Hey everyone,


I just joined this web site as I've been looking into buying an Acura RSX type S. I found one on Autotrader, that seems to bea deal that's "too good to be true"! I've talked to the seller but I have yet to go and check out thecar (I just talked to the guy today).


First I'll post a link to the car, then I'll tell you about my concerns and questions. Here's the link:


http://autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=183422530&deale r_id=56395985&car_year=2002&make=ACURA&amp ;distance= 100&lang=en&max_price=16000&model=RSX& amp;end_ye ar=2006&min_price=1&certified=&address =98409&amp ; ;search_type=both&advanced=&start_year=200 1&isp= y&cardist=22


Ok, so yeah, certainly looks too good to be true. It's less than $14,000. Claims to have less than 17,000 miles on it. And looks very nice and clean (no damage or anything from what you can see).


I talked to the seller and I can tell he's a younger guy. Similar to myself (I'm 21). He told me that a TON of people are looking to buy the car from him. And that a few people might be buying it from him as early as tomorrow. So after finding that out, I told him I'd like to possibly buy it from him tomorrow as well. And so we made arrangements to meet around 11:00am (after I get out of class).


I asked him if the car had been in any accidents or anything like that. He said "No" ... but then he also said that the title had been Salvaged because apparently with the first owner, someone broke into the car and stole the seats out of the car and stuff. He said that everything has been replaced and fixed. And that the car looks new. He also said that the mileage was about 20,000 (so that's 3,000 more than what the ad says).


After I talked to the guy. I went to www.carfax.com and bought a Vehicle History report on the vehicle.


http://www.carfax.com/cfm/UUCP_ViewReport.cfm?VIN=JH4DC53062 C033439&Email=JEFGCN%40YAHOO%2ECOM&SID=%2F %23L%23%22 P2T2%23%2EJOT%5FW%210%3C%5E%23%0A&PopUpStatus= 0&usag e_type=&CFX_ID=CFX000009738540#OakAccidentChec k


I'm hoping that will work. But if it doesn't. There's two major things worth noting from this report.


The first is what the seller had already mentioned to me. And that's about the "Salvaged Title". Here's what Carfax says about a Salvaged Title.


<A>Salvage Title</A> - A Salvage Title is issued on a vehicle damaged to the extent that the cost of repairing the vehicle for safe operation exceeds its fair market value; or a vehicle that has been declared a Total Loss by an insurer or other state or jurisdiction. Some states treat Junk titles the same as Salvage but the majority use this title to indicate that a vehicle is not road worthy and cannot be titled again in that state. The following ten States also use Salvage titles to identify stolen vehicles - AZ, FL, GA, IL, MN, NJ, NM, NY, OK and OR.


Obviously that sounds EXTREMELY bad. But from what he said, the car had been broken into and the seats were stolen. But everything was repaired and the car looks brand new. The picture looks like everything is clean (but obviously I won't know for sure until I see it in person). The way Carfax talks about the Salvage Title ... it sounds absolutely terrible.


First off, I'd like to know. How bad is the Salvaged Title? I think a Salvage Title can vary in how bad or how minor it is. But I honestly don't know much about it. So is this something that I should immediately recognize as a RED FLAG and avoid at all costs. Or is it not that big of a deal?


The 2nd issue I have is with the car's mileage. First off, the guy claims in the ad that it had 16,500. Then over the phone he said 20,000. Now given, he may have not updated the ad in a long time. So that could be the difference. If that's the case ... not that big of a deal. Still a great deal for the price. But here's the real disturbing issue I have.


After doing the carfax report. This is what it had to say about the mileage.



<TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=2 width="100%"><T>
<T>
<TR vAlign=top>
<TD vAlign=center width="8%"></TD>
<TD width="92%">
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width="100%"><T>
<T>
<TR>
<TD align=left width="40%">Date:</TD>
<TD align=left width="60%" colSpan=2>Mileage:</TD></TR>
<TR bgColor=#f5f5f5>
<TD vAlign=top align=left width="40%">06/12/2002</TD>
<TD vAlign=top align=left width="10%">19</TD>
<TD vAlign=top align=left width="40%"> </TD></TR>
<TR bgColor=#ffffff>
<TD vAlign=top align=left width="40%">09/18/2004</TD>
<TD vAlign=top align=left width="10%">14,688</TD>
<TD vAlign=top align=left width="40%">


</TD></TR>
<TR bgColor=#f5f5f5>
<TD vAlign=top align=left width="40%">11/16/2004</TD>
<TD vAlign=top align=left width="10%">152,215</TD></TR></T></T></TABLE></TD></TR></T></T></TABLE>


Ok it went from 14,688 to 152,215 in 2 MONTHS!?!?! Are you kidding me? How can someone drive a car 137,000+ miles in 2 months time? That doesn't make any sense to me whatsoever. I e-mailed Carfax about this, but sadly I won't get a response until after tomorrow (which means after I check out the car).


Having 14,688 in September of 2004 and about 20,000 in August of 2005 sounds totally legit. So I don't understand where the 152,000 comes into play. It's hard to believe anyone could put that much on a vehicle that's only 3 years old.


I thought carfax was an extremely reliable source, but this data seems WAY off to me.


