I learned a lot from my first used car buying experience; input please.

[Neo-Maikeru]

I drove down to LA to buy a 1998 240SX just recently as some of you may know. I was pretty excited when I saw the car because it has really low mileage of 60,000, it is white which is the color I wanted, and looks really clean. I test drove the car for about 20 minutes and everything seemed really nice. The car would ride perfectly straight when I took my hands of the wheel and it felt extremely solid. The body looks pretty much flawless and the lady had all service records and even the warning stickers on the glove box, shifter, and even the original price tag/gas mileage paper that goes on the window when new. I went ahead and purchased the car only to find out some things later. The car has a clean title and I thought that when a car has a clean title it means that it had not been into any accidents. Well after buying the car I found a few things...The passenger side door is slanted down a bit which isn't really noticeable but can be ajusted when I have sometime and the left side of my hood is a bit off, when I go around 80 I can see it popping up and down a bit but nothing most people would notice. I email the seller about these problems and she then mentions to me that the car has been in two accidents. The first one someone slammed on their brakes and she couldn't move out of the way on time so she had to get a new bumper and headlights. The second one a Nissan Xtera broadsided her while going through a stoplight and she had to get the right fender and door replaced. Its strange though because even after these two accidents the car drives perfectly fine, has perfect allignment, etc. I guess I leaned my lesson to be a bit more cautions when buying used cars. The car runs and feels great when it drives so I guess that is all that matters, plus it has low mileage and it looks like she took really good care of it aside from the accidents. I am sure that most used cars have been in an accident of some kind before. It still kind of made ma angry though. Do you all think I got ripped off because I paid $9000 for a Kouki that has been in two accidents? The title is still clear so I guess it has the same worth still. Anyways, nothing I can do about it now.

Edit: On a positive note I am enjoying the car a whole lot and it handles like a dream. Better than my old 2005 WRX...

[TurDz]

Wait, so Carfax reports showed no reported accidents? They were all repaired under the table?

I would bit angry too...with that much money you should expect to get a perfect car. Recently I thought my car was in an accident too, since looking at the metal bumper support inside I saw a tiny bit of rust on the corner. I contacted the original owner and she still ensured to me that there were no accidents at all. This was about 1.5 years after the purchase from her. So I felt at ease again.

The hood popping up and down is normal...the driver side of my hood did that for a while. A cool zilvian recommended to twist the rubber grommets under the hood (on either side) so they were raised a bit higher. Turns out it solved the problem.

The big lesson is...be very anal about the condition of the car, and question little things, because there's no turning back. It sucks to find out that you noticed the crooked door and stuff.

[Neo-Maikeru]

Wait, so Carfax reports showed no reported accidents? They were all repaired under the table?

I would bit angry too...with that much money you should expect to get a perfect car. Recently I thought my car was in an accident too, since looking at the metal bumper support inside I saw a tiny bit of rust on the corner. I contacted the original owner and she still ensured to me that there were no accidents at all. This was about 1.5 years after the purchase from her. So I felt at ease again.

The hood popping up and down is normal...the driver side of my hood did that for a while. A cool zilvian recommended to twist the rubber grommets under the hood (on either side) so they were raised a bit higher. Turns out it solved the problem.

The big lesson is...be very anal about the condition of the car, and question little things, because there's no turning back. It sucks to find out that you noticed the crooked door and stuff.

The problem is that I bought it and there is nothing I can do about it now after finding out about the two accidents...It was a bit shady of her not to mention the accidents when I asked if the car had a clean title. She seemed confident when she told me it had a clean title and gave me the VIN etc...I also asked her if there are any damages I should know about and she said no...I am a very honest person and a bit naive though so that is my own downfall. I have yet to run it on carfax though because I am tight on money so I am crossing my fingers and hoping it is clean otherwise I already lost tons of value in the car if it is set as a salvage title. Its strange because the owner was super cool, and all the interior etc. is immaculate as well as the engine. The way I found out about the accident is that there is no Smog instruction sticker on the front bumper bar so I know that it has been replaced. That is what made me ask her the question about it directly. I really love the car though, honestly if there were not the minor cosmetic things that I noticed I would have never guessed that it had been crashed. This saddens me though. I thought I had the perfect Kouki and I searched over a year to find on that looked this nice.

[statik]

you never buy a car without doing a carfax report. How did you know it had a clean title? It's your own fault for beleiveing someone you do not know at all who is trying to sell you something. If for some reason the accidents aren't on the carfax, meaning she fixed them out of pocket, then you couldve used the carfax buy back guarantee if you really wanted to. Regardless, the accident dont sound bad enough to make it a salvage title, but you wont know until you check, if you want to run the carfax pm me

[TurK]

damn 9k is a lot if you ask me...and she obviously was into making money off of this car....knowing ppl first look at the kbb before selling a car...

