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Dogcow
Jun 21, 2005

Is it always a terrible idea to consider any used car with a rebuilt/salvage title? What if you really never intend to sell it so resale value isn't really an issue anyway? I mean driving it until the repairs cost more than it's worth/'driving it into the ground'.

Obviously you need to have it especially thoroughly checked out by a mechanic, have the maintenance records and so on. I know anecdotes are dumb however like 10 years ago my friend's dad was in an accident (not his fault and he was unhurt) that pretty much totaled his brand new M3 and insurance would only pay to have it rebuilt for whatever reason and would not write it off. Of course it was totally rebuilt to basically new condition at no cost to him except for the resale value of the car falling off a cliff.

If you do due diligence with carfax, a mechanic, etc. and are not concerned with resale value does it then make sense to consider formerly hosed cars like this? I imagine one upside is that you don't have to worry about an accident or something killing the resale value since that's already happened.

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Leperflesh
May 17, 2007

In the case you described, that would not have been a salvage title because the car was not totaled, right?

Anyway I'd want to see photographic evidence of "before" pictures, e.g., what exactly was damaged that caused the car to be totaled out, and then the repairs that were done to fix it as well. Just having the seller describe it to me, or show me some receipts, isn't good enough, because what if those receipts represent some other more minor damage being fixed, and not the worst things?

The real problem for me though is that there are plenty of cars out there without salvage titles. If all you can afford for a given make/model/year of car is a salvaged one, maybe buy a different make/model/year, one you can actually afford a non-salvaged example of.

I'd consider buying a recovered salvage if I was personally familiar with the car and its owner (i.e., a friend or relative), AND the damage was not to any structural part of the car (which, even after repairs, might compromise its safety in an accident), AND the price was fantastic (maybe 20% of what a non-salvage comparable car would cost).

Of course, you might ignore all that, get one, and have it work out fine. I bet something like 75% of salvaged cars are actually just fine. But I'm not willing to gamble my cash on odds like that if I don't have to, and I think most people would agree.

shredswithpiks
Jul 5, 2006
Blast! I need a goon account!
I'd tend to stray away from salvage cars because the paperwork of getting it registered can be a pain, depending on whether or not the person you're buying it from has put in the effort to jump through all the bureaucracy for you.

an adult beverage
Aug 13, 2005

1,2,3,4,5 dem gators don't take no jive. go gator -US Rep. Corrine Brown (D) FL
Question on advice for an issue:

I own a 2004 Hyundai Sonata, purchased in 2006 used for $9,500 @ 6%.

Last year it died. The cost to repair it is around $3,000.

The payoff amount as of today is just over $2,700.

I don't have that cash available as my wife and I are in school. We do have access to student loans, but we'd essentially be taking out a loan on a loan so as to just pay it off in the future.

Right now we make around $1600/month. Our budget is $1600/month including the car payment. But it would be really nice to have that $166/month car payment for other things and it really stinks paying on a car that I can't drive.

Here are the options as I see them:
1. Continue paying on the car.
Pros: It is $166/month and it would be about 16 more months to pay it off. This is okay as I have budgeted for it and can handle this.
Cons: It's bad since it's money going to something I don't even use and if we got rid of it that increases our net income by about 10%.

2. Use student loans to fix it.
Pros:This is good in that I have a car that works.
Cons: This is bad in that I'm spending more than the car is worth to fix it, and I still owe on it so I'd continue to make monthly payments. Also, since it'd be a used engine who knows when it would die again.

3. Use student loans to pay it off and then sell the car for parts and forget it ever happened.
Pros: This is good in that it gets rid of the car and increases our current meager income by about 10% ($166/month). This is betting on the future in that we will both make substantially more than we do now.
Cons:This would be $2,700 in student loans that we wouldn't start paying for another four years. We already have a substantial amount of debt from undergrad student loans. This stinks as it piles on more debt for student loans and adds more interest.

Thanks in advance for any advice or tips.

an adult beverage fucked around with this message at 21:57 on Jul 29, 2010

Leperflesh
May 17, 2007

How many miles are on that car, and what exactly is wrong with it? Aside from whatever is wrong, is its condition generally good?

