Tomorrow I'm going to look at a 2004 GTO that seems ridiculously cheap. It only has 55k on it and he's asking $6500. He says he repaired it and it only needed a door and a fender. I'm not up on salvage titles, but doesn't it mean that the car was considered totaled at one point? How does that happen with the minimal damage he claims this car had? Anyone familiar with what constitutes an RS title in Ohio?
Based on what I just read about the inspection process, someone twisted "major part" definition and got it totaled. But then again, have you priced GTO body parts lately? They don't even stop at giraffe nuts high.
I hadn't thought about the cost of parts. That may have something to do with it. Thanks.
"Salvage" means the car was written off by an insurance company and bought back by someone to make roadworthy again. With the GTO, a corner and the grill would probably total it. On my '97 Camry, a front fender would total it.
The car will always be worth less than FMV due to the leeriness of the general public towards these cars and with good reason. Some totals are put together using poor welding skills or are cars that shouldn't be saved. some have been "back halved," meaning they are actually two cars welded together. Look for signs of either. I'm thinking the damage will be fairly obvious if you look for it. In this case, look under the door for subframe damage that wasn't repaired or done poorly. Check the suspension mount points. Take a tape measure with you to check one side of the car against the other. Anything that shows up with a tape measure is probably a walk-away. Also, look at how the wheel is centered in the wheel well compared to the other side.
if it was just a door and he can prove the frame isn't tweaked, radiator bracket torn, etc, I'd say that seems priced in the 'screamin steal' department. But since it got hit and has a rebuilt, maybe talk him down another K? 
To get plates on a Salvage title car, after the car has been brought back to whole, the car has to be inspected by The Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP).
Get verification that this inspection has been done and passed. Be mindful of how many airbags a car like this should have, look for proof that they are present. Interior damage from airbag deployment is a big part of high repair costs and a part that is often shorted on. If the airbag light is on, be concerned. It will not pass OSHP inspection if the light is on.
http://bmv.ohio.gov/salvage_inspection.stm
http://www.dmv.org/oh-ohio/salvaged-vehicles.php
If your seller did the bodywork, as to see all the documentation that was provided to the OSHP.
I'd chase it down. I've had a couple salvage cars that were great buys, drove well and were cheap to purchase. Selling them, however, sucks. At $6500, it probably even meets the "part out to break even" criteria, should it be difficult to sell in the future due to the title.
LINKNice looking car. Should have records as it looks like a dealer does this often
sounds like it's worth the risk. Ask if he has photo's taken before the damage was repaired.
Looks like automatic.
Would a Silver body and black interior have had red gauges? I thought on GTO's the gauge color matched the exterior
LINKCluster looks legit. link to 2004 ebay auction for same exterior color
I'd want to have the car checked on a frame rack or something to make sure everything was straight. Or even just have the wheel alignement checked.
The difficulty is that IIRC you need to have a paper trail of where you got the used parts. Most junkyards will refuse to sell parts for salvage-title cars because of the PITA factor.
Yes, this is to prevent theft-and-VIN-switching.
RS title means rebuilt salvage, so they got the inspection done already. it's ready to title to you and register.
my dad and i rebuilt his s10 that hit a deer. we bought the parts at pull-a-part, got receipt with vin, took it in for inspection with the receipt. the inspector said the vin sticker on the hood didn't match receipt or truck, we said that hood was on it when my uncle bought at 22k so it had to be replaced before that. he made note and gave us the paperwork to get the rebuilt title.
In reply to bravenrace:
Did you check it out? Buy it?
Saw this thread and wanted to comment. GTO parts and repairs are quite expensive. It takes very mimimal damage for an insurance company to total it. A door and a fender would most likely total a GTO. Due to the low sales volume and ease of totalling, there aren't too many GTOs out on the road. It is always nice too see someone get one back out there after the insurance company writes it off. Hopefully the damage is just to the door and fender.
I also want to comment on something that Jerry said. If you messure the wheel positions in the wheel wells, there is a very good chance they won't match up side to side. From the factory, the front and rear suspension cradles were typically not centered. There are shops that will do cradle allignments, but most shops, unless they are familiar with the GTO, will be confused by a request for a cradle allignment (and they probably won't have the allignment tool).
In reply to gtoben:
I'm not all that familiar with GTO's - Is the cradle like that of a Camaro? And are you talking about aligning it with the car? How important is this if you can the front and rear alignment in spec?
I would love that for a DD. Looks like a great deal if it checks out.
bravenrace wrote: In reply to gtoben: I'm not all that familiar with GTO's - Is the cradle like that of a Camaro? And are you talking about aligning it with the car? How important is this if you can the front and rear alignment in spec?
I'm not familiar with the Camaro's setup. I'm talking about alligning the suspension cradles with the car. The cradle allignment just makes sure the center line of the front suspension, rear suspension, drivetrain, and chassis all line up. I'd say the importance of it really depends on how out of spec the current setup is, and what you are looking to do with the car (and how much of a perfectionist you are).
I have an '06 GTO that is my DD. During the summer I autoX it every other weekend. I just go out to have fun and to improve my driving. I know that my front cradle is not alligned correctly (skewed to the right a tiny bit) but my car tracks correctly, I get proper tire wear, etc. Likewise, I don't really care if my camber settings are a tenth of a degree off from side to side. For me, its not a big enough of an issue warrant spending the money on fixing. For other people though, it most definitely is. There is more information about cradle allignments here (http://www.ls1gto.com/forums/showthread.php?t=106059).
Regarding the salvage car, it might also make sense to make some posts on some GTO forums asking about the car. Someone might know more details about it (the GTO community is pretty small).
Yes, Quicksilver over black has red gauges.
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