Fair price for a 10AE w/ 54k miles on it and salvage title?
 

Not giving away location since I might still buy the car:

10th Anniversary limited edition Miata. 58,000 miles, great condition. New tires and brakes. New cloth top with glass and defroster. Modifications: Eibach sway bars and springs, HKS 4-way adjustable shocks, Monster flow cold air intake and Magnaflow muffler, Panasonic CD player with Aux. input, The low price is because it is a salvage title, but completely gone thru and in top shape. This car is set up as a great drivers car, looks great, and good for daily driving as well as autocross/track fun.

Pics he sent via email:
http://picasaweb.google.com/steaven....82832977817506
http://picasaweb.google.com/steaven....82845862719410

I want to hear what you all would pay for this car before I tell you what he is asking for it. Personally, I could care about most of the modifications and the salvage title doesn't thrill me. Your thoughts?

404 Not_Found Error. Your links don't work. I wouldn't buy a car with a salvage title myself. Was if flooded or wrecked or what? If Katrina got it, step away, it's not worth it.

unless its DIRT cheap, dont mess with a salvage titled car

http://picasaweb.google.com/steaven.meyer/10AE for link to album

I doubt this is a Katrina car since it is in CA. But it could be possible. It is much more likely that it was in a front end accident and that's why all of the pics are from the rear. Most people want to take pictures of the front of their car... Wonder what sort of reply I am going to get from the seller.

Yea, if it was flooded, aviod it. It would probably run fine for 1-5 years, then catch on fire and burn to the ground. The electrical system goes to shit in them after a while. Some people try to save them by washing them out good and all, but stuff like connectors on relays and the fuse block are not done and will eventually catch fire. I still wouldn't buy a salvaged title car to drive, maybe to part out or something.

well that is good feedback. Not what I wanted to hear, but good anyway. I wish I would have seen that 99 on Ebay. I am trying to find a working NA for about $1k or an NB with no major bodywork or (now) salvage title for around $4k. Reasonable goals?

4K with a salvaged title. hahahahah. I wouldn't pay half that. Keep your eyes open for a NA, that's the best way to go. You were gonna do a V8 conversion anyway right? You don't want that one with a salvaged title. Subframe and stuff could be damaged from a collision or from hitting a pothole and ripping out one side of the suspension, you never know. Not worth the hassles that come with a salvage title. Find a good NA and buy it. If it's 2K but a nice car, part it out. Otherwise try to find one that needs a motor or whatever for less.

to each his own, but i have no problem looking at a car with a salvage title
i've bought plenty and will buy more for sure, i do recommend one that is not fixed and fixing it myself for a few reasons (cheaper, and i know exactly whatwas wrong)

get the car checked out by a shop that you can trust, if there is no frame damage and its been fixed properly then go for it for a reasonable price...
IMHO, i would pay 3-4K easily for that car, providing its been fixed properly and the frame/suspension is not damaged

good luck

ps-no matter how much he is asking, try to get the cheapest pricepossible, sellers lovecash so make sure you bring it to negotiations with you, the seller is more likely to drop his pants at the sight of cash in hand

oh yeah, and make sure the carfax has nothing wrong with it other than accident
iow-no odometer roll back, flood, fire etc.

and make sure all the electrical works on it, anything that doesnt work could lead you to a bigger problem in the wiring

yea, bare minimum unplug several relays, some up high, others lower down to see if any show signs of watter damage. Look in the fuse block and pull a few fuses. See if it looks like it's been flooded, or if it has ALL new fuses.

there are lots of giveaway signs of water damage
just use your good common sense when looking at it and donot fall in love with it unless you buy it, you do NOT want to make an emotional decision, trust me, lol

Thanks for the feedback guys. This is especially difficult since the car isn't local.

what does the carfax say about it being totaled?

I would not necessarily be put of by a salvage title miata, if the title brand came from accident damage, considering 2 things
1> the frame didn't get tweaked
2> your jurisdiction will allow you to title the car (won't matter really if you're just going to part it or only drive on track)

how far is the car from you? and will you tell the asking price already? lol

don't turn your back on it just cause it's a salvage title, just make sure you do all the research on it before you buy it, not after, lol
again, good luck
Dan

Most of the time, yes. However, I've seen many cars that had 'light' water damage and the owner tried to cover it up. I'm talking cars with 2-3" of water in the floorboards, stuff like that. Put a new starter on it and fire it up, try to get the smell out of the carpet, and sell it as if it was never flooded. However, looking under the carpets, seat brackets, etc shows rust. All the wheelbearings get wet too so they will eventually go out. Just saying it's defintately NOT always easy to spot it when the owner is trying to cover it up. I know somebody who bought a miata that was flooded in Katrina. It changed hands like 4 times and eventually a friend of mine bought it, not knowing it was flooded. He paid 4500 for a black 95 that was mint except the headlights didn't go up and down, windshield wipers didn't work, and it idled funny. Owner told him the switches was bad. About 9 months later he sold the car for 1500. I later met with one of the owners to find out the real story. The car was completely flooded in saltwater, which is why the headlights don't work, the guage cluster has dirt on the inside, it has a new radio, and a new ecu. Car had water in the transmission and differential, throwout bearing was making noise.

There are signs of flood damage, but some come sooner than others, so you have to know what to look for. Down the road the car will likely need a transmission, throwout and pilot bearings, wheel bearings. He would have never paid 4500 if he knew it was flooded, but he checked it out and it appeared fine at first except for the "bad switches".

i would never buy a car if something electrical didnt work on it, i used that as a rule of thumb, electrical issues are ones i avoid every time, too many possible failures in future
if your friends was me, he would have never bought the car unless the lights were working...and he'd be suing right now since he did buy it

troof.

With older cars like NAs, you can get hail damage and they'll total the car. I think my car kbb's at like $1600. It won't take much damage to kill that car.

I still haven't heard back from him on what the cause of the salvage was, but I now know that his asking price of $5400 is way too high.