R-Title Series Blue.
 

Hi all. Seeking some information or advice on a prospect purchase. About three hours away from me there is this 15' Series Blue BRZ with 45,000 Miles. Unfortunately, this car was hit in the front passenger and was totaled and then repaired by a Subaru dealer near the owner. Where I live here in VA once a car is already titled as a rebuilt the process of registering it is as simple as registering a clean title car. (has to be inspected by a state ref to be deemed drivable again to be issued a rebuilt title)

His original asking price was $15,000 which was insanely overpriced in my opinion, however, I did get him down to $12,000 keeping all of the modifications which I'll list now.

Rev9 Coilovers
AEM Cold air intake
Carbing front strut bar
Gas type Hood Shocks
1in. Mishimoto Wheel Spacer
UEL Open Flash Headers
Greddy REvolution RS exhaust
+ All of the oem parts and STI complete lip kit + wheels.

My current daily driver is a 2013 FRS A/T with about 82,000 miles on it. New in box I have Broadway static coilovers, Rays 57cr's, OFT, etc. Enough parts to swap over to that BRZ where once I sell all of the parts on it I'd honestly break-even or slightly profit jumping over to the BRZ and gain a newer, more premium car with half the mileage in manual.

Do any of you have experience buying rebuilt? Things to look for? I'm going to attach a bunch of photos of the vehicle. I plan on taking it to a local Subaru dealership for a PPI.

take it to a body shop for inspection. they'll be able to better tell if the repair was done correctly. a dealership isn't used to checking for panel alignment measurements, or differences in paint application, or what was hidden with poor paint.

i would also search the vin on salvage sites-- most of the time, it'll pull up the pre-repair pictures, which would give an idea of the parts that were needed to be replaced.

average valuation in my area on a '15 brz is $14k. i think just about anywhere from $8-12k is a fair price. first rule in used cars, aftermarket parts don't really add value.

For sure. Putting into consideration how near stock this car is, the low
milage and being a series car not just a regular BRZ it would probably be around $17k if clean. So $11k after I sell the shitty parts and swap mine over is a pretty good W.

Im going to definitely contact a few body shops

If the damage wasn’t too severe (and it sounds like it couldn’t have been too bad if a Subie dealer repaired it), that could be an awesome deal for a limited edition car. I wonder if the owner of the car would share any more info about the accident?
I don’t completely agree with soundman that aftermarket parts don’t add value. If someone is selling a car private party, they can add value to the right buyer. I do agree that most of the time it’s better to return the car to stock, and then sell the parts separately, or use them on your next car.
I hope it works out for you OP!


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Thank you! To address the aftermarket part thing, I think there is a misconception where people are thinking I’m saying the mods solidify the value of the car. I’m using the mods as an example of what I can SELL to regain money I spend on the car. I’m swapping my parts over from my 13’ FRS.

Here is a photo of the car at auction before it was repaired.

R-Title Series Blue.
 

Yeah in this scenario, you could make some extra cash from selling those parts. The seller is probably most concerned about selling the car. So if the price is low enough I think you will come out ahead. On a side note, it really f’ng sucks when your car gets crash damage like that. From what I’ve ever read, getting your insurance to cover the diminished value is nearly impossible. [emoji53]
But it could be a really good deal for you! That damage is significant for sure, so a good PPI is a must.

Just realized it was sold at an auction. So I’m guessing you would be buying it from a re-seller? I’m not sure what they are called. [emoji1]

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The problem with rebuilt title cars is the resale value. Are you going to sell it later? If you say yes, forget about it. Also once a vehicle has been in an accident, it never drives the same. Alignment will never be perfect or panel gaps will not be perfect. I never buy rebuilt titled cars. That is just me. The value of the car isn’t worth the headache it may being later down the road.

Ask yourself why the owner wants to sell it a series blue brz that looks pretty good all fixed up.


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i can definitely see why the insurance totaled it originally.

the most concerning part is the damage that occurred to the front subframe with a hit that hard. i would be less concerned with a car that had taken a solid straight-on hit. a sideways hit like that easily knocks everything out of whack in all the wrong ways

This, get the VIN, run it on Google, 90% of the time the pre-repair photos come up. Then have the car inspected by a Subaru dealer, then a body shop. Ask seller for pictures of prior damage. Rebuilt vehicles can be a great deal.

That's a pretty light hit and a fairly simple repair. Now you know where to inspect.

Pretty good read for you here: https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=143603
I've rebuilt quite a few twins, and when repaired properly there is no difference due to the title designation. Just make sure the title is not a Certificate of Destruction title and you should be good.

We just finished up a Series.Blue as well...https://www.ft86club.com/forums/show...133231&page=17

As far as the damage in the picture, the main structural parts to look at are the frame rails (they run alongside the engine (both sides) and connect to the bumper beam), should be straight and parallel with each other, no buckles or bends in the metal. Then the A-frame part that runs from the chassis to the strut supports (see red triangle in pic). Everything above the bumper beam/frame rails and in front of the A-frame portion are impact absorbtion points and are not structural. You can remove the right front wheel well liner and see if that A-Frame has any signs of damage.