Deal or No Deal (1 Viewer)

[213]

Hello everyone,

So I was recently on the hunt for an FJ62 and came across the GX470 after a recommendation for a Toyota mechanic. I stumbled upon an '06 with 60K miles and about $3500 in aftermarket parts (mostly in the suspension, lift and tires). The seller is asking $12.5, but it's a salvage title.

When asked about the title, he said he doesn't know the reason why. I'm going to check it out tomorrow and try to get more details about maintenance and how he came into ownership. I doubt I'm going to get an answer to the salvage title.

I read through the pre-inspection notes in the FAQ section, but I'm curious to know if you all feel I should try to buy the GX or just move on.

Thanks in advance.

 

[ADVFamilyHauler]

Nope. Salvage title kills it.

 

[Bluetribal]

Salvage Title only kills it if you ever plan to sell it. But info on what lift it has would be helpful.

 

[213]

Salvage Title only kills it if you ever plan to sell it. But info on what lift it has would be helpful.

Per the post:
Front ARB coil springs medium load 650lbs

Rear ARB coil springs heavy duty 700lbs

Bilstein 5100 series ajustable

Rear are Bilstein 5100

Toytec rear conversion kit to eliminate air bags

Total chaos upper arms

 

[Kelevra]

Personally, I would never purchase a vehicle with a salvage title.

 

[Bluetribal]

Per the post:
Front ARB coil springs medium load 650lbs

Rear ARB coil springs heavy duty 700lbs

Bilstein 5100 series ajustable

Rear are Bilstein 5100

Toytec rear conversion kit to eliminate air bags

Total chaos upper arms

That is an interesting lift! Don’t know anything about ARB springs, never heard of a Toytec rear conversion kit but probably meant Metal Tech. And I’m sure people will disagree with me and get butt hurt about this but IMO Bilstein shocks are fine for street lifts but I actually wheel my rig so I would never purchase those shocks. So in other words you could spend $3,500on a much better lift.

 

[pnwcruiser]

Nope. Salvage title kills it.

Agreed. With only 60k, I'd seriously be questioning why it has a salvage title. That takes a hell of an accident to total it. Sometimes you can Google the VIN and find the salvage auction photos. I found a F-250 Super Duty 7.3 PowerStroke I wanted to buy, then I found the auction photos after seeing a theft recover on the history check for it...hahaha...it was gutted, dented and left on the brake rotors. The used car lot slapped bits back on it and sold it for more than KBB.

If you even think you want to move forward with it, you need to have it inspected. I'd have two mechanics at different shops and a trusted auto body shop look over it. Last thing you want is a bent frame making you drive a nice engine sideways down the road.

 

[213]

So I went to look at the GX this past weekend and all looked good, until I googled the vin. The car was in a bad accident. No surprise there. I also noticed the miles on the car were 100k when it was sold at auction, but 60K when I went to go see it in person.

Rolling back the odometer still a thing? In fact, yesterday I was communicating with another seller and he also had a GX with a rolled back odometer. Both sellers claim they didn’t know or have anything to do with it.

 

[Dharma Dude]

I wouldn't reflexively shy away from a salvage title. It just means some damage occurred that the insurance company deemed the repair would have cost more than the value of the vehicle of that age. Depending on the market, even minor repairs are very expensive. I bought a VW Eurovan on a salvage title and got tens years of good camping, and sold it for more than I paid for it. Of course, those camper vans are fetching a premiums nowadays.

However, the odometer rollback is very bad. It just means you can't trust them......then I'd walk away.

If it were not for the odometer rollback, I would do my homework, get an inspection, test drive and just make sure the car runs fine. *THEN* use it as a bargaining chip to knock down the price, if it checks out fine. Of course, make the seller pay for any inspection.

 

[vwynn]

Salvage is okay so long as the shop that worked on it is top notch however the rollback miles is just shady.

For that alone i wouldnt even deal with it.