[driftracer]

yea, I feel 9k is a lot for the car as well.

[theicecreamdan]

nice car man, its so pretty.

[RacerBoi]

I also think 9k is alot to spend. Open the door that had been hit and look for damage along the A-piller where the door attaches. Caveat Emptor.

[[email protected]]

doesnt the pink slip usually say whether the car has a salvage title or not? cuz my 240 has a salvage title, and it clearly says so on the pink slip.

[derux]

I had a car that got into 5 different accidents with. I got all of them fixed throught my insurance company. Only the major one at the end that made the car go to salvage title was shown on the carfax. So I knwo that you guys like car fax and all but it doesn't show every thing. I ran it on 6 of my cars and some i know have been hit but it isnt on the carfax.

[mistaanime]

nice ride...it was probably her fault in all the accidents..and she didn't want to report it...heh proabbly hit and run...and she juss didn't report it and just paid to get it fixed..usually Carfax is usually accurate..but people can find ways around..

[aznpoopy]

9k is alot for a kouki, period. so yes, i would say you got ripped off. calling the seller won't do shit; because a private car sale is an inherent 'as is' car sale. unless there's some huge major mechanical issue with it, the seller is under no obligation to help you fix the car.

also learn the difference between a 'clean title' (i.e. no accidents reported)
and a car that has been in no accidents

there's a big distinction there. that's why you get someone really knowledgable (like a mechanic or a 240 nut) to check out the car...

and i cant possibly fathom how you were 'strapped for cash', yet you shelled out 9k for a kouki and couldn't pay $15 bucks for a carfax.

btw i really doubt it's a salvage title; but get it checked out anyway.

finally, raising the rubber stops is one option. another more permanent solution is to apply something like RTV in a thin layer on top of each rubber to effectively raise it a bit. these rubber stoppers get old and smushed (on both the trunk and the hood), and no longer really tension against their respective latches.

[TurK]

i woudnt pay a kouki more then 7k...and thats with no damage/low mileage.

[FRpilot]

in california, 240s in general carry a bit of a premium over kbb. also, the car seems fine as you mentioned and were probably minor accidents. maybe you just need to get the door aligned.

[DrtyRat]

...I have yet to run it on carfax though because I am tight on money ...
Isn't there a thread here where you can post vin#'s and have someone check it out on carfax(if they're feeling nice)?
Ah yes, here it is.....http://www.zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?t=87733&highlight=carfax

[theicecreamdan]

she probably just didn't think the accidents were anything worth reporting because she had them fixed and the car had not been salvaged.

[HyperTek]

as long as there isnt frame damage, or if the damage was to replacible parts like fenders/doors etc... then I wouldnt really worry about it too much.

[Neo-Maikeru]

Well I checked it out and the car is not salvage. It seems I had a misunderstanding of what a salvage title is. The car rides great, I guess that is all that should matter. The flaws are really not noticeable unless you are really looking closely and all of them could be fixed with a bit of money. As for me paying too much for the kouki I do not think I did. Kouki's go for quite a bit in California. Some of my buddies bought kouki's out of state for this very reason. The lady took really good care of the car though, and that is why I paid so much for it. I just was suprised to find out about the accidents that it had been in. I guess as long as the frame was not bent, and it wasn't, I should not be complaining. I just took a two hour ride in my car and am loving every minute of it. I have never driven a car that seems more solid on the road than this. I can't see myself every selling this car, it will stay with me for quite a while. As for the carfax money, I am pretty strapped for cash, and it is because I bought a Kouki, heh. I don't really have much more cash to spend other than groceries and rent. I am selling some things I have around my house to get my coilovers and transmission. It cracks me up that my car is more important to me than my house, haha.

[aznpoopy]

don't sweat paying alot for a car.

its worth what its worth to you. if you enjoy it, what more can you ask for?

[infinitexsound]

eh my car wasnt in a crazy accident and the hood vibrates when im drivin as long as the hatch works its ok with me, honestly great buy.....

[s13speeddrft]

I don't trust carfax anymore (only for mileage accuracy) after running checks on my old car and my friends car no reports of accidents came up and both of the cars had been in accidents where insurance paid for the repairs. Weird...

[SilviaNinja240]

I agree with Aznpoopy, just be happy with what you have.

Sometime you get a deal, and sometimes you dont. Such is life.

[jdm538]

i bought my base 98 kouki for 12k from the dealer so 9k doesnt sound that bad.

[reefer1114]

rip..............

[Neo-Maikeru]

I don't trust carfax anymore (only for mileage accuracy) after running checks on my old car and my friends car no reports of accidents came up and both of the cars had been in accidents where insurance paid for the repairs. Weird...

From what I hear, your car only gets a salvage title if the insurance decided not to pay it because the damage was too bad.

