebuilt title” offer today that caught my eye.
It’s a 2017 Jeep Compas with only 32,000+ miles on it (they’re asking about $13,000 for it). The problem is, it was side swiped and the door panels and front fender were damaged.
I talked to the dealer, they said they don’t take any vehicles with major frame damage or air bag deployment. And my insurance will fully cover rebuilt title vehicles as well. With only 32,000 miles on it, I’m tempted to take a chance on this just being cosmetic damage.
But what is everyone else opinion? Here are the before and after images:
Bolt on body panels like fenders and doors wouldn bother me if the work was quality, but Chrysler has pretty much ruined the Jeep brand, especially compass, so yeah pass.
Over the years of doing this I have seen some scary crap work done on rebuilt vehicles… Now this is in Tennessee only and I am not versed in any other state or that states laws on rebuilt vehicles, so take it as you will… But I have seen core supports ape welded on that looked like some 3 year old kid for the 1st time unsupervised forgetting to turn the gas on weld it together… NOT safe… Had one vehicle from a used car lot brought it in that when we raised the vehicle on the 2 post lift the rear subframe stayed on the ground… They have been patched back together with wrong parts that you would have a nightmare trying to figure out what to buy for replacement later on… bent sub frames, bent frames etc so when you put it on the alignment rack it was out too far to adjust and would eat the tires, plus just plain not safe… When an Ins company totals a vehicle that means that it would cost them about 70 to 80% of the total cost of the vehicle to repair… Plus I have seen what customers have gone through after buying one and being stuck with them and it is not a safe for them and their family… Now I have also seen some that I couldn’t see why they were totaled either sooo basically I always recommend running away from any rebuilt vehicles just to be safe and not sorry…
I would not buy it. The salvage title alone would keep me away. If you are interested in it, take it to a shop you trust for a prepurchase inspection, especially the body. Make sure they test the alignment since frame damage might be incurable.
For me, only Jeeps made by AMC, Willys, or Kaiser. If AMC preferably 1972 or older. CJ5 or Utility Wagon, CJ5s can almost be built new from the ground up with aftermarket parts. Utility wagon shares some parts but would need a donor vehicle on hand.
Plus stroker sixes are available!
Categorize this as another fantasy build.
If the alignment is good, and the door opens and closes properly, an you don’t see any problem, then there shouldn’t be an issue.
The place where the door hinges mount to could be a little bent. Make sure the paint was reapplied properly if that area was fixed. Open the hood and check for damage to the front of the upper fender support. Was it properly painted if it was bent back?
Are you in a place with road salt? Bad paint will allow rust. But with A Chrysler it’ll rust anyway wont it?
The body shop might total it because the front of the upper fender support is bent. Their policy is to restore it to original condition, even if it doesn’t really matter if it’s bent a little bit. Tho door hing attachment points might be bent. But who cares if it works.
My neighbor just sold a 2014 Honda Civic with high mileage and a few dents for about $3,000, “What a great deal”.
What I’m sure the Seller didn’t disclose is that said vehicle was used primarily as an Uber vehicle, maintenance was limited to quicky oil changes and it was run until it wouldn’t, with a transmission fluid leak.
If a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is
