Should I buy her? 98 impreza

[NWSubie]

So today I went and test drove a 98 impreza outback sport it has 110k on it and seemed to drive very nice. The catch is it has a branded title, it was in a "low speed collision" it was repaired by a small shop in portland OR and hd its passenger fender and door replaced. They want $4400 for it. Is this car still worth that? I really need a dependable car but I dont wanna get ripped off. any thoughts on what I should do? Thanks.

Edited July 26, 2011 by NWSubie

[eulogious]

To me branded=no value. $4400 for a branded car, no way. Maybe $1500, maybe. It's just not worth it to me anyways. You can get a good car for that much money that does not have a branded title or a questionable past. Keep looking, you will find one that's even better.

 

That's my take on it

[subaruguru]

Branded just means insurance was involved, it has been repaired and inspected by the state patrol if it is straight and has no sub frame damage i say it is worth it for a lower mileage impreza you could possibly use that and knock the price down a little.

 

All in all though Branded is not always a bad thing.

 

Just my .02 Cheers R.

[eulogious]

Well branded could mean alot of things, not just that insurance was involved. Insurance is just one way to get a branded title.

 

Here's a generic break down of what a branded title could be, the laws differ state to state but it gives you a good idea of what could have happened:

 

http://dmvanswers.com/questions/166/What-is-a-branded-title

 

If this was somewhere other than the PNW, I would agree, but for that much money, there are just too many other subarus I would check out in this area for that price, that don't have any baggage involved, like a branded title. This area is just too ripe with subarus to settle on one that has a checkered/unknown past.

 

Don't get me wrong, it seems like a nice car. Low mileage and all that, and if it was repaired correctly, it could be a good car. That branded title just makes me look the other way with all the good subies for the picking in this area.

[idosubaru]

what is "branded" - is that a salvage title, totaled by the insurance, or a mark that it has been repaired?

 

i bought almost the exact car but a 1997 impreza with a branded title. it was 8 years old in 2005 with 60,000 miles on it and i paid $3,600. that was from a used car dealer too.

 

subaru's are fairly popular here and that sounds like an absolutely terrible price, i wouldn't even think about it if it was a clean title. did you try kelly blue book and see what it says? and what are cars going for on autotrader, etc? maybe the market out there is that crazy, i don't know.

 

if that's the car you want and none others can be had for that price, then it comes down to just taking a little extra precautions and you should be fine.

 

salvage/branded R title is not the end of the world. i've bought and sold a few and fixed some myself. many are totally benign and just replacing body panels. i would try to inspect it and see if that's the case. there are ways to visually look for these things. if it's just body panels getting replaced that's definitely not a big deal and rather easy to do it properly.

 

but it does indicate damage and have some low risk associated with it. there's no way to predict the future or promise anything, risk is what it is.

 

the main issues i've seen is that tires may wear funny due to suspension components that visually pass inspection and alignment, but will still cause issues in the future or wiring that gets crimped/damaged and falls apart, corrodes, or causes problems later. this 98 though sounds low grade enough that those things are not as likely. i'd be mostly concerned with suspension - did the wheel/knuckle get replaced?

 

in the case where states inspect them it's a really low grade and menial inspection in the states i've done it in. they walk around it, make sure the air bag light comes on and goes out when the car is turned on....and that's it. i remember the first time rebuilding a wrecked car and trying to get it recertified so i could drive it (the 02 H6 OBW in my sig) i was being all anal hoping it would pass the first time and not have to come back...they never even started or drove the car - it would have passed with the engine, transmission, struts, bearings, steering, lights, all blown to pieces. wow. good for me, makes it easy to recertify one....but a little unnerving if i was more of a consumer.

Edited July 26, 2011 by grossgary

[Rooster2]

If it were me, I would take the car to my mechanic, and have him put it up on a lift, and look closely at the underside to see if anything looks bent, or if subframe looks rewelded. If the inspection shows a lot of rework, I wouldn't be so interested in the car. If it looks good after inspection, and I was still interested, I would prolly try to buy it for not much more than $3,000. Rebuilts consistently retail for less then cars that were never wrecked.

