Need help with a potential purchase

[JustPassinThru]

That's high even for a car with a clean history. For one with an accident - too much.

The problem with accident repair is that in the damage and repair, corrosion protection is compromised. When the body is welded and painted at the factory, it is dipped in a charged vat of metallic primer. The charge pulls paint into every recess of the body.

When a car is in a collision the whole structure flexes and can be deformed. It sometimes isn't obvious unless you see it videoed, such as those test-collisions done by DOT. I had a Nissan pickup truck, years ago...smacked in the rear on the box. Damage SEEMED isolated to the right rear corner; but an examination showed that the whole frame flexed; the box was shoved up against the cab on the forward left quadrant and dented the bulkhead about half an inch forward in a foot-long area. The frame was no longer true, also. Interestingly, the box returned to its proper alignment relative to the cab; so either the bolts stretched or the frame flexed downward to allow the two to come together.

So...to this Yaris: What has flexed inside and underneath, peeling paint and coatings, that wasn't found because it had sprung back to original form? Hidden friction points? Places where parts removed and replaced scratched metal? Add road salt and a few years, and what you have is a headache.

I'd avoid it unless it were much, much less expensive than that.

[xmotionx]

Originally Posted by jeeper5usa

Just my two cents but I never buy a car that has been in an accident. They are never the same. That sounds rather high for a used that has been involved in something. Have you checked the Kelly Blue Book value? You might save yourself some aggravation to look else where. Yaris around here go for as low as 8G.

That's USD I'm assuming. I checked the website you mentioned and it gave me a fair purchase price at about $10,325 USD. I ended up settling with the vehicle at $11,000 CAD which is roughly around that.

Originally Posted by LeetViet

Almost ~$13K for a 2010 Yaris sounds expensive to me.

$8450 for 2010 with 115K KM/Automatic: http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehi...AdIdZ538672574

$7250 for 2010 with 115K KM/Manual: http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehi...AdIdZ551409847

The vehicle I'm looking at has only 55k, barely driven and only 1 driver. I'm sure that has to count for something :P

Originally Posted by JustPassinThru

That's high even for a car with a clean history. For one with an accident - too much.

The problem with accident repair is that in the damage and repair, corrosion protection is compromised. When the body is welded and painted at the factory, it is dipped in a charged vat of metallic primer. The charge pulls paint into every recess of the body.

When a car is in a collision the whole structure flexes and can be deformed. It sometimes isn't obvious unless you see it videoed, such as those test-collisions done by DOT. I had a Nissan pickup truck, years ago...smacked in the rear on the box. Damage SEEMED isolated to the right rear corner; but an examination showed that the whole frame flexed; the box was shoved up against the cab on the forward left quadrant and dented the bulkhead about half an inch forward in a foot-long area. The frame was no longer true, also. Interestingly, the box returned to its proper alignment relative to the cab; so either the bolts stretched or the frame flexed downward to allow the two to come together.

So...to this Yaris: What has flexed inside and underneath, peeling paint and coatings, that wasn't found because it had sprung back to original form? Hidden friction points? Places where parts removed and replaced scratched metal? Add road salt and a few years, and what you have is a headache.

I'd avoid it unless it were much, much less expensive than that.

From my understanding with the dealer (Toyota dealer, not an independent dealer) the bumper was replaced and there was no damage to the frame. Minor fender bender.

I'll have to confirm with the dealer that this is the case before I purchase because now I'm starting to second guess myself.

[JustPassinThru]

Originally Posted by xmotionx

That's USD I'm assuming. I checked the website you mentioned and it gave me a fair purchase price at about $10,325 USD. I ended up settling with the vehicle at $11,000 CAD which is roughly around that.



The vehicle I'm looking at has only 55k, barely driven and only 1 driver. I'm sure that has to count for something :P



From my understanding with the dealer (Toyota dealer, not an independent dealer) the bumper was replaced and there was no damage to the frame. Minor fender bender.

I'll have to confirm with the dealer that this is the case before I purchase because now I'm starting to second guess myself.

You do make good points. Do you trust this dealer? What's the custom buying/selling in your part of Canada? In the States, used-car salesmen are right up there with grave robbers in terms of trust and integrity. In Canada, you do it a little differently, eh? Maybe you can trust the guy.

Do what due diligence you can. Can you get an independent body shop to look at it, make sure there wasn't structural repair or damage?

Mileage at 55,000k, which I make about 30,000 miles, is very low. Again, if you can trust it...it's barely broken in.

Make yourself as informed as you can, and then make the move - or walk away, if that's what you think you need to do.