Opinions

Torque Junkie · December 29, 2002

Our '94 2wd Silverado's transmission is taking a dump on us (the 2/4 band is slipping badly, and it misses shifts when downshifting from O/D to Direct alot of times), and I just can't justify fixing something like that in a truck we want rid of anyways. We've been truck shopping for a while now, and when the tranny almost left us stranted 300 miles from home we decided to act sooner than planned.

4x4 trucks are not cheap up here, and thats what we're looking to replace it with, and we came across a really good deal on a 98 Dodge Ram 1/2 Ton Extended Cab 4x4. The thing is immaculate inside an out, despite the fact it has 100K miles on it. (If you can find me a 96-98 Full Size 4x4 truck ANYWHERE with less than 100K miles that's not beat to sh*t for less than $15k, please let me know) It rides and drives like a luxury car, handles nice, smooth as silk on the interstate, and great power due to a Magnum 5.9L (360). It drives straight as an arrow and doesnt pull to one side or the other while accelerating, cruising, coasting or braking, even under hard braking loads. It has all of the creature comforts like power windows, locks, mirrors, etc.

All of this for $10,995. BIG RED FLAG!!! A 98 Dodge with that trim and those miles books out at over $15,500

The salesman was up front with me in saying that it was a salvaged vehicle, but that he didn't know the extent of or what kind of damage had happened to it. He even offered us $5500 on our 2wd truck which is only $700 under book due to the transmission problem.

So I ran a carfax check on the truck's VIN. It showed a salvaged and rebuilt title and said that on 11/26/2001 it was involved in a crash and the vehicle overturned and severe damage was reported. It didn't say the vehicle rolled, so it could have been one-side damage only.

Do you think this is a good deal? Essentailly 5000-6000 under book for a 98 Dodge 4x4 in great condition? We would bascily be trading a tired old 94 2wd for a whole lot newer 4x4 and paying the same monthly payments.

Whoever fixed it did a very good job, and I think if the frame is still true, than there is really nothing wrong with the truck. There are no bent components in the suspension, and like I say it doesn't wander around or pull to either side at all.

One thing I did notice though is that there seemed to be more-than-normal wind noise in the a-pillar area of the front doors at interstate speeds.

Thanks for any advice!!

-Mike

General Lee 01 · December 29, 2002

One thing I did notice though is that there seemed to be more-than-normal wind noise in the a-pillar area of the front doors at interstate speeds.

Thanks for any advice!!

-Mike

That's a BIG red flag right there.

It sounds like from what this sentence says, that it's in Both doors, which makes me believe the truck was on it's roof, or did a complete roll-over (Or numerous rolls) .

IMO, Unless you plan on putting a sturdy roll-cage in, it's not worth the risk. You may think it's fine and dandy now, but if that baby rolls, whatever's missing which could becausing the extra noise could mean the difference between life or death.

I may be wrong, but I'd rather tell you that, then tell you that it's no big deal, and have someone's life possibly in Jeopardy.

WEFs99 · December 29, 2002

I wouldn't sweat the wind noise unless you personally find it annoying. Have an experienced friend or hire a lift and mechanic for an hour or so to check it out. The salvage title is forcing you to look at every little detail of the truck and that is good. There are thousands of vehicles out there that are polished up to knock your eyeballs out but the owner is dumping it for a variety of reasons (all expensive) but it has a clean title.

December 29, 2002

Along with the good mechanic check, do more research on the wreck. Can you find out who did the repairs? how about the owner before the current dealer? If you can find out when and where the the repairs were done, you may be able to find out more about the crash from newspapers or police reports.

It sounds like a decent deal, but you really need to do a lot of homework here.

I know a guy here that buys salvage title vehicles, fixes them, and sells them. He always has all the info that I just mentioned for a buyer.

Good luck!

Shaners · December 29, 2002

If the repairs were done correctly then it should be OK. Check for ripples in the paint indicating a weld that shouldn't be there.

If the truck were rolled it is possible that the cab was replaced with a used one from the salvage yard.

Have a good mechanic check and make sure all the driveline components and frame are straight. Otherwise you will end up with burnt up bearings etc... down the line.

There is nothing wrong about buying a truck with a salvage certificate as long as 1) it was repaired properly and 2) you plan on driving it until the wheels fall off.

(BTW the 360 in the 1500 RAM is a very thirsty motor)

k1500chevy97 · December 30, 2002

you plan on driving it until the wheels fall off.

Which could be two blocks from the car lot after you sign the papers

tps0424 · December 30, 2002

I wouldn't do it. I once bought a Mxima that looked fantastic. I had it checked out and was told that everything was perfect. The trouble was, as time went on, things started going bad. If I didn't accelerate like a little old man, the thing would shake all over the place. When I got to a travelling speed, I couldn't let go of the wheel without it taking a SHARP right turn. All kinds of engine fluids started leaking.

In short, for a car with 55K on it and $5,000 under book, I still got ripped off. It got to the point I wouldn't drive it. Especially with my 3 kids in it. Took 3 months to sell it for $2,000 less than I bought it for. I bought it in January and sold it in August for $7,000 under book.

Essentially half of book. And that was after putting brnad new tires and new factory alloy wheels to try to eliminate the shake.

I would NEVER recommend buying a 'salvaged' car to anyone. It was the worst experience of my (vehicular) life.

Torque Junkie · December 31, 2002

We took it for one last 'test drive' today and that test drive was to a highly spoken of body shop whose owner was nice enough to donate 15 minutes of his time to look over the truck and tell me that it wasn't a bad job, but it wasn't done right, and he strongly suspected a bent frame, which could lead to way-premature tire, differentail and suspension component wear. He even went to notice that paint was done crappily too... hehe

So, based on that and some gut-feeling changes last night we've decided to keep looking.

Thanks for all your replies!

I'll keep you all updated on what we end up getting. We've got 3 Chevys and 1 GMC we're gonna go look at tomorrow.

-Mike

TheScaryGuy · December 31, 2002

Salvage titles are just like buying anything. You need to know what your buying. An educated buyer buying a good salvage is better than an ignorant one buying a car at a used car lot.