[aznpoopy]

From what I hear, your car only gets a salvage title if the insurance decided not to pay it because the damage was too bad.

if a car is totalled (i.e. deemed not cost effective to repair) it goes to the junker. if someone decides to buy it and fix it it *then* becomes a salvage title, because the car was literally salvaged.

[TurK]

i bought my base 98 kouki for 12k from the dealer so 9k doesnt sound that bad.



lol rofl was this back in 98?

[p11driver]

haha i hope it was /\. i paid 7,000 for my old base kouki in january(98 with 86,000 miles,5 spd)
welcome to the real world. people sell cars all the time without mentioning previous accidents and damage to the car. as long as the titles still clean then fuck it. if its driving fine i wouldnt worry about it.
what you should do is take it to a mechanic shop around you and get it checked out. run compression and have a diagnostic test done.
have fun with your new car!

[Neo-Maikeru]

haha i hope it was /\. i paid 7,000 for my old base kouki in january(98 with 86,000 miles,5 spd)
welcome to the real world. people sell cars all the time without mentioning previous accidents and damage to the car. as long as the titles still clean then fuck it. if its driving fine i wouldnt worry about it.
what you should do is take it to a mechanic shop around you and get it checked out. run compression and have a diagnostic test done.
have fun with your new car!

Nice price. In reality my car will cost me $10,100, not $9,100 like I bought it for because I still have to convert it to manual. I am still debating on if I want to take it to a shop or not. I know I can scratch $500 off of that price if I do it myself but I don't have any friends with experience working on 240's. I want to learn how to do it but I have close to no mechanic experience at all besides changing my oil and installing a fan clutch on my old Z31 once...Heh. I am thinking about paying someone to supervise me while I try to install it so atleast I learn somthing which would be quite valuable to me in the future.

[reefer1114]

rip..............
off!!!!!!!!!!

[p11driver]

i think you misunderstood what i said. have a mechanic check out the car, not to do a 5 speed swap.

[Neo-Maikeru]

i think you misunderstood what i said. have a mechanic check out the car, not to do a 5 speed swap.

I understood what you said. I was just mentioning that I still have to do a 5-Speed swap.

[Irukandji]

2 accidents??? no big

my s13 has been thru 4 :-(. all minor.

frame is still straight but now i rock a salvaged title.

oh wells....

dont trip on two accidents...its not a big deal

[s13speeddrft]

yeah but a carrfax report should show an accident if it caused 9k worth of damage don't ya think?

[Revolver Ocelot]

Edit: On a positive note I am enjoying the car a whole lot and it handles like a dream. Better than my old 2005 WRX...

A stock 240 handles better than a wrx? Really? Doesnt seem like it should, my stock suspension felt like crap when i had it.

[TurDz]

He got a 98 SE...mildly stiffer springs and damping. maybe the shocks were still relatively fresh good.

[kazuo]

yeah but a carrfax report should show an accident if it caused 9k worth of damage don't ya think?

No, because if the repair doesn't go through the insurance company, carfax doesn't know about it.

The accident appears on the report ONLY if it is reported to an insurance agency.

[chlatboy]

No, because if the repair doesn't go through the insurance company, carfax doesn't know about it.

The accident appears on the report ONLY if it is reported to an insurance agency.

You are correct sir!!! :bowrofl:

[s13speeddrft]

It did go through insurance

[Var]

My friend sold a 98 SE for 14k last year, bone stock.

[Omarius Maximus]

What a shady bitch. I feel for you but I can probably tell you righ now that the damage was probably minor, and it happened when the car was new or close to new.
A car is only deemed salvage when the cost of repairs for the damaged vehicle are higher than the price of the vehicle itself. So if your car which is worth (lets be generous) 9k, and had an accident, then the repairs would have had to cost significantly less than the price of the vehicle or else it would be deemed salvage. So what I'm trying to get at is that your car isn't a "lemon".

Also another thing to note... All koukis have shaky hoods. The zenkis don't do it, but the koukis sure as hell do.

[Omarius Maximus]

Usually, you'll find more salvage s13s because blue book price on them is pretty low. So even a minor fender bender would deem it salvage because the repairs would cost as much as the 1500 dollar car. So it's all relative.
This means that yes you can have a nice salvage car. You can also have a bad salvage car. Just understand that if a car is worth tons of money blue book and has a salvage title, then it probably rolled over several times after hitting a curb. Common occurrence with S2000s and 350zs. Think about the damage incurred!!! Both those cars are worth around 24k, so if you find a salvage one, it has had over 24 thousand dollars worth of damage to it!!!

one thing to keep in mind is that repair shops often do exxagerate repair bills so they can milk rich insurance companies. So even though its 24k worth of damage, somebody resourceful can probably fix it for maybe 7 or 8k. Thats how salvage cars have a market.

Just thought I would share some knowledge, sorry for the long post.