 

BTW, I am selling a car for a friend that is a rebuilt. It was broadsided, and cost $10,000 to rebuild. The subframe had to be straightened. The car looks great, and drives great, but still my asking price is several thousand dollars less then same car not rebuilt.

[NWSubie]

Yeah Im debating on waiting for another one, this one looks great but I just get nervous spending that much on a wreaked one. I have been lookin for one of these for a few years and hope one comes along soon my gl is starting to burn oil pretty bad haha. It seems everyone of these cars sell for alot in this area theres a 99 for 8k on craigs list right now. It does only have 78k on it but its still personally I think thats way to much.

[Rooster2]

Yeah Im debating on waiting for another one, this one looks great but I just get nervous spending that much on a wreaked one. I have been lookin for one of these for a few years and hope one comes along soon my gl is starting to burn oil pretty bad haha. It seems everyone of these cars sell for alot in this area theres a 99 for 8k on craigs list right now. It does only have 78k on it but its still personally I think thats way to much.

 

All used Subies made before 2000 generally sell for $3,000-$4,000 here in Indiana. Even low millage cars, don't bring much more. It shocks me to hear about a 99 offered on CL for $8K. WoW! That is why I said that the Impreza you are looking at, I would offer not much above $3K.

 

Hey, how about flying into Indianapolis this weekend? Take in the Brickyard 400, buy a nice Subie here for $3K, and drive it back to the NW.

[edrach]

Two things: Get a carfax report to try and see when the salvage title was issued and where it went then (i.e. did it run 4 more years after issue? was it sold to a dealer immediately and then sold again? will you be the first to get the car with a "branded" title?).

 

As others have said, if you decide to buy it have it thoroughly inspected by a reputable shop of YOUR choosing...both mechanical and body....before you actually plunk money down on it.

 

Personally, I'm not adamantly against branded titles for a number of reasons:

1. A bargaining chip to lower the price.

2. I normally keep cars until they have 250K on them before I sell them. By then the salvage title doesn't mean anything.

3. I go into it with my "eyes open." If I find something later, hopefully my "bargained" price savings will cover it.

 

Anecdotal advice: Many years back my wife and I bought a '93 Geo Metro. I found it in Spokane while on business and we had been looking for a while for this model at a decent price. It did not have a salvage title but I was suspicious since the right rear quarter panel paint didn't quite match. Also the title had been "cleaned" since it was an OR title being sold in Spokane, WA. I managed to negotiate a little more off the selling price and put down a deposit on the car with a pickup later. 'Drove home and flew out the following week with my wife for a "getaway" weekend in Spokane. We drove the car home without any problems. Found a funny "thump" a few months later and discovered that the body shop repairs (remember the slightly mis-matched paint?) had neglected to replace the rear shock absorber on that side. $40 for a replacemtnt shock and 30 minutes of my time and the "thump" was gone. My wife drove that car over 200k miles while we owned it. We sold it for a reasonable price when we got her Forester.

 

The point is we were fortunate; but we were also careful.

[edrach]

Update: Check out the Impreza from the Seattle craigslist (posted in the CL/ebay forum). Also there's another cherry one that appeared today but the price was higher so I just posted the one.

[NWSubie]

Well I ended up buying a different 98 Impreza outback sport yesterday with 130k on it and it had just had all its tune up done like timing and water pump. seems to drive well and is a lot more acceleration than what i am used to lol I just hope with a little tlc she makes it to 200k there where a few small issues that ill need to get fixed like the drivers window is not riding in its track perfectly so it leans slightly forward causing it to to allign up with the door seal correctly. hopefully thats not to hard to fix. oh and the master control for the windows has some buttons that are kinda sticky so ill need to replace that eventually.

[jonas]

pics dude.