Ok, that's all I have to say (I know that's a lot and I'm sorry for making it so long). But I am in a desperate stage and obviously I don't want to shell out $14,000 and be completely ripped off. And at the same time, If the car is totally legit, I don't want to let a $14,000 2002 Acura RSX type S withonly 20,000 miles on itslip out of my hands. It is my dream car afterall.


Should I forget about this car? Or should I pursue it? Is the Salvaged Title really that bad? Or am I over-reacting to it?


Please let me know your thoughts and opinions on what I should do. And try to get back to me ASAP (I really only have until tomorrow morning to make up my mind).


Thanks in advance for all your help!


- Jome20


Edited by: Jome20

 

ok first your right is does sound like it to good to be true and i think you should go meet him drive it see how you like it and then if you can get to this months import tuner befor you go look at it then you should because just by chance they have a guide to buying used cars and what to look for other than that if it does turn out to be a peice of crap then you can go to (cheapcarfinder.com) and look at rsx's for a grand or lower for like 2003's because there repoed theres nothing wrong with them or anything they just got repoed thats it and its much cheaper than 14,000 you know but there is a $35.00 sign up fee but its worth it belive me the bidding is great the price dosent go over like $500.00 over the starting price thats where i got my 2003 type s from but i totaled it so im in the same boat you are looking for another one im getting my next one from there too so i hoped i helped you [img]smileys/smiley1.gif[/img]lata

 

Well today I called the seller after I got out of class. We were supposed to meet up. He said he still hadn't heard from the guy that was detailing the car for him. But he hoped to pick up the car in about an hour. I told him that if I couldn't meet up with him today, then I'd like to on Wednesday (which is my day off). He told me he'd give me a call back and let me know. It seems like the seller wants to sell the car to me over some of the other people that have offered (if there has been any others). He said he's gotten more calls in the past two days than in his whole life. I'm not sure if he's legit, or just saying that to try and rush me into buying the car.


I want to go take a look at the car and test it out if nothing else. Although I'm certainly worried about the title being Salvaged. The deal is at least good enough to check out.


If I go there, and the car looks great, and it runs good. Should I consider buying it? Or is the "Salvaged Title" alone worth STAYING AWAY?


If everything checks out ... should I take the car to a mechanic or dealership before I actually decide to buy the car. To have them check it out and make sure everything looks good. I'll be honest, I'm still pretty new to car stuff. So the mechanic might be a good idea.


Also rsx355:


If you're already a member of cheapcarfinder.com , could you maybe do a search on RSX type S in Tacoma, WA, 98409 area? That way you could let me know if there was anything worth looking at there.

 

buy a new 1 it is not that much more price diff only 10000 more

 

Wow man ... you know I'd LOVE to buy a brand new car. But even what you say doesn't make much sense.


You say, "not that much more .... only 10,000 more".


ONLY $10,000 more? That's almost DOUBLE his asking price. And a brand new vehicle would probably retail for about $25,000 after everything was said and done. So that means it'd be about $12,000 more.


I've been working for about 4 years now, and I've FINALLY been able to save up $12,000. It hasn't come easy at all. Especially since I've never landed a job that made much money.


I also don't want to make any payments on the car since I'm about to enter a full time Bachelor's program in college and I may not be working at all in the next 4 years.


Even though I may be able to borrow some money from my grandparents. I think $10,000 or more is borrowing too much.


So I really don't think buying a brand new one is an option for me at this point.


I talked to the seller and I'm going to check out the car tomorrow. I'm taking my friend that knows more about cars with me. We'll check out it's looks, test drive it ... and if everything checks out. Take it to a mechanic, and if he gives the Ok. Then I'll buy it. If one of the above things doesn't go off without a hitch. Then yeah... I'll pass on this one. And then I'll look for something else. Or just continue to save ... and maybe buy a brand new one in 4 more years

 

sorry just sayin

 

We got a salvage title for a AE86 Corolla from a junk yard and all it needed to get started was a fuel pump. and the body damage isn't that bad for an abandoned car. Anyway, I was just going to say if you plan on putting a lot of money into it to do whatever you want and you plan on hanging on to the car and never selling it than it might be alright. But if you don't plan on doing anything with it than you might be better off purchasing a new one or something a little mmore in your price range. I payed 20,000 dollars for my type S with 30,000 miles and an intake.


I also installed some underdrive pullys and a short shifter adapter and that is just the beginning and I plan on having this car forever. So I mean it just depends on how open your wallet is on making sure it stays running and is still safe and fun to drive. But it sounds to me like you have a lot of doubts and when in doubt always go with your gut because it is always right.


What if the car is stollen, or what if he's wanted and just needs the money to get away? Not to make you paranoid or anything[img]smileys/smiley2.gif[/img]but anyway good luck.

 

salvage titles can be better or worse depending on the state in which you live. you may want to check with the gov't department who is in charge of vehicle registration, because sometimes R titled cars have to be registered specially, and sometimes, like in PA, you have to have a special license.

 

[img]smileys/smiley14.gif[/img]

 

on another site i saw a guy selling "everything except for the frame, for personal reasons" on a brand new high end truck.wheels that sell for like a grand a piece new, he was selling 4 of them for 500 bucks...anymore, you really have to watch yourself...i dont buy Anything online.