Should I Buy FRS R-Titled From Hail Damage?

[Rally]

Originally Posted by 2much

his advice is make sure that front window is the OEM registered windshield. if some shop replaced the windshield after it was busted they might be trying to cover up interior water damage which is never worth it. he also said you should get at least 30% off of KBB if it's JUST hail damage only.

Thanks alot for the tips! Yea i was thinking the same about the glass. The pics are from before they bought it but i will definitily question it. Is there a way to tell if its oem glass? And also yea KBB is a little over 19K so if i can get it for 14-14.5 id be happy as long as everything looks good

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by fledonfoot

If the car books out at $16,000 fair market value, you're looking at needing something like $13k in total damaged to write that thing off.

Not necessarily. Delaware is a Total Loss Formula state. They don't use a percentage. In a TLF state, the car is totaled if:

Cost of Repair + Salvage Value > Actual Cash Value

Suppose for argument the salvage value is $8K and the cash value is $16K. The cost of repairs (for full service repair, not PDR) would only have to exceed $8K for the car to be considered a total loss.

An insurance estimate is going to include the full repair cost of replacing damaged panels and repainting, not PDR. This car was in a hailstorm that smashed out the rear window. I'm guessing the pics can't really show us that every body panel on the car was damaged to some degree. If the rear quarter panels were damaged, the estimate would include some welding. If the interior got soaked, the estimate may include the cost of replacing parts that might be reused. That's a lot of money to repair a perfectly drivable car.

So it wouldn't surprise me at all if the repair estimate + the salvage value exceeded the cash value, and the car was legitimately totaled and sent to auction. But it also wouldn't surprise me if every ding in the car could be repaired with PDR given enough time in skilled hands, making it a golden opportunity for a reputable shop to buy the car at auction and make some money on it with a rebuilt title.

[Rally]

Originally Posted by extrashaky

Not necessarily. Delaware is a Total Loss Formula state. They don't use a percentage. In a TLF state, the car is totaled if:

Cost of Repair + Salvage Value > Actual Cash Value

Suppose for argument the salvage value is $8K and the cash value is $16K. The cost of repairs (for full service repair, not PDR) would only have to exceed $8K for the car to be considered a total loss.

An insurance estimate is going to include the full repair cost of replacing damaged panels and repainting, not PDR. This car was in a hailstorm that smashed out the rear window. I'm guessing the pics can't really show us that every body panel on the car was damaged to some degree. If the rear quarter panels were damaged, the estimate would include some welding. If the interior got soaked, the estimate may include the cost of replacing parts that might be reused. That's a lot of money to repair a perfectly drivable car.

So it wouldn't surprise me at all if the repair estimate + the salvage value exceeded the cash value, and the car was legitimately totaled and sent to auction. But it also wouldn't surprise me if every ding in the car could be repaired with PDR given enough time in skilled hands, making it a golden opportunity for a reputable shop to buy the car at auction and make some money on it with a rebuilt title.

Yea that all makes sense and PDR can be amazing. Now just to pick a day to check it out.

[Rally]

My insurance company also said they would provide full coverage. State Farm if anyone was wondering

[babydriver]

Originally Posted by shellslinger

Insurance usually doesn't work like that. Usually with estimators if there's a large enough dent, they usually write up the estimate for new part + labor. It's possible that hail damage did total out the car.

We had that experience some years ago with a severe hailstorm in Texarkana, Texas. Totaled a 2005 Toyota Camry in 2007.

With the FR-S, I could see the hail leaving it looking like the moon's surface, given the thin sheet metal.

[dnieves]

Originally Posted by Rally

Yea they said headlights and tail lights required no work just used paintless dent removal on majority of the car. I will look it over really good when I go to check it out (hopefully next week). Ill take pics to

That windshield is going to the gateway for a lot of rust in the back seat/trunk area.


BTW:
Wasn't PDR cheap a few years ago? I have a really small ding on my tC and I've been quoted $100-$150 (perfect candidate for a repairable PDR job). Now I can see how hail damage alone could easily rack up the bill.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by dnieves

That windshield is going to the gateway for a lot of rust in the back seat/trunk area.


BTW:
Wasn't PDR cheap a few years ago? I have a really small ding on my tC and I've been quoted $100-$150 (perfect candidate for a repairable PDR job). Now I can see how hail damage alone could easily rack up the bill.

No issue with the windshield and rust as long as it doesn't keep leaking. Like I said earlier if getting the inside of your car wet from rain caused damage then there would be rotted out converts everywhere. Nice clean water that evaporates fairly quickly is never an issue. Now if it just sits there in pools and doesn't evaporate well...
I also have noticed a steep increase in PDR work at some places. The trick is to really shop around though. I had one ding that quotes ranged from $60 to $200.
Then I stumbled on a guy that did it for $20 right in his parking lot. The whole thing took under 5 minutes and the ding was totally gone.

[Rally]

Yea they just finished repairing the car a few days ago and called me, Im hopefully going to check it out soon

[awilso4]

If the car looks good from a cosmetic standpoint just check to make sure nothing on the car has been painted. You can easily tell if anything has been painted by running your finger on the inside of doors, hoods, panels. If it feels rough then it has been repainted. Also check under the hood and see if the bolts have been turned. Sounds like a good deal but please check all of the warning signs before ever buying a salvage car no matter what the seller tells or shows you. If you have no experience checking for signs of paint or frame damage you can do a little research online or pm me and I can help.

[pepelocuas]

Buying a SALVAGE TITLE CAR is always a question mark. WHY?
1- If you don't know how reliable the repair was done?
2- Is there anything missing? like airbags, modules, parts, etc.
2- Parts replaced were OEM or used OEM?


But if you buy at the auction a SALVAGE TITLE CAR with minor repair at 1/3 of the MSRP price and fix it yourself or someone you know that will do a perfect job. JUMP ON IT!!!
Final cost will be 50% less than the MSRP at the dealer and if you are going to modify the car(turbo, injectors, air intake, ECU, etc. Warranty will be voided anyway.