Leperflesh fucked around with this message at 23:14 on Jul 29, 2010

Don Lapre
Mar 28, 2001

If you're having problems you're either holding the phone wrong or you have tiny girl hands.

Leperflesh posted:

How many miles are on that car, and what exactly is wrong with it? Aside from whatever is wrong, is its condition generally good?

Yea, you might be able to shop around and get it repaired for half that or less.

LorneReams
Jun 27, 2003
I'm bizarre
Tell me it's the head gasket because that would kill whatever car my parents bought like 2 years into it. I have fond memories of dead cars stuck in our driveway.

CornHolio
May 20, 2001

Toilet Rascal

LorneReams posted:

Tell me it's the head gasket because that would kill whatever car my parents bought like 2 years into it. I have fond memories of dead cars stuck in our driveway.

did they drain the coolant as soon as they bought it?

an adult beverage
Aug 13, 2005

1,2,3,4,5 dem gators don't take no jive. go gator -US Rep. Corrine Brown (D) FL

Don Lapre posted:

Yea, you might be able to shop around and get it repaired for half that or less.

Leperflesh posted:

How many miles are on that car, and what exactly is wrong with it? Aside from whatever is wrong, is its condition generally good?

82,000 miles (I used to have a 60 mile/day commute). Besides the problems below, the car is in perfect condition aesthetically.

I'm not a car guy at all but my father-in-law is. Basically I was driving on the interstate and the car died. After he looked at it it appeared that the oil pump "froze" and ripped the teeth off the timing belt while I was going 80 miles per hour which apparently damaged some valves on the engine and as such I would need a new engine. I took it to a mechanic who agreed.

I talked to several recycled parts dealers and the cheapest engine I could get was about $1,100 plus tax. My father-in-law can't do the engine installation and after shopping around I found a mechanic willing to do it for $400 for labor. Is $400 good for labor for an engine replacement?

However, the car has now been sitting for a year as we could not afford to fix it at that time. We were in the process of moving and had our money tied up in that. I now have a ~4 mile commute which I cycle to everyday. I enjoy cycling and don't mind not having a car but do mind these dang payments I'm making on something that doesn't work. We have a second car that is a beater that we own outright that is okay for transportation for groceries and whatnot. It has been stored in a cool, dry place but my father-in-law said due to how long it's been sitting it would probably need a bunch of other work at this point- new tires, battery, fluids, timing belt.

It also would need a CV joint within a month of the repair as that was already going bad before it went.

Another issue: I now live 1,000 miles away from the car. So part of the $3k figure would be me flying down to the car once it is repaired and driving it back home.

So after taxes, parts, labor, my time, etc $2.5k-3k is what my father-in-law and mechanic estimated. Does that seem right? Again, I'm not a car guy at all so I appreciate the outside input. Thanks.

Leperflesh
May 17, 2007

OK let's see.

Actual cost of replacing the engine ($400 in labor is great): $1500
Value of the car, post-engine-replacement, assuming you know there's some other repairs that need done but at the same time, "it has a brand new engine": $5000

If you sold it you could probably net 3500.

Payoff amount: $2700.

Seems to me that the right course of action is to get the engine replaced, do the bare minimum necessary to get it roadworthy and sellable, and then sell it. I don't know what the zip code is of the car, so I couldn't get a 100% accurate estimate of its value, but $5k isn't unreasonable if the condition is otherwise good. Sitting for a year means the tires might have flat spots, but I don't think that's long enough to really destroy all the rubber bits.

All this is assuming it saves you the trip down there, of course; I take it the car is at your father-in-law's house, so maybe he can sell it for you?

Also, by the way, your oil pump catastrophically failing should not have happened. Hyundais come with pretty long warranties... I assume you checked to see if it was covered, or if there was a recall on it or anything?

sanchez
Feb 26, 2003
http://www.motortrend.com/cars/2004/hyundai/sonata/warranty/index.html

Looks like it has a 10/100 powertrain warranty? Assuming you can prove it was maintained.

