$70k for a 06' Gallardo with a salvage title - should I buy?

iDetail · 04-15-09, 10:47

Gallardo up for sale near me that has a salvage title - looks clean as hell in the pictures and video, i'll take it for a drive and everything - you guys think i should consider it? I dont really care if my lambo is perfect. The salvage title was for a side impact.

Accumulator · 04-15-09, 10:57

I wouldn't take that as a gift. By the time it's obvious that there's some unfixable problem you'd be up a certain creek.

But then *I* wouldn't want one period, so I guess you gotta take that into consideration

But really...AFAIK, a car in that price range has to sustain an awful lot of damage before it gets a salvage title.

Setec Astronomy · 04-15-09, 11:00

Ok...so that car was $175K three years ago, it gets t-boned and totaled...the ins. co. sells it to someone for less than $70K, who repairs it and is going to sell it to you for $70K? Which means the car had depreciated to way less than $70K in 3 years, so that it wasn't worth it to the ins. co. to fix it? Something isn't adding up to me, like it hasn't been fixed properly...but what do I know. OTOH, perhaps a Lambo with a door full of Bondo is woth $70K, and we all know a detailer in CAN that can fix it right up for you...

Jakerooni · 04-15-09, 11:05

If there's actual proof of damage before and exactly step by step pictures dictating that it was indeed repaired back up to specs (not just bondo'd and tack welded) Then it would be something to consider. But if not then I wouldn't bother. How many shops around you have the knowledge of how to properly repair a lambo anyways? I'm guessing it's a slim list.

jdoria · 04-15-09, 11:55

ahhh, no Take my word, I have done millions in busines with 907a, Salvage, TMU, etc.

Salvage titles are worth their weight in toilet paper in NY state.

907a is a thieves paradise.
Let me steal a car, strip it, hide the parts in my mothers house. Then go buy the shell back at the sale with a salvage title, and put the car back together at my friend the drug dealers body shop. All crap, guaranteed to lose you money.

TMU - another fantasy followed by jiizzzzzerk-offs.

A waste of time...dont buy in please.

David Fermani · 04-15-09, 01:46

Unless you know exactly to what extent of damage caused the vehicle to be totaled, don't assume that the car is a POS. Cars can and do get totaled by insurance companies with very little damage all the time. Especially exotics. Many salvage titled vehicles are no worse than vehicles that aren't totaled, but hit hard and still have a clear title. I tytpically see vehicles with branded titles being worth 40-60% of their retail value. I think $70K is too much, but I'm sure someone will buy it. I've seen a few Ferrari's fixed that had over $100k in repairs where I'd bet nobody on this site could tell then even had paint work done on them.

OTG Signs · 04-15-09, 02:30

Failcar...

David Fermani · 04-15-09, 02:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdoria

ahhh, no Take my word, I have done millions in busines with 907a, Salvage, TMU, etc.

What kind of Caddy dealer does "millions" in business with these branded vehicles?

jdoria · 04-15-09, 02:59

I've been out of it since 2001 when we sold it. The place has changed hands 3x since.

What kind of dealer? A dealer with the focus on money makers, used cars! There is no money in new cars. The new are just lure for the used cars.

If you dont know all angles of the business you are in, you are losing out. Not everything we touched goes for sale on the lot. I had as many used cars in the lot as I did in the BX for sale. Not to mention what we ran through the auctions. Its the only way to stay ahead.

An above average 1200 car per year high-line dealer ran $90 million through their books on an average year in the 90's.

Accumulator · 04-15-09, 04:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Fermani

Unless you know exactly to what extent of damage caused the vehicle to be totaled, don't assume that the car is a POS. Cars can and do get totaled by insurance companies with very little damage all the time. Especially exotics..

Wish that'd been my experience......I sure wish they'd just totaled a few bent ones that my wife and I had (Chubb's given us great service for generations but they hardly *ever* total anything IME). I've had not-totaled cars that were repaired by the (rare) shops factory-certified to do the work; they tested 100% to spec...and they simply did *not* drive the same, especially unibody AWD cars (body-on-frame RWD cars seem to turn out pretty well no matter how badly they were tweaked). This Lambo is one of those that I really can't see getting both totaled out and fixed right, but maybe my past experiences are prejudicing me.

David Fermani · 04-15-09, 04:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdoria

An above average 1200 car per year high-line dealer ran $90 million through their books on an average year in the 90's.

You'd never think a high volume, high-line new car dealer would have the exposure (i.e. selling/ processing) to "millions" of salvage titled vehicles? Especially when they aren't "worth their weight in toilet paper". I guess the clientel in NY is different?

Setec Astronomy · 04-15-09, 04:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Fermani

You'd never think a high volume, high-line new car dealer would have the exposure (i.e. selling/ processing) to "millions" of salvage titled vehicles? Especially when they aren't "worth their weight in toilet paper". I guess the clientel in NY is different?

I'm not sure what the argument is here; don't we regularly call them "stealerships"? Why should it be a surprise that they are selling "toilet paper" for good money? I have a few used car department stories...