General Looking for your advice on Buying a Used 2015 Fiat 500l with a salvage title

[Packer789]

Hello everyone,

I am in the market for a used car and came across a 2015 Fiat 500l with a salvage title. The car has a 1.4L L4 e engine and the asking price is $9,500. I am interested in buying it but I am not sure if it is a good idea considering the salvage title. I would appreciate any advice or thoughts from forum members who have experience with purchasing salvage cars.

My main concern is the safety and reliability of the car. I know that a salvage title means the car has been in an accident or suffered damage in some way, and I am worried that this may affect the overall condition of the vehicle. I am also concerned about the resale value of the car and whether or not it will be difficult to sell in the future.

On the other hand, the price seems to be reasonable for the year and make of the car, and I am attracted to the 1.4L L4 e engine which is known for its fuel efficiency.

So, forum members, what do you think? Should I take a chance on this car or should I steer clear? Any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[bugsymike]

First check with your insurance company giving all the details as they may not want to quote on it, or give higher premium.
Secondly you are buying cheap, so expect if you sell it on, the next buyer will do the same, also most buyers steer clear of cars that have been in an accident which makes it harder for you to sell on. So if you do buy make sure it is a very good saving!
Regarding the actual damage repair , what was the extent and was it structural or cosmetic. Any structural damage even if fairly well repaired puts strain on lots of other joints and spot weld etc. this means rust will get to these parts earlier than normal, plus strange water leaks / ingress etc.
Even a car with no structural damage can be "written off" for many reasons, even flood damage, which once cleaned off and valeted may look great, however after a while all sorts of problems can surface like rusting electrics , ECUs , wiring , sensors etc. so you need to know fully the reason for the write off and try to independently verify it as the seller will tell you "black is white" to unload his problem car.

 

[varesecrazy]

Getting good 'GasMileage' is relevant

In Europe that engine is only 'average'

But by US standards it might be ok

 

[Packer789]

I forgot about this post and wanted to update you guys. However, I ended up not purchasing the vehicle because a buddy of mine told me to run a check on the VIN and verify before you make this deal. Thanks to him, I literally saved thousands of dollars on a vehicle that was in an auction and had major damage which I saw on the vehicle report I purchased. The seller, when I asked him about it himself, did not have a clue as it happened prior to his ownership! Here is the link to the report for those that are curious https://premiumvin.com/report/vin/ZFBCFADH4FZ036685

 

[bugsymike]

We have similar HPI check. which after inspecting a car for a customer prior to purchase I always advised them to do that as a final check, one was buying from a friend? and still owed £5000 on finance, another was on a dealer forecourt and had been involved in a serious accident, there have been many over the years so well worth that check up. Had another strange one, did the HPI check and found the dealer financed his entire stock through loans, I used to think a large forecourt of vehicles meant the dealer had some money.
I did read some years ago about a Ford dealership that went into receivership and their customers didn't actually own the cars they had "bought".