Nocheez
Sep 5, 2000

Can you spare a little cheddar?
Nap Ghost

sanchez posted:

http://www.motortrend.com/cars/2004/hyundai/sonata/warranty/index.html

Looks like it has a 10/100 powertrain warranty? Assuming you can prove it was maintained.
I think that is a non-transferable warranty, it only applies for the original owner.

Arzakon
Nov 24, 2002

"I hereby retire from Mafia"
Please turbo me if you catch me in a game.

sanchez posted:

Looks like it has a 10/100 powertrain warranty? Assuming you can prove it was maintained.

Some googling gave results that the interval on the timing belt is 60K/mi. If you don't have records of it being changed on time, expect a rejected claim. If it wasn't, I expect that there isn't anything wrong with the oil pump and the belt just failed. Engine is still destroyed either way.

dennyk
Jan 2, 2005

Cheese-Buyer's Remorse

Nocheez posted:

I think that is a non-transferable warranty, it only applies for the original owner.

Don't know how it was in 2004, but my '08 Sonata's powertrain warranty is non-transferable, so I imagine it was the same back then. The bumper-to-bumper is transferable, but that's only good for 5 years or 60k miles, so his is well outside that.

an adult beverage
Aug 13, 2005

1,2,3,4,5 dem gators don't take no jive. go gator -US Rep. Corrine Brown (D) FL
Thanks for all the help so far guys.

Yeah my wife and I called Hyundai and the dealer multiple times to bitch them out, since the mechanic and my father-in-law said the same thing about the oil pump. But we found out as some of you guys mentioned the warranty is non-transferable and I bought the car used. The salesman (yeah, I know) told me it was transferable, I was stupid and didn't bother to actually confirm this. Big mistake.

I didn't even consider Leperfish's idea of "fix it, then sell it." That makes a lot of sense. I had just assumed in the era of carfax reports that an "engine replacement" might look bad on its history? Does that not matter as much as I think? The engines that the recycled parts dealer sells have anywhere from 30k to 60k miles on them.

I'm going to present that idea to my wife that we use a partial amount from student loan to fix the car, sell the car, use the proceeds to pay it off and then whatever is leftover to pay towards that portion of the student loan.

Thanks again guys. I'll keep you posted on what we decide.

Leperflesh
May 17, 2007

The value after an engine replacement is uncertain. You shouldn't find a whole lot of Sonatas out there that young with replaced engines. The replacement ones generally come from Japan (because they have crazy laws there about replacing engines after like 40k miles or something) and will last for a very long time (assuming no timing belt breaking), but the key is finding a buyer who understands that the replaced engine does not imply you've been abusing the car.

I strongly suggest you get whoever does the engine work to warranty their work; you can use that in your ad when you sell it.

I think you should review craigslist, cars.com, etc. in the area you'd be selling the car, spend a week or two monitoring what comparable vehicles come up, what shape they're in, and what they're going for. If my $5k figure stands, then you're in good shape; you can offer the car at like $4500 or so, and you'll probably be able to find a buyer.

gotly
Oct 28, 2007
Economy-Sized

an adult beverage posted:

I didn't even consider Leperfish's idea of "fix it, then sell it." That makes a lot of sense. I had just assumed in the era of carfax reports that an "engine replacement" might look bad on its history?

CarFax will have no idea if you do anything to your car if you don't submit it under warranty, insurance or file some sort of police record. I could go buy some doors or poo poo for my car right now, install it by myself and nobody would be the wiser. CarFax doesn't tell the whole story.

hobbesmaster
Jan 28, 2008

an adult beverage posted:

The salesman (yeah, I know) told me it was transferable, I was stupid and didn't bother to actually confirm this.

The salesman is technically correct, you can transfer the warranty to family members. Next time ask if it will transfer to you. (I hate salespeople)

shredswithpiks
Jul 5, 2006
Blast! I need a goon account!

gotly posted:

CarFax will have no idea if you do anything to your car if you don't submit it under warranty, insurance or file some sort of police record. I could go buy some doors or poo poo for my car right now, install it by myself and nobody would be the wiser. CarFax doesn't tell the whole story.

