buying a SALVAGE tahoe or yukon !! any opinion ?
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doubletapdrew
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Salvaged? After Hurricane Sandy? I wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole.
At least run the VIN through here https://www.nicb.org/theft_and_fraud_awareness/vincheck/vincheck
The Oregon Dealer Advisory Committee has found over 100 sandy-damaged vehicles showing up here.
At least run the VIN through here https://www.nicb.org/theft_and_fraud_awareness/vincheck/vincheck
The Oregon Dealer Advisory Committee has found over 100 sandy-damaged vehicles showing up here.
Back in 2005, I bought a 2004 salvage Tahoe Z71 with every option. I had a friend with a dealer license that could buy on insurance auction sites and he bought a lot of flood damaged vehicles and would repair them himself. He convinced me that you could scope out the right vehicle and be very safe with it. I had my eye on this one for an upcoming auction, spent $150 to send a fella out to inspect it for me and he said all seemed legit with it. As I said, it had every option offered and only had 6900 miles. but, it had a flood title. The sticker on that truck was 48k and some change. I ended up getting it for 23k and spent $750 to get it delivered via 18 wheeler. All said and done after taxes, etc, I was just under $25k. The day it arrived, I opened the door and it still smelled like a new vehicle. it had never been wrecked and the only sign of water inside was that 2 of the 4 door speaker grills had dribbles of rust on them. I still own the vehicle to this day and it now has over 110k miles on it. The only thing I've had to do was replace the water pump around 60k miles which is just general maintenance as far as I'm concerned.
At the time, had it not been a salvage vehicle, I would have had a warranty. But, I never did have one and never needed one. After the factory warranty would have run out, it shouldn't matter to a potential buyer anyway because they're not forfeiting something they could have gotten. I have actually considered selling mine recently as I just bought a 2010 LTZ. In talking to various dealers about how I should price it with a water damage title, every one has told me the same thing: They've all said that since I've owned it since it had 7,000 miles on it, and it now has over 110,000 on it, AND a factory warranty would be void by now anyway if it had one, the value is the same as a non-salvage vehicle and a potential buyer should not fret with the purchase.
All that being said, if you play your cards right, order a 3rd party inspection from someone in the area and the vehicle seems to check out well, you can safely buy a salvage vehicle, depending on why it was salvaged.
I will say that I almost got burned on one that looked good in the pics but after sending an inspector out, he told me they had masked a lot of stuff for photos and it was in really bad shape with frame damage. Had I not gotten that inspection, I would not have know this and would have been screwed.
At the time, had it not been a salvage vehicle, I would have had a warranty. But, I never did have one and never needed one. After the factory warranty would have run out, it shouldn't matter to a potential buyer anyway because they're not forfeiting something they could have gotten. I have actually considered selling mine recently as I just bought a 2010 LTZ. In talking to various dealers about how I should price it with a water damage title, every one has told me the same thing: They've all said that since I've owned it since it had 7,000 miles on it, and it now has over 110,000 on it, AND a factory warranty would be void by now anyway if it had one, the value is the same as a non-salvage vehicle and a potential buyer should not fret with the purchase.
All that being said, if you play your cards right, order a 3rd party inspection from someone in the area and the vehicle seems to check out well, you can safely buy a salvage vehicle, depending on why it was salvaged.
I will say that I almost got burned on one that looked good in the pics but after sending an inspector out, he told me they had masked a lot of stuff for photos and it was in really bad shape with frame damage. Had I not gotten that inspection, I would not have know this and would have been screwed.
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felixgun
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Wow that's crazy. First salvage story I've heard that went well. Good looking z71 too!
Yeah I figured I was lucky. But, it helped having someone that purchased salvage vehicles all the time that were either burned or flooded and could help me not get a bad deal.
Oh, and thank you! My wife drives it now. She's not digging the AEM intake and Magnaflow exhaust on it. She says it isn't cool for a chick. WTF?!?!?!
Oh, and thank you! My wife drives it now. She's not digging the AEM intake and Magnaflow exhaust on it. She says it isn't cool for a chick. WTF?!?!?!
As a body man, I can tell you that we all HATE flood jobs. You'll constantly be tracking problems down. Even if it works now (airbag modules, etc), it wont work in the near future. Not to mention unless you replace the carpet and pad, no amount of baking soda can get rid of the stench.
Now a wrecked salvage is another thing. Frames are generally easy to fix (when you know what you're doing), and body work is never a problem. But you have to weigh out - do you want aftermarket parts on it or OEM? Aftermarkets will fit like crap, but will save you money. Personally I wouldn't mind owning one if I did the work, but Id rather have a higher mileage vehicle that wasn't wrecked / stolen / flooded for around the same price in the end.
