Miata Mailing List: January 1996, Message #67
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   From: RMrph@aol.com
Subject: Re: salvage title miata
   Date: Tue, 2 Jan 1996 13:20:17 -0500

In a message dated 96-01-02 01:25:14 EST, JAMBJ@aol.com writes:

>Thinking about buying a miata with a prior salvage title (the seller told me
>the car had some minor front end damage done to it).  The asking price seems
>high for  such a vehicle - 11,500 for a '93 with 30k miles.

Maybe I'm a little over-conservative about such things, but this sounds
risky.  If I understand the process correctly (someone with more experience
in this area might have more input), insurance companies "total loss" a car
-- which could be the reason for the salvage title -- only if repairs will
cost more than the book value of the car.  So if you have a car that is
worth, say, $12,000 and the insurance company "totals" it, it would stand to
reason that the cost to fix the car properly would be more than $12,000.  I
doubt that enough damage to "total" such a relatively new car could be
considered by even the broadest-minded person as being "minor front end
damage."

Now, beyond this highly questionable comment by the seller about "minor"
front end damage, the thing that makes me figure this deal is risky is this:
 who fixed this car and why?  The person or company who fixed it may have
been out to make some quick money.  Now most of the folks I have had contact
with in the quick money car field do not exactly concern themselves with
doing a top of the line job (or even a 90% job).  So if the insurance people
already said the car can not be fixed properly for what it is presently
worth, then how did the car get fixed with enough room to spare for profit?
 Any car person with the knowledge enough to fix something like that properly
would not bother because they would know it was a losing proposition,
especially considering how many Miatas are out there and how easy it is to
find one in good shape for reasonable money.  So that leaves you with the
repairer either being one without sufficient knowledge to do such work, or a
repairer with the knowledge but lacking scruples and willing to cut corners.

I would not risk it.  I purchased a salvage title car once, but it was a
beater to get me from school and back in the lean college years.  It was a
wonderful econo-driver and I did not mind that it was not much for looks, but
the investment was not what you are talking about (more like under $500) and
it was my brother who did the repairs free of charge, so it's not like anyone
was out for profit.  The $ value in a Miata is more than in its ability to
just get from point A to point B.  And I have not even touched on the safety
issue here.  Depending on the kind of damage it saw, if the car was not
repaired properly, it can be a risk to more than just your wallet.  With so
many wonderful Miatas out there, it does not seem worth it to risk buying one
that you *know* has a questionable past.

Just my two cents.

Roseanne
SoCal Red '90