If you have a dealer do the work (outside of warranty) don't they normally submit all their work to carfax? I just bought a 2000 Jetta (daily beater), the dude printed of the carfax for me and it was like 4 pages of "VW dealer - scheduled maintenace."

an adult beverage
Aug 13, 2005

1,2,3,4,5 dem gators don't take no jive. go gator -US Rep. Corrine Brown (D) FL
The guy who would do the work is a small hole-in-the-wall type place, so perhaps he doesn't report to CarFax?

hobbesmaster posted:

(I hate salespeople)

this.

gotly
Oct 28, 2007
Economy-Sized

shredswithpiks posted:

If you have a dealer do the work (outside of warranty) don't they normally submit all their work to carfax? I just bought a 2000 Jetta (daily beater), the dude printed of the carfax for me and it was like 4 pages of "VW dealer - scheduled maintenace."

That's the emphasis. I bought a car that had serious front-end damage that I didn't notice until later. Completely clean CarFax but it had new welds in several places under the hood and the hood was repainted. If they got random mechanic #4209 to repair it and he didn't report it, it won't show up.

ttysco
May 5, 2009

gotly posted:

That's the emphasis. I bought a car that had serious front-end damage that I didn't notice until later. Completely clean CarFax but it had new welds in several places under the hood and the hood was repainted. If they got random mechanic #4209 to repair it and he didn't report it, it won't show up.

I know VW-dealers will report all maintenace to carfax. It's when someone gets in an accident and doesn't report it to the insurance and just pays some random mechanic to fix the problem is when it doesn't get reported.

alreadybeen
Nov 24, 2009

ttysco posted:

I know VW-dealers will report all maintenace to carfax. It's when someone gets in an accident and doesn't report it to the insurance and just pays some random mechanic to fix the problem is when it doesn't get reported.

I just sold my car that was in an accident and it was not on the car fax. There wasn't any serious damage, but because a lot of body panels were wrecked it was a very pricey repair bill so I went through insurance.

dangerous.hotdog
Feb 29, 2008
My credit union is offering refinanced auto loans @ 2.99%. I'm currently paying 4.25%.

I have 34 remaining months of payments and I'm thinking about refinancing to 36 months at the 2.99% rate.

Bad idea/good idea? I've never refinanced a loan, so is there anything I should watch out for?


Edit: According to this Refinance Calculator, my monthly payments will go down approximately $42 and I will save approximately $313 over the course of the loan.


VVV Didn't think about associated refinancing fees. I'll call and ask. Thanks.

dangerous.hotdog fucked around with this message at 18:53 on Aug 11, 2010

Leperflesh
May 17, 2007

Depends entirely on fees, then. I would guess they're going to charge a fee for the re-fi, and if it comes close to (or is over) that $300, then it's obviously not worth it.

dangerous.hotdog
Feb 29, 2008
Just spoke with a rep (PenFed customer service is loving great) and there's no fees for refinancing the loan from 4.25% to 2.99%. However, they do make you take on an additional $5,000 to the loan which I can apply back to the principal. The rep stated that applying the $5,000 back to the principal wouldn't affect my monthly payment amount, but the length of the loan.

I guess in the end I'll save money. But it looks like my monthly payments will actually go up (which I'm ok with) and the repayment length will go down (which is great).

Jealous Cow
Apr 4, 2002

by Fluffdaddy
Something doesn't seem right there. Also, when you originate a new loan you reset your amortization schedule, and you end up front loading all the interest all over again.

I don't think you understand enough about how the numbers will work to make an informed decision.

dangerous.hotdog
Feb 29, 2008
Yea, I think you're right. I'll do some more research into it and speak with another rep before I make a decision.


Edit - So according to Bankrate's Amortization Schedule Calculator, re-financing to this 2.99% rate with $5,000 added to the loan and a $5,000 additional payment on month 1 towards principal, I'm looking at this:


Click for large


My current rate looks like this:


Click for large


At 2.99%: $719 total interest paid, monthly payments go up ~$100, and I pay the loan off 5 6 months sooner.

At 4.25% (current): $1,144 total interest paid for the remainder of the loan.


Do these numbers look right?

dangerous.hotdog fucked around with this message at 07:51 on Aug 12, 2010

Leperflesh
May 17, 2007

So in exchange for saving $425 and shortening the payback period, you're taking on higher payments, and adding five grand to your outstanding balance...