Now a wrecked salvage is another thing. Frames are generally easy to fix (when you know what you're doing), and body work is never a problem. But you have to weigh out - do you want aftermarket parts on it or OEM? Aftermarkets will fit like crap, but will save you money. Personally I wouldn't mind owning one if I did the work, but Id rather have a higher mileage vehicle that wasn't wrecked / stolen / flooded for around the same price in the end.
You can't say that it "airbags, etc. WON'T work in the near future". I bought my flood at 6900 miles and it now has over 100,000 miles. I've never had a single electrical issue whatsoever. As a matter of fact, as I previously said, the only thing I've replaced other than tires and brakes is a water pump. So, all floods are not created equally. Yes, I admit I was lucky, but so was the friend of the poster a couple of replies up that bought a flooded Infiniti.
A friend of mine that buys floods and fixes them all loves floods. He knows exactly what to look for on all of them and based on how high the water was, looking for certain things first. Maybe he doesn't hate them because he is indeed really experienced and knowledgeable with troubleshooting and repairing them. Who knows.
A friend of mine that buys floods and fixes them all loves floods. He knows exactly what to look for on all of them and based on how high the water was, looking for certain things first. Maybe he doesn't hate them because he is indeed really experienced and knowledgeable with troubleshooting and repairing them. Who knows.
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Nobody said he would and yes you are correct it is a gamble. I just posted due to everyone else saying you will have nothing but trouble when in reality it is only a possibility.
That's not necessarily true. Depending on what type of water it was flooded in, sometimes the signs are quite obvious on how high it got. Muddy water will show a line on interior trim or behind interior trim. Salt water will leave a residue. Clean water, as you say, will leave nothing (unless you notice rusted parts behind the interior trim).
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But to make it salvage, there has to be X amount of damage figured by the insurance companies. Meaning someone like myself has also looked at it and determined that it needs additional things than just a good carpet shampooing. We've fixed tons of flood jobs after Hurricane Ike and some other storms. Some totalled out, some didn't. The ones that did had water in the motors and interiors were too far gone to replace. Others just needed some drying out and a couple modules.
For the prices hes looking at on those salvage vehicles, personally, I would rather take the wrecked one than the flooded one.
Ill leave it at that.
For the prices hes looking at on those salvage vehicles, personally, I would rather take the wrecked one than the flooded one.
Ill leave it at that.
LOWHOE775
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Don't do it. Not worth it
drroy
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if you are able to do body work and paint yourself, then a salvage can be a good deal as long as you realize resale will certainly suffer and plan to own for a while. I got a good deal on a low mileage mint condition (except for the frame and front end damage) durango a while back. the frame work cost less than a grand including tow to and from shop and i took care of everything else, in the end i saved about $5G on a truck worth about $13K. The inspection process consisted of arranging an inspection at a state inspection center which took a bit as there are only a few and a waiting list, and providing documentation proving replaced parts were not stolen, IE receipt saying they were new or receipts from salvage yards with vin # from the trucks they were pulled from. There was no mechanical /safety inspection.
I drove that truck w/o problems except usual maintenance for about 4 years. I traded it in when got the tahoe and had to fight tooth and nail with the dealer to get $1k for it, but didnt feel like selling privately where i could get a couple of more bucks for it.
My advice would be stay away from flood damaged vehicles for reasons already stated, try and find one without deployed airbags, some states like NY require new airbag components which will quickly eat up any savings
I drove that truck w/o problems except usual maintenance for about 4 years. I traded it in when got the tahoe and had to fight tooth and nail with the dealer to get $1k for it, but didnt feel like selling privately where i could get a couple of more bucks for it.
My advice would be stay away from flood damaged vehicles for reasons already stated, try and find one without deployed airbags, some states like NY require new airbag components which will quickly eat up any savings
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04SS99Denali
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salvage cars/trucks are useless imo. one day when you go to sell it good luck nobody's gonna want it. and i can almost guarantee it will be full of issues more than what meets the eye. creeks/rattles/leaks/drive ability will always be a question, and just basic issues. theres a reason the insurance company wrote it off... your gonna spend 10k on a truck that needs 5-6k in work when its only worth maybe 19 if it was a clean title. your better off just financing a tahoe thats a little out of your price range than waste 10k on a garbage truck. the amount in repairs and sheer headaches wont be worth it. someone just traded me a 07 LTZ for my 03 H2 i couldn't be happier and deals are out there.
