The only way your going to tell much is spend a couple hundred bucks and
take it to another shop with a frame bench and the fixtures for
that car. have them check the total unibody alignment for spec and
visual for anything out of the ordinary. Its amazing what someone
can do with a plasma cutter and mig welder if they know what there doing.

I have bought rebuilt cars with salve titles before and have had no
problems. But the car better be a LOT cheaper to make the risk
worth while.

Bob

Is it a 4x2 or 4x4?

If 4x2, then damage resulting from hitting the front wheel is probably not
significant and chances are also good that the body damage is not structural
since you say it didn't intrude into the engine compartment.  Did they
replace the side airbags?

If 4x4, there could be mechanical damage from knocking the wheel & its
driveshaft into the front differential and possibly causing damage all the
way to the transmission. I'd probably pass on it if this is the case.

On 8/29/06 7:59 AM, in article
hTWIg.2850$bM.448@newsread4.news.pas.earthlink.net, "Fatdaddys"
<rave@usit.net> wrote:

IMO I wouldn't.
for 15K you could buy a decent used car for your daughter.
this thing might be a super deal, it might be a nightmare.
I'd consider it as a project vehicle for you... but not for someone
who's not mechanically inclined in case this thing turns into a
perpetually broken money pit.
And... do you have the time right now to get this thing fixed up 100%?

Ray

Keep in mind that a "total" occurs when the price of repair exceeds a high
percentage of the value of the vehicle.

A vehicle of little value could easily be "totaled" with a "fender-bender"
requiring a couple thousand dollars worth of repair.

More and more vehicles are being "totaled" these days due to the higher
labor and parts costs.

"Totaled" in insurance terms, does not mean "completely destroyed beyond
reasonable repair." It just means, "It's cheaper for us to total the
vehicle than to pay for its repair."

I have a friend who almost has me convinced to go this route.

He has, for the past couple of decades, bought "totals" and fixed them up
for himself and his family.

He does pretty much all but the most extreme chassis straightening himself.

His goal is to own and drive late model vehicles while saving money.

Sort of a "sweat equity" thing similar to buying a "fixer-upper" house.

And, while he will never admit it, it DOES help him to justify tool and
equipment expenditures to his wife.

I have a fully-equipped shop in which I build oval-track race car and
street rod chassis, so it would not be a drasticly new deal for me.

Your situation, on the other hand, involves someone who is attempting to
make a profit - not a dishonorable concept, but one that factors into
decisions differently.

My friend spares no expense or procedure in returning the subject vehicle
to better-than-new status.

OTOH, when confronting the expenditure/profit ratio, one may or may not
allow "little", inconsequential things to slip by.

For example, a kinked front frame rail might not be so bad that a good
alignment technician cannot make up the difference in adjustments.

The vehicle will be safe, go down the road correctly, and not wear tires,
but the frame STILL has a kink in it - which may or may not flare up later
in the vehicle's life.

My friend would spend the $250 at a frame shop while the person doing a
vehicle rebuild for profit might rather see that $250 in the profit column
- or, at least, in a position that might allow a bit of negotiation room.

Again, nothing unethical......just factors that might influence the method
of repair - and, there are several options in many areas along the way.

If you were going to do the work yourself, and had a fairly well-equipped
shop, I would say, "Go for it!"

But, buying one from someone else that has done the work could be a
crapshoot - although there are certainly good people out there who do a
good job in resurrecting these cars.

The offer to allow you to take the finished product to an alignment shop
speaks well of his sincerity, his confidence in his work, and suggests that
he is not trying to pull a "fast one" on you.

And, if the truck he previously repaired for you is the same one that now
has 300K on it, I'd say his work has been proven to be good and thorough.

Given the fact that you currently have 300K on your own vehicle, and your
daughter's vehicle has "only" 100K on it, why do you feel it will not serve
her needs throughout the rest of her college career?