Why don't you look into what'd happen if you paid back your current loan $100 a month more at a time? You might find that saves enough in interest that it's just not worth re-financing.

dangerous.hotdog
Feb 29, 2008
Well, the 5 grand would be negated the first month since I'd take the extra loan amount and apply that to principal immediately, but I think I would still pay interest on that.

Edit-

Using that calculator on Bankrate again, if I were to refinance @ 2.99% over 48 months instead of 36 with the addition of $5,000 principal required for the loan and a one-time $5,000 payment towards principal on the 1st scheduled payment:

Length of repayment vs. current loan: +3 months
*Amount paid over those three extra months: $850 (2x full payments, 1 partial)
Amount difference per monthly payment vs. current loan: -$66
Remaining length of current loan: 34 months

34 mos. * $66 = $2,244 < $850* (???)

3 months isn't too bad, especially since one is partial. Plus I'd save on interest overall (not a lot).

dangerous.hotdog fucked around with this message at 07:51 on Aug 12, 2010

OctaviusBeaver
Apr 30, 2009

Say what now?
I was in the process of buying a used car and when I closed the deal the seller told me they have a lien on the car from the bank. Now they want me to meet them at the bank to settle the lien so I can get the title. Does this sound sketchy at all? Also is there a way I can make sure I actually get the car when the loan is paid? I am uncomfortable with the idea writing a check to the bank before getting the car, but I'm not really sure what to expect here.

moana
Jun 18, 2005

one of the more intellectual satire communities on the web
I did this when buying our last used car from a private seller, it's necessary because the bank holds the title to the car (in our case - and maybe in most cases - it was collateral on the loan that he had). I think we wrote the check to him and then he just wrote another check to the bank, but we still had to go to the bank with him to get the car title. He came with another person who could drive him back so we just took the car after the bank gave us the title, I guess you could do that if you're worried about getting the car right away.

Don Lapre
Mar 28, 2001

If you're having problems you're either holding the phone wrong or you have tiny girl hands.

OctaviusBeaver posted:

I was in the process of buying a used car and when I closed the deal the seller told me they have a lien on the car from the bank. Now they want me to meet them at the bank to settle the lien so I can get the title. Does this sound sketchy at all? Also is there a way I can make sure I actually get the car when the loan is paid? I am uncomfortable with the idea writing a check to the bank before getting the car, but I'm not really sure what to expect here.

This is perfectly normal when buying a used car with a loan still on it. Just make sure you have a good receipt like you should anyway.

OctaviusBeaver
Apr 30, 2009

Say what now?

moana posted:

I did this when buying our last used car from a private seller, it's necessary because the bank holds the title to the car (in our case - and maybe in most cases - it was collateral on the loan that he had). I think we wrote the check to him and then he just wrote another check to the bank, but we still had to go to the bank with him to get the car title. He came with another person who could drive him back so we just took the car after the bank gave us the title, I guess you could do that if you're worried about getting the car right away.

Don Lapre posted:

This is perfectly normal when buying a used car with a loan still on it. Just make sure you have a good receipt like you should anyway.


Ok thanks for the help.

So I should be getting the car and the title when I give the bank the check (I am using a cashier's check) and not at some later date, is that correct? Do we then need to go to the DMV for more paperwork?

Don Lapre
Mar 28, 2001

If you're having problems you're either holding the phone wrong or you have tiny girl hands.

OctaviusBeaver posted:

Ok thanks for the help.

So I should be getting the car and the title when I give the bank the check (I am using a cashier's check) and not at some later date, is that correct? Do we then need to go to the DMV for more paperwork?

You may or may not get the title. If its a large bank they probably dont actually have the title there and will probably mail it to you.

Astroman
Apr 8, 2001


I have a question about financing.

I have no large amounts of cash saved now, just started a new job. It pays well though, and my bills only come to about 2 weeks of my take home. My 10 year old car died, I got a temp car for $700 to last while I was unemployed, and it died too. Now I need a car yesterday, or I lose my job.

