Tips on Buying Cars: rebuilt title purchase bad idea?, used, car

Question
zip code 45403

I'm interested in purchasing a 2003 nissan 350z, a car I normally wouldn't be able to afford but I've seen them in my price range with rebuilt titles. Is this a bad idea? Does it matter if a dealer is the seller? I know to get a carfax report to find the cause of the title status, and to have it checked by an independent mechanic (probably a nissan dealer?) but is there anything else I should consider? Are specific damage causes absolute no-nos? How much lower than blue book value can I expect to pay? FYI, I plan to pay cash. Also, I am a person who drives a car until it dies so I have no concern about trying to sell it myself later on. Thanks in advance for your reply.

Answer
Hi Angie,

No it does not matter if private or dealer. I really appreciate you know to take some precautions - history - independent inspection. Re - FYI - paying cash will not come into play.

Regarding price. Definitely much less,,, it's kind of hard for me to say without knowing the type of salvage, lets do this,,, test drive a car that you want to buy and send me a link. Please don't send links where you have not test driven.

As for a bad idea - you decide,,, I have copy/pasted some thoughts from my website.

Frame Damage,,, Would you feel comfortable sitting on a chair that you knew had frame damage and now patched together, never mind going down the Hwy sitting on a car frame at 70 Mph. If saving money means more to you than playing Russian roulette with your life go ahead.

Flood Damage,,, Think about the vast series of wires that run throughout the entire car that have been submerged in water for how long ?

Rebuild Engine,,, Many buyers will strike gold without any problems, from a personal viewpoint they just never seem to perform the same as original factory build.

Hailstorm Damage,,, There will only be cosmetic damage, an excellent purchase if you can live with the Bonnie and Clyde appearance

Angie, study  http://www.usedcartips.org/ you will pick up some more pointers, feel free to post further questions in the forum.

Good Luck

Ray