Buying rebuilt car

Swerny wrote: ↑ The air bag deploying could mean underlying structural damage

SumitS972792 wrote: ↑ Hello dear,
Please suggest me: these days its really hard to get cars.

I am getting one rebuilt 2019 honda civic with 36000 kms on it for 13000 , the clean title one compared to the same is around 20k and even more. Rebuilt : they changed the front bumper, side door and driver side airbag. Please suggest me. I want to keep the car for longer time.should i buy this car or not. Thanx in advance

lamboman wrote: ↑ Whenever you see a sale that has title "rebuilt" or "salvage title" DO NOT buy it or even look at it. As other poster mentioned, it could have many other underlying conditions and it will come back to haunt you later on.

When buying car do not cheap out, because it is like a house, you will be in it many hours in a day. Do you want to buy something that will eventually have issues in the future? I don't think so...

FilaGuy wrote: ↑ It's a civic which are a dime a dozen. Look for one without a rebuilt title.

SumitS972792 wrote: ↑ Hello there,
Please suggest me: these days its really hard to get cars.

I am getting one rebuilt 2019 honda civic with 36000 kms on it for 13000 , the clean title one compared to the same is around 20k and even more. Rebuilt : they changed the front bumper, side door and driver side airbag. Please suggest me. I want to keep the car for longer time.should i buy this car or not. Thanx in advance

CaptSmethwick wrote: ↑ OP: It sounds like you've made a decision. But in case you are reconsidering, know that many lenders will not loan money for rebuilt cars and some insurers won't offer insurance or will but at a higher rate (so I've been told).

Secondly, I doubt that only the driver's side airbag inflated. Regardless, a side airbag means it was T-boned or slid sideways into something. Firstly, if the driver's side airbag deployed, so did the passenger's side so two airbags would have to have been replaced (unless the seller used fake ones). My understanding of side airbags is that a collision of 30 kph and more would be enough to deploy them. But that kind of impact should have required more than just a door and bumper replacement. I would worry that the vendor is downplaying the repairs because if the damage was that minor, the insurance company wouldn't have written it off in the first place. I would insist on the insurance report and the repair invoices.

So here's the thing: I suspect that the impact was much higher than 30 kph and the shock energy that travelled through that car and around the passenger cage would have likely deformed metal, cracked plastic bits and put major stresses on the seat subframes - potentially introducing weaknesses that would cause them to fail in a subsequent crash. No discount is worth those risks to me.

This is my own experience with being T-boned back in 2009:



It was 10 months old and written off. Somebody rebuilt it. Would you buy it?

kennyt18 wrote: ↑ Do you have a link or contact for this car? I am looking for a used car as well.

CaptSmethwick wrote: ↑ OP: It sounds like you've made a decision. But in case you are reconsidering, know that many lenders will not loan money for rebuilt cars and some insurers won't offer insurance or will but at a higher rate (so I've been told).

Secondly, I doubt that only the driver's side airbag inflated. Regardless, a side airbag means it was T-boned or slid sideways into something. Firstly, if the driver's side airbag deployed, so did the passenger's side so two airbags would have to have been replaced (unless the seller used fake ones). My understanding of side airbags is that a collision of 30 kph and more would be enough to deploy them. But that kind of impact should have required more than just a door and bumper replacement. I would worry that the vendor is downplaying the repairs because if the damage was that minor, the insurance company wouldn't have written it off in the first place. I would insist on the insurance report and the repair invoices.

So here's the thing: I suspect that the impact was much higher than 30 kph and the shock energy that travelled through that car and around the passenger cage would have likely deformed metal, cracked plastic bits and put major stresses on the seat subframes - potentially introducing weaknesses that would cause them to fail in a subsequent crash. No discount is worth those risks to me.

This is my own experience with being T-boned back in 2009:



It was 10 months old and written off. Somebody rebuilt it. Would you buy it?

lamboman wrote: ↑ Whenever you see a sale that has title "rebuilt" or "salvage title" DO NOT buy it or even look at it. As other poster mentioned, it could have many other underlying conditions and it will come back to haunt you later on.

When buying car do not cheap out, because it is like a house, you will be in it many hours in a day. Do you want to buy something that will eventually have issues in the future? I don't think so...