I'd rather have saved up cash and bought a car outright, but circumstances have forced my hand. My plan is to get a car that will have to be financed for a little under $5k with a 2 year loan. I'll pay it off in 1, and still have some money saved besides. This car is a good car in great shape that should last me 4-5 years easy with minimal repairs.

My problem is my credit history is not so great due to unemployment, bad decisions when in college 10 years ago, and a pay cut I took changing careers a couple years ago. Now I make a decent amount again, but my credit scores range from 641-681...so I'm not great. Not terrible, but not great.

Went to a credit union today to apply for a loan, they happen to use the reporting agency which had me as the highest score, so that helped. However I was still not "automatically approved" and they have to send it to a Loan Officer who will contact me in a day or two with a yea or nay. For all I know that's code for "you failed, but we don't tell you to your face."

My question is if I can't get the credit union loan, what are some reputable places online who might give loans to people who are subprime or on the edge of subprime?" My only other options are to buy another car for less than $1k and hope it passes inspection to get on the road, or throw $1k into a $700 car...neither option is good, and both will put me in a bad cycle. Obviously I want to avoid applying at a bunch of places and getting turned down over and over. I figure if I get turned down once I'll have one more decent shot. That's why I'm bypassing regular banks and going straight to online if the CU fails.

skipdogg
Nov 29, 2004
Resident SRT-4 Expert

Astroman posted:

I have a question about financing.

I have no large amounts of cash saved now, just started a new job. It pays well though, and my bills only come to about 2 weeks of my take home. My 10 year old car died, I got a temp car for $700 to last while I was unemployed, and it died too. Now I need a car yesterday, or I lose my job.

I'd rather have saved up cash and bought a car outright, but circumstances have forced my hand. My plan is to get a car that will have to be financed for a little under $5k with a 2 year loan. I'll pay it off in 1, and still have some money saved besides. This car is a good car in great shape that should last me 4-5 years easy with minimal repairs.

My problem is my credit history is not so great due to unemployment, bad decisions when in college 10 years ago, and a pay cut I took changing careers a couple years ago. Now I make a decent amount again, but my credit scores range from 641-681...so I'm not great. Not terrible, but not great.

Went to a credit union today to apply for a loan, they happen to use the reporting agency which had me as the highest score, so that helped. However I was still not "automatically approved" and they have to send it to a Loan Officer who will contact me in a day or two with a yea or nay. For all I know that's code for "you failed, but we don't tell you to your face."

My question is if I can't get the credit union loan, what are some reputable places online who might give loans to people who are subprime or on the edge of subprime?" My only other options are to buy another car for less than $1k and hope it passes inspection to get on the road, or throw $1k into a $700 car...neither option is good, and both will put me in a bad cycle. Obviously I want to avoid applying at a bunch of places and getting turned down over and over. I figure if I get turned down once I'll have one more decent shot. That's why I'm bypassing regular banks and going straight to online if the CU fails.

Honestly a dealer is going to have better assets in place to get you financed than you have yourself.

A motivated Finance guy will get your loan placed no problem. 640 to 680 isn't terrible.

Seriously, let the dealer work it's magic. BUT if you're hellbent on doing this yourself (and you should not be) roadloans.com should have no issue financing you. They may have a minimum loan amount though.

Don Lapre
Mar 28, 2001

If you're having problems you're either holding the phone wrong or you have tiny girl hands.
On that short amount of time, even if you got a ripoff 12% interest rate on a $5000 loan, its only about $600 over the course of a 2 year loan. Way less if you pay it off early, just make sure there is no prepayment penalty. You might as well shop around some local dealerships.

Astroman
Apr 8, 2001


Well the only issue with dealer financing is I have a specific car in mind, and the dealer there doesn't finance.

Minimum amounts can be a problem. There was one place (I think myautoloan.com) that had a minimum $7500 amount.

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Jealous Cow
Apr 4, 2002

by Fluffdaddy

Astroman posted:

Well the only issue with dealer financing is I have a specific car in mind, and the dealer there doesn't finance.

Minimum amounts can be a problem. There was one place (I think myautoloan.com) that had a minimum $7500 amount.

I don't think you're in a position to be too picky. Hopefully the model you have in mind is a low cost of ownership and historically reliable model, and not a Mini or WRX.

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