Very valid thoughts. I guess I just don't want to deal with dealerships and banks and stuff. Even my uncle, who works at a Toyota dealership, says if I have the cash to pay for it all up front, then do it. I never want to find myself in a situation where I can't make payments on my car. After seeing the mess my brother is in with his student loans and credit cards, I just feel more comfortable paying once and being done.

And, honestly, it comes down to looks, and I just like the way the GE Fits look compared to the GD Fits. Plus all the GDs I'm finding have more mileage on them than I prefer.

 

Indeed.

What can I say? I'm a penny pincher. I blame my cheapskate dad.

 

Here's the Carfax, it stops right after June 2012 so I'm not sure what to make of that...

CARFAX Vehicle History Report on JHMGE8H52BC000483

I'm going with my dad tomorrow after work to ask questions and see it in person.

 

So rather than get a GD that has some miles on it, you'd rather get a flood damaged car?

I thought you were honestly looking to buy a car but I've come to realize you just don't seem ready for car ownership. Can't wait 'till the next thread: "need advice on 2013 taffeta white, fire damage, no roof, three wheels". Good luck throwing ten grand down the toilet

 

Where in this thread do you see me even considering buying a flood damaged car? Please don't put words in my mouth. I've done my homework and I've come here to get advice from helpful people who have more experience with this than I do. I'm just trying to save some money by taking an alternative route. I'm sure I'm not the first person to do that.

 

Here is your "undamaged/theft" vehicle when it sold at auction by Copart in Trenton, NJ . The insurance company listed the damages at $3843.

I see no mention of a theft in the auction listing.

2011 Honda Fit Sport Cert Of Title-Salvage Title Car for sale in Trenton, NJ at Copart Auto Auction Lot 15787882

Buyer beware.
It looks to me like you are being lied to by the seller. I personally put this vehicle's value at $10,000 IF ALL REPAIRS have been made and it comes with a "repaired" title. A repaired title is issued in most states to a vehicle that has previously been sold as "salvage" and it has passed that state's inspection to qualify it as satisfactorily repaired. I do not know the procedures for this in New Jersey.

If it hasn't been repaired then Subtract $3800 from the above $10,000 value. A car with a repaired title usually sell at around a 35% discount when to compared to one with a clean title.

Also a few insurance companies will not insure salvage / repaired vehicles. The only one I know for sure that will not do it is Allstate. Two companies that I know for sure that will insure it are State Farm and USAA. If you do intend to buy this car, be sure to check with your insurance company first and give them them VIN number when you call them.

I have bought "repaired" and fixed "salvage" vehicles in the past with much more damage than this one. They can be a great deal if repaired, inspected and titled correctly.

 

Personally, I'd be bothered by a 2011 that already has rust on the body panels. Getting that fixed isn't cheap.

I'm understanding of the desire to own outright. But the salvage market is sketchy at best. Ultimately, I think the answer is that ~$10,000 isn;t enough money to buy the car you want. You need either more money, acceptance of a car payment, or a change in the car you want.

 

I lost $7k on a flood damaged 2009 flood damaged car that was not listed as flood damaged. Traded what little value it had on a new 2013 Fit. <mad as hell about it> I'm turned off of used cars for a very long time now. Buyer beware. I'm sure you know by now that it's if not totalled they don't have to claim it flood damaged, it doesn't have to show up on VIN search. Lots of things can be hidden from VIN listing by knowing the right kind of shop, if you know what I mean. Given it's from NJ, flood central the past year, I'd stay away. Drive to Ohio or Kentucky to find a not-flood-potential car.

 

Thank you for looking that up n9cv. SuperMacGuy, so even if the carfax doesn't list it as flood damaged it still could be? I don't know what to trust anymore...

 

Wow, looks like that thing has had one hell of a rough life so far. Even without a salvage title I would probably walk away from a car in that condition at that price.

Even though I'm not a big fan of financing either, using $10k down on a new Fit (or even a lightly used, better condition one) would make your payments extremely reasonable.

 

If carfax had reported flood damage, then its likely true. But just because carfax doesn't show flood damage doesn't mean that there wasn't flood damage. CF is only somewhat reliable when it states something, but not saying something is meaningless. And the car could have been stolen, then flooded before it was recovered.

 

After giving it some further thought, I think I have to modify or change my opinion.

At a $10,000 + investment into a Honda Fit? You really aren't that far away from being able to look at Brand New Fits.

I think I would recommend continuing to save up, and/or establishing a credit history and actually just financing a brand new Honda Fit.

When I was young, I worked for about 2 years just saving up for a "Brand New" vehicle. Like you, I wanted to just buy it cash out, and have just gas, maintenance and insurance to worry about.

But looking back? As long as I could fit it in my budget, that is actually make the payments, I suffered a long time waiting to save up enough. It may of actually been in my best interest to of had that HUGE down payment, then with a good interest rate simply modestly financed the difference.

The problem people get themselves into is when they finance a vehicle they really can't afford PERIOD.

If you've already saved up 10,000...you're practically a Honda Fit owner now.

