Would you buy this??

[cheap 40]

Here's the story.....97 LX450 for sale, no lockers (K292 code on the door), 65,000 miles. The stealership is asking $14,995. But, it has a rebuilt title. I pulled the carfax and everything checked out with what I have been told. Called one of the previous owners (most recent) and found out that it had been hit on the driver's side front. Fender, hood, grille and supposedly radiator were replaced. The sheetmetal has "TOYOTA" stamped into it, but no VIN sticker on the panels, further verifing what I have been told.

I spent about 2 hours with it last night and aside from a few scratches and the hood not lining up perfect (it's a little high on the driver's side), I did not see anything seriously wrong or evidence that anything horrible happened to it. The truck is in Iowa, and there is a law (which has changed in the last 5-6 years) that if a vehicle sustained more than $3000 damage, it must be issued a salvege title. The law later went to $5000 and now is half of the retail value of the vehicle. The salvage title was issued when the law was either 3 or 5k, I'm not sure which.

The frame did not show any signs of being straightened or welded, motor mounts looked good. Brakes did sqeak just a bit, but it stopped nice and straight, with no other weird noises. I could not get the birfs to make any noise, they sounded a felt good.

I am going back to look at it with someone else that has experience with salvage cars Thurs. night. I thought it would be nice to have another (objective) set of eyes check it out. I am thinking of setting a limit at $14K, and hoping to agree on a price in the $13k range. I would like to know what everyone thinks and if you have any advice as to something else to keep our eyes open for, feel free to share. Thanks.

Tony

 

[MaddBaggins]

Nice mileage, and if it is straight, why not. The most important thing to remember is will YOU be happy. I am very happy with my 94, it had 113k when I bought it for 12k. I am not sorry I paid 12k, I LOVE MY LC.
If you like the truck and there is no REAL damage then pay what you feel comfortable with. That's my .02 Happy wheeling

 

[Tentsontop]

Salvage

I would pass on a salvaged vehicle - too many unknowns. Salvage vehicles can spend months to years in yards/shops. You can never tell for certain how long it's been sitting or the extent of the damage. The low mileage suggests it's been sitting for some time.
If it was an auction vehicle the dealer probably picked it up for 7-9K. If you think you know what you'r doing and you really want it, don't pay more than 12.5K. No repair is perfect. Hopefully, your friend can help you spot something that may help you talk the dealer down. Good luck!

 

[cruiserman]

Nope. I would pass on a salvage titled rig unless it was an amazing deal.

 

[rgsiii]

My decision would be to pass on the vehicle.

 

[PHAEDRUS]

The fact that the hood is sitting a little high on the ds could be stops, hinges or poor repair to the hood.
of course it also could be structural damage to the A pillar on the veh and to the cowl and fire wall that was repaired when it should have been replaced.
Sorry I look at wrecked cars for a living and I would not buy a salvage titled vehicle unless it was for half or less of the fair market value of the vehicle. But hey thats just me.
One way to tell if panels have ben overly or poorly repaired is to take a magnet to them. If there is body filler (Bondo) on the panel the magnet will not stick to it. This is critical in the A-pillar (where the front door hinges mount to the body) area on the veh. check this over twice.
Dave

 

[hoser]

Too much $$$ for a salvaged vehicle even by West Coast standards. It's tough to resell salvage titled vehicles. If you are going to keep the thing for a long time, it might not be a bad decision to buy, granted everything checks out. I would set your limit lower though.

 

[cheap 40]

I am planning on keeping it for quite some time if I do buy it, so the lack of resale value isn't that big of a deal to me.

How hard would it have to crash to have damaged the firewall and cowl? I am fairly sure (90%) that it was not rolled. If it was or if I find out that it was then I want nothing to do with it. The hood has been replaced, so there shouldn't be any repair issues, but is there any way I can tell if it is just out of adjustment or something more serious? I have heard about using a magnet, but forgot about it until now. I will take one with me tomorrow.

 

[OZCAL]

Spidey-sense says pass. Something about those low miles and a major accident makes me the think the odometer might have been inop for a while...

 

[alaskacruiser]

My .02: No need to risk it on something so questionable when there are plenty of better deals on better 80's around. Keep looking!

 

[elum]

Salvaged vehicles take a hit on resale. That being said I think you should negotiate a better price. I really don't expect it to be going anywhere soon as many many many people get scared away from a salvage/rebuilt title (I tried selling mine..)

