I have been searching for a decent FD for months now, and I am getting frustrated in my search...I found a 93 FD/montego/leather/42k/mint for $15k. Heres the thing. It has a salvage title. The car was never hit, but something crushed the windsheild and roof, and it was repaired by a local performance shop.

What is this car really worth? Should I even bother?

Thanks for the advice.

 

no... salvage cars are not worth half of that... mint or not!!!

 

You never ever know what else could be wrong with a salvage car. Although it says only the top portion was damaged, there could be severe stress damage to other stress baring members. Of main consern, if that car gets in another accident, will it be nearly strong enough to protect you??

 

Excellent points...thanks guys...i was thinking about bagging it to begin with.

 

yo...if you want a MINT FD...send a pm to FD RACER (with a space). His name is ray.

he is the most meticulous person when it comes to the maintenance of his FD...his was one of the top ten at sevenstock. He is selling it to buy a house.

j

 

The search for the FD is a LONG and tedious task. I searched for a year myself, until I found the right one for me. Good luck.

 

I think salvage titled cars are worth looking at if the price is right AND if you know the car's history. This is why:
Many times an insurance company would rather declare a car "totaled" and sell it at auction rather than repair it. This can happen even when damage is not that significant. Why? Because they save money on the deal when it sells at auction to a rebuilder. Some person crunches the numbers on a computer looking at replacement cost, repair cost, and what the salvage cars are selling for at auction. Then decides if it is better to pay for the repair, or write the customer a check for the "value" of the car and resell it.

As with anything, if you know the history of the car you can better decide if it is worth it to you. How many cars on the road have been in an accident and benn repaired? Lots, and they have good titles. Now because of consumer fear, salvage titled cars are harder to sell, and that's why they are cheap.

I hope that helps.
Chris

PS- my 94 FD has a Flood salvage title...but there is NO evidence of water damage anywhere. It had a bad engine, and that's all. We believe the previous owner claimed water went into the intake during one of the Houston floods last year so he wouldn't have to pay for a new motor. We put in a new motor and it is as good as new (the chassis only has 44k miles).

 

don't totally discount the idea of having a salvage title car. you can often pick up a decent ride and save alot of cash.

with that said you shouldn't pay $15k for it, but it may be worth looking at if the owner is willing to lower the price.

also, THOROUGHLY look over the car, inside and out. I would reccomend not only taking it to a rotary shop, but if you know someone in the body shop business, see if they can look it over for you.

Keep in mind that the RX-7 (or any high performance vehicle) is going to be more sensitive to alignment issues, like those typically found on a salvaged car.

 

I don't know much about salvage vehicles, but everything else about it sounds good.

 

A salvage title is a major hit on the resale value of any vehicle. But if you plan on keeping the car till either you or the car dies, that's not a factor.
Still, I'd have someone who is knowledgable about FD bodies get a thorough examination if you are serious about the car.
And, if you buy it, think about adding a rollbar.

 

A crushed roof they probably had to recut the roof and weld a new one on. I ahve heard of people putting cars that were cut in half back together. I never trusted that stuff.......

 

often times, welding points are the strongest part of a job. So if your roof was rewelded on, dont worry about the welding joints breaking as much as the rest of the car breaking

 

I would definitely stay away from a salvage...for that price anyway. The national average price for an FD (93-95) according to Autotrader.com is $17,100. So, for 15K you should be able to find a decent, non salvaged FD. It's just not worth the hassle.

 

Well, even if the top was chopped and a new one welded on you still dont know about the non-visible damage. Say the car rolled, or some freak construction accident dropped an I beam on the roof, the stresses would not be centralized to the roof. Cars are made to distribute the forces throughout the vehicle to protect the occupant. I'd be extremely worried about all of the variables that could mean my life in an accident.

 

Everyone has presented some good points...I have to agree that at $15k, its rather expensive...Also, the rotary shop that fixed it has no "before" pictures, so it will be tough to correctly diagnose what exactly was done. I guess I'll keep looking...