Help w/potential purchase of 99 3.4l

Hi guys, test drove a stock 99 3.4l 4x4 5 speed with 173k on the clock last night. I gave it a once over and the truck seems like it's in good shape. It does have a salvage title due to being rear ended. Frame looks good. Damage was cosmetic and repaired by owner. Engine bay is clean, no clear sign of leaks slow or otherwise.

There are a couple issues that I need feedback on.
1. AC works but doesn't get cold. I'm thinking a simple recharge.
2. Clutch is very stiff. It shifts into all gears well, but the clutch seems abnormally stiff.
3. I've verified w/owner that no real maintenance has been done other than oil changes. So I'm assuming timing belt is original. I doubt that the fluids from front/rear diff, tcase, & transmission have ever been changed.

Price is on par with kbb but a little low for the area and mileage, but I'm attributing that to the salvage title.

I'm assuming there I will need to do most of the maintenance in 3 above if I get it. What else do I need to be looking at with this 1st gen?

Thanks in advance for the input.

 

It all depends just where you live. Here in Pa a Salvage title means either it was totaled or sold to a yard title processed and then resold to a buyer.

Winter weather can make a big difference in things to look at.

Myself I always start at the ground and work up.

Suspension lower Ball Joints at least Steering linkage parts Brakes

This is at the age if things were not done it will need lots of tender loving care .

The timing belt alone could be why it is for sale Plus all the other neglected maintenance.

You will have your work on this one offer according

 

Totaled but "Damage was cosmetic and repaired by owner," sounds sketchy to me. I had a rebuilt Gen1 Tacoma (it was totaled and then rebuilt prior to my purchase). Looked good, drove good and had crazy low miles. The time came for needing a bigger truck and it took FOREVER to sell that thing. No one would touch it. I will never buy a rebuilt/salvage titled vehicle again.

When you say it is on par with KBB, the salvage title equates to Poor, aka below Fair condition for the blue book value. So the price should be substantially lower than other comparable vehicles.

 

I'm hesitant too. I'm confused as to why insurance would have totaled it if the damage wasn't major given how well these trucks hold their value.

As to the asking price it's 6600, but clean title trucks in my area with comparable mileage or even more have asking prices between 7500-9000 which is well over kbb (I know that doesn't mean they are selling for those prices).

 

You know what would help, is clarification on what constitutes "salvage."

Is it strictly damage in excess of vehicle worth or any damage at all?

To me it seems like there are plenty of vehicles out there with damage that can be or has been fixed for less than their worth making it cheaper to repair them than to total them.

Sorry for the tangent.

 

Exactly.

Was this person the owner during the accident? Do they have pictures? Did you run a carfax?

Carfax may provide greater details about the accident and repair, like sometimes it specifically notes: 'rear end collision' 'vehicle has frame damage' 'airbags not deployed' ect. I would definitely purchase a carfax before considering purchasing a vehicle that has been in a major collision.

These trucks have the best resale value of any vehicle in the US, the trucks are such an outlier that KBB is not an accurate guide for buying and selling prices in this case. The pricing should be notably less than other vehicles of similar (not wrecked) condition.

Wikipedia: "In general, a vehicle is deemed "salvage" when the insurer determines that the repair or replacement cost is in excess of approximately 70% of its market value at the time of the accident or theft. Thresholds range between 50% and 95% of the vehicle's value, while "total loss states" leave the specifics to the insurer."

 

offer $3k and nothing more.

 

The amount of work that sounds neglected is the biggest issue.

 

Yeah due to theft is a bullshit cop out in most cases, usually a wire harness was cut and it was stripped so the cost was reflected on replacing stock parts if no damage is present.

 

my 98 taco was a theft salvage and i paid $1k for it.

 

Make sure your state will allow you to title a previously salvaged title for the road before you buy it

 

I'm in cali. I'm going work on finding the answer to this now. Anybody have any insight on what kind of PITA title transfer might be.

I'm not writing this truck off yet, but I'm trying to be well informed. Like I said the truck is really, really clean even the undercarriage was pretty clean, but like someone said salvage is salvage.

Thanks for all the info.

 

no issue, I am also in California

 

I got some info relating to the title.
Guy said insurance totaled to avoid litigation. That is, he was rear ended, damage was minor(they picture he sent showed a bent tailgate) and he likely had liabilty only. So instead of his insurance going after the guilty party's insurance (if they had any) they just totaled it. Supposedly it's cheaper to do this than go after the other person. This sounds reasonable to me and makes sense. They aren't going to go after somebody if totaling it is cheaper.

I'm thinking about offering 4k and see what he says. He's asking 6500 and said he could go down to 6200 so 4k is clearly a lowball.

 

Being your in California no doubt it makes perfect sense total a truck for very little damage.

So the owner then bought the truck back from the insurance company??

A salvage title would not bother me at all in any case I would give any vehicle a good inspection.

Good luck no matter how it plays out.