Are Rebuilt Titles really that bad?

You're certainly not getting what you pay for, no matter how good you think the deal is. There's always something the seller's not telling you for the sake of getting rid of a possibly unfixable problem.

>>16529670
Yeah damn. The Carfax is dirty af but it appears to also been repaired pretty good.

>>16529670

>getting rid of a possibly unfixable problem.

Anything is fixable if you put enough money into it. Replacement frames are a thing, as are frame machines, and you can get any replacement panel you want, even if you have to drill out 100 spot welds so you can put 100 spot welds back in for the new panel. If it's flood damage, you can replace every wiring harness in the car if you want, and even put in a new drivetrain if it suits your fancy. However, people generally don't put that much effort in for a rebuilt.

Rebuilts are generally garbage, mainly because small independent shops typically pick them up for cheap, fix them in their spare time with cheap, free or half-assed parts, and then sell them for as much as they possibly can with the absolute bare minimum of time and effort put into them.

They'll probably be road legal, though they might not stay that way for long depending on what went wrong with them to begin with.

I bought a rebuilt once, among the problems I found were a timing chain that had been replaced, but had been installed a few degrees off, so the car would constantly stall in cold weather. The front bumper was literally held on with duct tape and tie wire, and if you didn't turn the headlights on before taking the parking brake off, the fog light lamp on the dash would flash 5 times, and the "service engine soon" light would come on. The car in question had no fog lamps, which made it all the more confusing. It also had a persistent check engine light for an evap leak somewhere, the AC didn't work and would blow the fuse every time you tried to use it, and despite having an ABS module in the engine bay, it had no ABS. I was moderately impressed with that actually, as the ABS light on the dash never lit up either. I would guess they either pulled the bulb for it or cut the wire that made it light up when there was an error.

>>16529738


Oh, and then after I had it for a couple years, some wiring burned through and the car shut off out of nowhere, leaving me stranded on the entrance ramp to the interstate.

Of course, there's always the possibility that the car was rebuilt by the owner, if they really liked the car, or if it was just a cheap car that insurance found it easier to write off. One guy I know somehow wrecked a Hyundai Accent, insurance wrote it off as a total loss. He bought it back, replaced two fenders and a hood, painted it, and drove it around again as a rebuilt. No real problems with the car, no major damage, it was just a cheap car that wasn't worth the cost to insurance.

That, however, is extremely rare, and very difficult to find. Most times the car will be a half-assed mess that turns into nothing but problems in a few months, which is why most people advise to stay away from rebuilts.

They are.
It obviously depends on what was rebuilt and what problems are in the car, but they are usually always always a concern.
That is unless you plan to demolition derby it, or buy it for scrap, or whatever.

Say the frame was twisted, or rewelded, or whatever... the fact that a stressed element was deformed or suffered damage (from cracks to deep oxidation) it will affect the whole car because steel is not absolutely rigid, it even changes down to the molecular level (kinda like how a steel rod can break after suffering damage the first time).
Also the damage is not localized to the visibly damaged element, but everything part of the stressed parts. It will be weaker, more flexible, easier to break from now on.
That is unless the car frame/subframe was completely bought new again and the panels retrofitted.
The engine probably sustained a form of damage too, internals or even the block are in risk of catastrophic failure. At the very least components will need to be rematched to blueprint specifications (alignment and re balancing of parts, new screws and mounts, etc.)

In the end rebuilding a car makes little sense since it tends to be bigger in cost (rebuilt correctly) than outright buying a new vehicle (if you want it in good and safe condition for DD).
Only expensive cars (very) surpass the rebuilt vs new cost, such as supercars (say, an F1, Enzo, LP, etc. but a common 911, modenna and the likes not).

I would only get it for parts and or as a dumb car you'll destroy at the dirtrack, track (won't be allowed to race in sanctioned events), farm, whatever.

Sellers will claim they are alright and claim good faith, but really, why put yourself at risk?

>>16529689
dont look at a carfax and think itll give you 100% of the vehicle's history in regards to accident
>bought a car
>carfax clean as fuck
>took car to get registered
>been in a accident

>>16529657

If it was written off because it costs too much to replace a single panel, no. A lot of German vehicles will get written off when a single body panel gets dented.

If it was in a serious collision, yes. A car will never ever be the same after a major crash.

File: Unintended-Acceleration-Camry1.jpg (56KB, 560x350px) Image search: [Google]

56KB, 560x350px

>>16529657
If the car's not a piece of shit, damage isn't too bad and the wreck is actually worth a damn then nah.

>>16530952
Doesnt Carfax guaranty their reports?

100% depends on how bad the damage was, and how it was repaired. There's cars out their with salvage titles that you would never be able to tell apart from a show room car.

>>16532022
gotta read the fine print
they dont guarantee it, it was something along the lines of
>if something was missing it was out of our scope
so yea
i mean its not to say carfax isnt helpful but dont rely on it being the absolute truth

>>16529657
>Are Rebuilt Titles really that bad?
I hit something minor in an old 1997 car that was well-maintained and had pristine paint. I bought it new and was the first owner. The car was always waxed and protected. The engine was still running well and obnoxiously got better mileage than my new replacement car. I hit a curblike obstacle that was close to the edge of the road. That wrecked the rim and flattened the tire but it was low enough it still did not touch the bottom of the car.

Because of that low obstacle at 30MPH speed, the airbags went off. They were totally not needed as my body had very little motion. Now, all those airbags going off means a ton of money to replace them. You also have to replace all trim and dash that is damaged when they burst out. The front passenger airbag is also known to damage the front windshield when it comes out and it did that.

The car was repairable except the airbags made it illegal to drive until replaced. That car was made during a time of paranoia I guess, because when the airbags are blown, it disables the airbag module and the car's computer turns off the front dash except that the odometer still worked (due to law). So it had to be officially repaired.

Since it was a 1997, the book value was low and so it was totalled by the insurance company. It was a great parts car and the body panels without rust or dents would have please any body shop seeking parts. But I am not able to fix cars so I gave it away to the tow company (we tow free for the car). Whoever replaced the airbags and the probably bent front side suspension arm got a good deal. So a salvage title for my old car would be a good deal. It was salvaged primarily due to airbag (and interior trim/dash cost) of $3600 added to the rim/tire/suspension.

Still pisses me off. There needs to be some "Turn off all airbags except for the driver ones." switch. Otherwise, airbags going off only pleases the car sellers.