The thing that bothers me, is that "savings" or cost is obviously a priority. On a salvaged title Fit? If there was something wrong, or you discovered something wrong, you could lose the whole enchilada.

So I guess I change my opinion. The theft salvaged Fit, might be perfectly fine. It might be a good deal. But if this investment is this important to you, can you afford the risk that it is NOT?

It may be low miles, but driving right off the lot you have a damaged bumper and some rust and damage to some side panels.

The consumer body shop cost of getting these things repaired would probably surprise you.

Given that visible damage alone, I'd probably want more shaved off the purchase price.

As a first "big purchase"? I think the risk/reward is pretty dangerous here.

 

10 k down 150 payments lol

 

Accident, theft, and a salvage title?

Maybe if i'm buying a $1500 Civic I wouldn't care but i'm not spending $10k on a car with that history.

 

No, no, don't put words in her mouth, she's not actually thinking of buying it. Just kindly wasting your time. Trololololo!

 

Good thing you're a penny pincher 'cause if you buy a salvage title you'll need those savings, 'cos they don't include towing in the price

 

^^^ yeah do that^^^^

^^^ or yeay do this instead ^^^
or if i were you i'd put 9000 down and open an extra savings acc at my CU and put the 1000 bucks extra in a "rainy day fund" for the time you "might" get in a bind - DONT TOUCH IT for any other reason, and when it's paid off in 24 - 36 mo, THEN use it for mods!!!

 

You are welcome. I just wanted you to see the real history. Salvage / Repaired cars can be a real money savers if they are repaired and priced correctly. One of the two Fits we have is a salvage / repaired vehicle that had more visible damage on it than that one shows in the pictures.

The thing that bother's me is why the insurance company totaled this one and what the $3843 repair estimate included. We will never know. I think the estimate probably had more damage inside that is not visible in the pictures.

On the flood / stolen issue, you need to check out the laws in the state where the title was issued. Some states do not require reporting flooding or theft vehicles on the title. One other trick that is done is to take a flooded car to another state where reporting is not required and auction it there. Beware of cars sold at auction in a state different from where it was titled. The one I have was titled, damaged, repaired, and inspected by the state police all in a 50 mile radius in the state of Ohio. I bought it and transported it to Indiana. We have put about 35,000 problem free miles on it since then. We did have a cracked CV boot that Honda replaced under warranty.

Yes, it's value is about 35% less because of the "Repaired" title, but I pay less insurance and license plate fees because of it's lowered value. I also paid less for it initially and have reliable transportation.

It is still Buyer Beware and do your research when buying a Salvage/ Repaired title car. Honda will still honor the warranty on these vehicles if warranty the claim has nothing to do with the accident damage.

Anytime you are looking to buy a used car, do a Google search on the VIN number. Sometimes, like this one, you can find a lot of information on the vehicle's previous life. I always do this BEFORE I go to one of the services like CARFAX.

 

MTLian you are more than welcome to leave the thread. Your delightful contributions are no longer needed Thanks!

And I want to sincerely thank you all for the constructive feedback. I really did take it all into account when I went to see the car in person yesterday.

First off, the place kind of scared me. It looked like the collision center where they towed my Honda Accord(RIP) but these cars were for sale? Weird. My dad was really uncomfortable the whole time and kept asking the owner if he was running a legal business. Awkward.

Anyway, he gave us the keys to the Fit and a map to go find it in the yard. It didn't take long. It was the only car in the yard that wasn't a twisted heap of metal. So I try to unlock the doors with the key fob. Not working. Try again. No click. I have to manually unlock the front door only to find that none of the power locks work. Strike 1.

The floor was filthy. Tons of dirt and crap on the ground. I guess I was expecting them to keep the cars looking somewhat presentable, but I'll bet their usual clientele doesn't care. And there was that telltale musty odor I was told to look out for. Strike 2.

As for the exterior scratches, I don't even know how those could have happened. They look like claw marks. And the rusting around it bothered me too after seeing it up close. I would have taken pics for the thread but this Hulk-ish Russian guy was watching us so I refrained.

But my strike 3 was when I was asked to pay 20 dollars if i wanted to start the car. Mind you, not test drive it. Just to turn it on. Is that common practice in these types of places? Regardless, I had seen enough and was ready to go not soon after we arrived. The initial "savings" are not worth the work it would need internally, externally and mechanically. Waste of my dad's time, but definitely a learning experience for me. I guess this scared me straight. No more salvage/reconstructed car talk from me.


Tl;dr-Saw the car. It was shitty. Moving on and only looking at clean titles from now on.

 

I'm happy you did not get taken on this one.

The same warning I gave you before also applies to any used car. Do not buy on the spot. Run the VIN on Google and one of the services like Carfax after you look at the car and before you buy it. You will feel a lot better about not making a mistake. Google and Carfax results are still not a 100% guarantee of getting a good one. You have to use your judgement after that.

There are lots of good used and rebuilt ones out there. There are also least three places I know of that specialize in rebuilding lightly and moderately wrecked Fits.

If you have the budget there are also new ones.

It all depends on what money you have and what you want to spend. If people weren't in the market for good used Fits, those who bought new ones would never be able to sell or trade their Fits in for new ones.