Another note is that your vehicle might not have had frame damage which is good.. I'm not sure if my '93 Toyota P/U 4x4 had or not.. but it did have a salvaged title... drove great! until I got clipped by an older full-size Dodge Ram. It messed the vehicle up bad..

It took two different repair companies the course of two years finally to get it driving close to as good as it did previously... Because it had a rebuilt title the insurance company only paid for the first repair. READ $600 out of my pocket for the second repair (not a bad deal though).

I was unable to sell it for what I thought it was worth and ended up giving it to a family member. They later tried selling it and did not get as much as they wanted and was a little peev'd at me (The nerve right?).

Anyway would I do it again? Not for the price they're asking for your FZJ80. You can get a clear title one with a few more miles for the same price.

It would have to be a killer deal and a vehicle I could keep for a long time for me to get another salvage title...

 

[Rich]

2 1/2 years ago I passed on a 1997 Collectors Edition with lockers, 25K miles, looked perfect, salvage title, for $18K. Offered for sale by owner's brother, because brother did not speak English. Truck contents included paperwork for upcoming insurance company auctions!

People were lining up to check it out! Too good of a deal for my taste.

 

[Capt. Jim]

My 80 was hit on the front driver's side. Allstate originally repaired it for $4200. They eventually replaced the entire front axle, several mounts, front driveshaft, frame and re-did the crappy body work, and a bunch of other stuff that was initially missed for an additional $19,000+ in supplements.

Watch out for damaged frame and check the camber of the front axle side that was hit. Take it to a shop with a Genisis machine and have them check it against factory specs. New frame was almost $5,000 and took 9 weeks to get.

I do not trust CarFax. Mine did not show up on their records until about 1.5 years after the accident.

Good luck,

Jim

 

[speyrod]

I bet you can get it for a lot less if you want it. I would pass by a long way but if you want it offer $7500 or be done with it. If you want a low mileage 80 look around and I bet you find one with similar mileage for 16-18K even at that price it might be too high. Autotrader has 15 under 75K miles he is one to consider (no affiliation)


"1996 TOYOTA LAND CRUISER, black, grey leather, loaded, AC, auto, moonroof, 4x4, differential lock, third row seat, 66,700 miles, excellent condition, $12,500 412-779-6780 ask for Bob"

 

[MTNRAT]

Salvage and NO lockers . NO DICE baby.
Cheers,
Sean

 

[firetruck41]

That price is not a good deal at all, you should be able to find rigs that price with ~20-30k more miles, that have never been wrecked, and maybe for even less $$$. I would pass, I've had a suspicious auction vhicle before, and I was always second guessing what/if anything would go wrong, etc. Not worth the headache.
If you are going to keep it forever, you may not consider the poor resale very much, but then again if you are going to keep it forever, it is worth spending a little more time/effort and maybe money, to find one you will be completely happy with. Good luck in your decision.
I would only consider it if it were ~7k or less. Otherwise, no way.

 

[cheap 40]

Thanks for the info, everyone. Gives me some more to ponder. I am not in a hurry, and I don't think most will want anything to do with it either. I think I'll look over it one more time and drop my limit a few grand. I'll update if I find anything new. Thanks again.

Tony

 

[NovaFZJ80]

the lc i had, carfax said it was never in a major accident..yeah right...bad decision of buying it at night and during the winter...later saw that the hood, ds rear door, ds rear 1/4 panel, tailgate were not original, but replaced..either in an accident or got stripped being from NJ until i purchased it...color didn't match which was a dead giveaway...sort of glad i sold it a few weeks ago....

will wait a few years to look for another 80..

 

[sonoranfun]

KBB fair trade in value puts it right at $12,000 and I would consider that a fair price if you wanted that 450. I've owned 3 Salvage title cars and like buying them as most shy away but I don't see an issue with many. Remember, it's not hard to do $5,000 in damage to a Lexus, my wife got in an accident at 5 mph and it was nothing but she did $3,000 in damage to it and the car still drove fine. If you get a good vibe from the car do it, if you don't care offer $10,000 for it.

 

[sixsracing]

Salvage titles make me cautious, but don't scare me away. I have seen many vehicles issued salvage titles for nothing more than blown airbags and a front bumper and valance. I would ask the dealership to let you bring it to a frame shop of your liking and talk to the frame guy afterwards. If the dealership isn't comfortable with this, either walk away or offer them $6,000.00. Anybody asking almost full value for a salvage vehicle is not too stable.

Call your insurance co. and find out what they will insure a salvaged L/C for also. Don't want to pay $12,000.00 for a truck and have it get hit and receive $6,000.00 from insurance co.