Worth buying a repaired car thats been in a stack?

[Bobski]

Well yeah. Looking at a good looking vy. Looks straight and all. Bloke reckons its had a good run over. As any seller would. Apparently its got the engineering certificate and all. Bla bla. Going to check it out next week, but besides the obvious cosmetic inspection. Anything else I could pick while giving it a test drive or any hidden components that might be buggered or stuff up further down the track?

He reckons its been serviced every 5 to 10 thou. So should still run a treat. But yeah.. I know the general rule is never buy a stacked car.. but this is a lot cheaper than any other I have seen.. Im just hoping its not for the obvious reasons lol. So any help is appreciated. Cheers.

[calais24/7]

I'd be very hesitant man. Look for anything that looks like its been repaired. I'd personally spend the extra bucks and get it professionally looked at. Could save you many hours and thousands of dollars.

[bogan_vk]

id agree with getting it checked out thouroughly i bought an immaculate mazda astina a while ago but wasnt told it was written off and me being a dick didnt check ,but a couple of weeks after buying it found an inch thick slab of bog covering the entire side of the inner guards starting to crack then checked with vicroads only to be told it was a repairable writeoff that car ended up getting stripped and going to a car removalist waste of money,but not all are like that my current vk is written off but was fully bare shell restored and viv checked before purchase and for the life of me i cant figure out why it was written off on the first place no bog,no damage none hidden best vk ive owned if you buy a written off vehicle it will remain written off on the vehicle securitys register for life even if its been viv checked so selling it may be harder as any potential buyer will know its been written off in the past which is something to keep in mind.

[Bobski]

Yeah thats something I have been thinking of. Resale. But I will have it for a while anyway.
Yeah I will be checking for bog ups and anything out of whack. He got the VIV. The real thing I am thinking of is like, I know plenty of mechanics and a panel beater or two.. so I have that on my side lol.

Some of me mates are mad into draggin. Which is one thing which is on my mind.. one of them has smashed his car and redone it. That was a while ago and things are still going well. Obviously the kms are gonna be much different and general wear and tear.. but ahh I dunno. Just about 4grand cheaper than any other of the same type.

But ahh by professional look? What ya mean? Who would be qualified in seeing if a car has been properly repaired, a panel beater?

Cheers

[2DIE]

I bought a VT classed as a repairable write off, a car had driven in to the back of it and hit the tow ball. It left a crease in the boot floor where the tyre well is and closed up the gap where the boot closes but 1-2mm or so.

I drove it from Melbourne back to Adelaide and it ran like a dream, the car is clean and stock and very very low KMs. Cost me $300 to get fixed and its perfect, no one would ever tell there was anything wrong with it.

Just waiting on a tail light harnesses (replacing Monaro lights with stock lights) then its ready for the VIV inspection.

Its too late to see the damage on the one you are interested in now but I would ask where and what the damage was and if there is any pics. You could get a bargin or you could get a lemon, just be sure to go over it 100% when you check it out.

[Bobski]

Ah yeah, that sounds nice and easy.. lol but that was rear end too. I gotta contend with possible botch engine fixes (ie. Radiator tanks etc) and the body. Yeah I think he does have a few pictures of it. So I will defs be looking at them.

Cheers

[2DIE]

Check all the gaps carefully, look for welds, new paint, check if the air bag lights are on, uneven tyre wear, take a torch and make sure you check it all out, even under it if possible.

If you spend 30 mins+ looking it over and take your time and don't spot anything wrong, the next step would be to take it for a spin (might be hard if no rego) but around the block wont give you a good feel for anything. You will probably need a 100km zone and some sweeping bends, test brakes slowing for higher speeds.

I didn't do all this for mine, bought it with only seeing photos. Could have been a nightmare but I'm glad it wasn't. The guy was very honest but most people trying to sell a car will tell you anything you want to hear.

[Bobski]

Went and looked at it today. Ran over everything top to toe. Checked the bumper. Even though he told me it was brand new. Chassis all straight as. Wheels are fine. Car drives very straight on the road, left turn and right turns are good. No shutters on the brakes. Clutch feels brand new still as does the gear box. I honestly couldn't fault anything visually and everything I could see I had a look at.

Driving it felt real good too. I was a bit skeptical but it drives real nice and feels good too.. New bumper and guards. New bonnet. New headlights. New foggies. The works. The bloke wanted to keep the car himself. Only reason he is selling is because he wants to get a family car lol. So I will say that for the price of it, I am gonna have a second look.

I got it up to about 80 and there was nothing I could fault. It just grabbed the road everytime i gunned it and through traffic islands, around round abouts there was nothing I could fault what so ever. He said his family is basically mechanics and auto electricians. Which would give me some hope that the foggies and everything were wired up properly too haha.

But yeah, I have another few too have a look at, but this one is in the back of me mind. Already got some extractors and exhaust lined up too lol