[Ferrari]

Hello everyone,

I am looking to buy a used 2016 CHRYSLER 300 with a 3.6L V6 SOHC 24V engine. The car is listed at a price of $11,600 but it is a salvage title. I am a little hesitant to purchase this car due to the title and I was wondering if anyone had any experience with buying a salvage car or any advice on the matter.

I understand that the title can be an indicator of a potentially unreliable car, but the price is so low that I am tempted to buy. I would just like to hear the opinion of the forum members before I make a decision.

Has anyone purchased a used car with a salvage title? If so, were you satisfied with the purchase? Was it worth the risk? Any advice or tips on how to ensure I make a safe purchase would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your time and input!


UPDATE:

I appreciate all of your excellent advice. I made the decision to run the report first because I'm really interested in this car. I chose to run a VIN CHECK and also get a Window Sticker from the Detailed Vehicle History Report For their excellent customer service. I was able to find the damaged image in the report as well as received the window for this car. The damage seems to be pretty extensive.

Here is the report: Vehicle History Report for VIN: 2C3CCAAG9GH224528

 

[DGO]

Do you have any details of what happened to the car? It can be a fairly minor accident all the way up to something quite serious

 

[devilmaycare]

the price is so low that I am tempted to buy.

I would resist the temptation. Might there be a problem with insurance and any future resale?

 

[Tom18300S]

That's a trick bag question. Buying a salvage title car is like a "mystery prize" in a cereal box. You never know what you're gonna get.

I understand that the price is tempting. My advice would be to test drive the car for a LONG time. If you have access to a scanner, check it out and see what you find as far as stored codes. As DGO stated, try to find out the history of the car. A quickie check by a trusted mechanic is always a good idea too, but even they can be deceiving at times depending on if they need work or not.

A good long drive making sure everything is kosher is the best defense in my opinion, but that's just my opinion....and we all know how many of us have those.

 

[Korben]

There's nothing particular to the model that is problematic for your purchase. The salvage thing comes down the details, your skills in handling things and your risk tolerance.

From the looks of the car the way the hood doesn't really line up I'm guessing it was in a front end collision. Between the headlight units being so expensive and front passenger air bag deployment meaning entire dash replacement it's rather easy for a front end collision to total a car. These were also often used by rental companies which would make totaling it for rather minor damage more likely as they're self insured.

So of course take a very good look for issues. A few bits of info specific to these cars. It is possible to change the displayed milage, though as 88k is high doesn't appear likely. There's a neat bit of software called AlfaOBD you may consider getting. It can access the up to 20 separate computer modules on these cars, get true mileage, etc. Help you know about any hidden issues the computers might know about but that wouldn't cause a warning light.

Good luck.

 

[Korben]

One thing specific to these cars did come to mind and it might be a good thing. They are quite hard to align correctly if the front end is out of whack. And if one pays special attention to the wear indicators on the front tires alignment issues are easy to see.

 

[Curious Joe]

Good looking car. Definitely get it checked out by someone knowlegeable. My daughter and son in law have had nothing but rebuilt (salvage title) vehicles since getting married nearly 20 years ago and have had good experiences overall - South Carolina is loaded with Rebuilders.

The one exception is my daughter's current 2010 Mazda 6 she bought several years back on my recommendation. Low mileage, CarFax showed the title status and a RF impact, which the rebuilder verified. Super price, good looking and driving car.

After about a year or so, the car developed cracks near the top of both sail panels, where they joined the roof. Body Shop stated the rear clip had been replaced at some point - not shown on CarFax.

Car was repaired, still driven regularly, and is now about to become my eldest granddaughter's first car. I wouldn't be afraid to drive it anywhere.

 

[Curious Joe]

I would resist the temptation. Might there be a problem with insurance and any future resale?

My understanding is that insurers don't write collision insurance for a rebuilt car, unless it's a high value collector car? People usually have to pay cash for a rebuilt car, and don't worry about resale. They just want something cheap, looks good and (hopefully) is reliable. The threshold between cars that were rebuilt without being declared 'salvage' varies from state to state. If the accident wasn't reported to the insurance company (self insurers) then it probably won't appear on CarFax. Due Diligence is everything.

 

[Ferrari]

Do you have any details of what happened to the car? It can be a fairly minor accident all the way up to something quite serious

Yes, I already get a History report from Detailed Vehicle History.