This might be the one.....

Okay guys i need some input. got an 04 4 door black prerunner with 95k v6... dont think im leaving anything out... kbbs at like 14000$... problem is carfax says it has "MINOR damage". like it had been in a fender bender or something. My question is, how much does it effect the price, and as far as salvage title.. i would not touch but if its just a fender bender is it that risky? Idk how tough the frames are aside the rust issue but help me out guys! all input accepted!

 

$14K is too high of a price. Also ask details about the damage.

For reference, my truck is a 2004 xtra cab, v6, 4x4, TRD, auto, 67K miles. I paid ~$13,800 if I recall correctly. It had been in an accident on the front left (clean title). I always check a vehicle VERY meticulously before buying it, but in this case I was recovering from an auto injury/surgery and had my father (who's a mechanic) do a full look over. Without previously knowing it was wrecked I probably wouldn't have known for a while.

However, knowing that it had been in a wreck I noticed very slight inconsistencies. The front chrome bumper was shiny and newish. The headlight on the drivers side was clearer. The front fender and hood had more gap than factory would have allowed. Here's the dead giveaway: The driver's door didn't have the same 'snug' gap around it compared to the passenger side. Also the unused holes in the engine bay side of the front fender didn't line up as perfect as the passenger side.

To me a wrecked vehicle isn't a big deal. I was in a side swipe with my Ranger many years back. The insurance company put $6,500 into repairing it. Nothing but sheet metal and paint was needed. I went to an awesome shop that did a perfect job. The auto repair never showed up on Carfax. I tried getting the insurance company to total it since I was already shopping for a car, not a truck. Anyhow, I sold the truck ~ 3 months later for $4,500 I think. I was up front about the accident to every potential buyer. Many of the folks weren't interested and unbelieving when I told them the truth of the accident. Half the people kept asking about frame damage repeatedly even though the damage was nothing that involved.

It's your call. Just pay close attention to the details with regards to the seams. Also pay close attention to how the truck handles. If it doesn't drive straight or smooth and the person selling it says "oh it just needs an alignment", be weary. If it just needed an alignment then they would have spent the $80 to get an alignment if it could be aligned. If they are just THAT lazy then that says something else about the business. Get as much information as you can upfront.

 

Good information. heres the truck. http://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/cto/4324031993.html i said i would give her 12k since its been wrecked... IF it checks out... heres what the carfax said "Accident reported Involving rear impact with another motor vehicle Minor damage reported" so its good to know its from the back. Less chance of frame damage ya?

 

Wheels are earlier than 04 alloys... Like what my 98 has. Not a big deal, but maybe had damage to one of them and found this set cheaper/easier?

 

before i noticed that, she said she has another tacoma that she switch the tires and rims over from.

 

It is probably better that it was a rear collision rather than a front. The bracket arms that attached the frame to the rear bumper are pretty thin so those probably bent rather than the frame. I didn't see a receiver hitch so if it didn't have one before then the frame should be fine. Just check the spacing between the bed and the cab and make sure that the gap is pretty even. Also there are 6 bolts that hold the bed to the frame. Make sure that there are no empty holes since one of my bed to frame bolts was missing, one was nearly gone, and a third was loose. I contribute this to a hard life or shotty mechanic work.

 

NOOOOOOO


Rear end damage is MUCH MUCH worse than front end damage. I agree, simply "collision history" alone does not scare me. I don't see it as a reason to run away. But if it's in the back...I would be on the fence like 60/40 to walk or not. My truck had front end damage, and, like someone else mentioned, I couldn't tell. The only thing I noticed was that one headlight is less weathered than the other. That and I found stickers of UPC barcodes and parts numbers (OEM Toyota parts) still on the replaced parts. I think mine got a new bumper, headlight, fender, and wheelwell liner. but I got mine for a steal. If there's a front end collision, and it affects the door, that's when I would run. That's bad.

Collision history and salvage title are different. A vehicle can be severely damaged or even totaled and not have a salvage title. For example, I was rear ended on my motorcycle. It was a 1987, and fairings are very expensive. The insurance settled with me, but I elected to keep ownership. My bike was never salvaged because it never left my ownership.
Also, a friend of mine bought an older Honda Civic. On the carfax, it had been in 2 accidents, but clean title. The car looked great and drove fine, so he didn't care on a $2000 car. He took some interior panels out one day and saw shitty welds EVERYWHERE. Turns out, the entire rear passenger area had been hit and split from the floor, creating a huge fissure. There's currently a 1inx8in gap between the floor and junk welds everywhere.
I also had a pickup truck that was definitely in an accident or two. Never showed up on carfax and had a clean title.

this is my truck


This is the Civic


if you look closely to the left of the wire, you can see the gap where the two panels should meet


this is the area from outside, underneath the car, I believe.


Another picture from a different angle. You can see where everything is just kinda...scrunched together. and you can see the huge gap


These are the welds further up in the car where the sheetmetal split, I suppose. This is a few feet up, right at the quarter window where the rear seats are. It is a Civic hatchback, for reference.



Looking back, we think the seller had washed/laundered the title through being associated with a dealer in WV.

Anyway, if it just says "minor collision", but has a good title, then I would offer $11,500. I would say the likelihood of unfixed damage from a rear collision is far greater than a front collision. If you have frame damage up front, all you have to do is take it in for an alignment and the high schooler tech will tell you the frame is fucked. Not so easy with the rear.
If it does have a salvage title, the seller better drop that price to like $8,500. Not that salvage title bothers me, but when you go to sell it, other people won't pay as much, so you better take advantage.

 

advice

I am an auto dealer

if its a simple minor damage carfax- dont worry. its extremely common and means that damage was less than 500 regardless of where it was hit. if the vehicle was rendered inoperable, it would reflect on carfax the vehicle was towed. you can also check the dates on carfax when the vehicle was hit, when it went to the shop and when it was completed......

if you give me the vin I will tell you everything you need to know including real price not just a guess like someone else here is doing....

if the carfax says branded or salvage title- walk away and resume your search elsewhere

 

and where it was hit is NOT worse front or rear providing there was no damage to the frame and the vehicle was repaired at a reputable collision center.....
if the carfax shows frame damage, again resume your search elsewhere

again feel free to provide me the vin number and I can answer any and all your questions.... my 22 years as a dealer and reputation here on the forum should put you at ease to ask freely

 

but carfax is bullshit. Carfax should NOT be used as an "all-knowing" vehicle report. First of all, not all places report to carfax, or similar record agencies. Most shops don't. It's usually only dealerships or chain auto shops anyway. 2nd of all, I've checked other record agencies for my vehicles and found VOLUMES of information that carfax never even hinted at.

Pretty much, carfax is good for telling you how many times your car has had renewed registration at the DMV, but won't tell you a damn thing in between those events.

 

also there is much more to a vehicle history than only I as a dealer can see....
carfax is usually fairly accurate but not always current. AUTOCHECK is what myself, appraisers and insurance companies rely on.

AND if a vehicle was totaled or salvaged it will ALWAYS reflect on title. may not always show on just carfax

 

NOT TRUE.

As I stated above, my motorcycle was recently totaled (a month ago). It does not have a salvage/branded title as I RETAINED ownership of the motorcycle. The insurance company compensated me for property damages, but did not PURCHASE the vehicle from me.

Also (just to appease you people who might say 'well that's a motorcycle'), my friend totaled his 1997 S-10 last year. The insurance company did buy that from him, and he bought it back to fix. The insurance company gave him like $4200 and the buy back was $500. CLEAN AND CLEAR TITLE.

 

if you retain possession of a vehicle technically it was never a total loss....
again, carfax may or may not show that info but as a dealer I can tell you the complete history up to and including who fixed it, their dealer license info, how much the repair was, how long it took to complete and the entire breakdown of parts required.

doesnt matter if it was a motorcycle or not.

I will share this with you as well..... Ive seen hundreds of accounts in my 22 years that a vehicle was purchased with a clean carfax historynand mysteriously years later a record was now shown as a dirty carfax AFTER the purchase..... why you may ask?

because carfax is still a private company and sometimes it takes that long for the history of what I use to catch up to carfax.....

as a rule of thumb to protect my business, when I sell a vehicle I require the consumer to view and sign the carfax report and retain that copy for my records so if a case like this happens and 2 years down the road they come back with a dirty carfax report, I have documented proof I sold the vehicle as stated.....

remember unfortunately data is only as good as the idiot on the other end inputting the info.....

insurance companies and dealers do not soley rely on carfax for this reason...
why do you think carfax is so expensive for an avg consumer to purchase? as a dealer it cost me nothing to use. also heres another example....

there are numerous websites where a consumer can obtain an estimate of value for a trade. have you ever used one? no 2 websites are ever the same. why? they are all private companies without a dealer access like me. sont believe it? tell kelly blue book you want to sell them the car for their estimated value you cant

want another example?

why does a dealer always give less on appraisal then what the so called educated consumer poured his hard earned research into online? because we have more information at our fingertips than you. not because we are "thieves"

for the record, I run the largest dealer in the US for my brand of auto so I promise you I am not talking out of my ass.....

feel free to PM me and I will personally answer any questions without an educated guess....

the info I am sharing is to help not to show I have bigger nuggets

 

that is correct.... thats what I already told you. carfax is not always accurate however AUTOCHECK is and unless you spend 3700 per month to retain this service like I do and insurance companies do, good luck.

also carfax only reports if there was a police report, a dealer RO opened or an insurance claim. that pic posted of the welds on that civic I assure you was not done at a reputable dealer

 

I guess Carfax is better than nothing =/