Might need a GRMer near Elkhart IN.... checking out a car, maybe storing it for a bit?

Totaled at 7,500 miles.  Interesting.  That smells of either a really big hit or someone who had a lot of pull to not want their "investment" to end up with a negative report.  

Also odd that no one ever really drove the car either.  If you subtract off the 7,500 in the first year, this car was driven, on average, 3.5k miles per year in the following years.  I suspect many of those "owners" were dealers and the car sat on various lots for 6 months at a time over the course of a few years....driven no miles.   

Unicorn or not, that would be enough to scare me off.. but it has been driven 80,000 miles since being straightened. 
 

Surprised that nobody is nearby to have a look at panel gaps and such. 

How long was the time period from accident to rebuild?  Quickly might imply the "simplicity" of the damage.  A longer time period might imply the severity of the damage.  

Rear impact with no airbag deployed, yet totaled with 7500 miles. That had to be a hard, strange hit. Some insurance companies will not insure it, I'd check on that. There's one in CT with 74k for $11500, is a clean title worth double?

I'd probably run away, the accident is enough but really it having that many owners with no miles is strange too.

Could be that it was because no one wanted to put miles on it or it's got a lot of problems that prevents then from driving it too.

I'd want to follow it down the road to see if it drives like a crab.
 

random though: Can you use a thermal imaging camera on a hot/cool day to look for bondo?

John Welsh said:

How long was the time period from accident to rebuild?  Quickly might imply the "simplicity" of the damage.  A longer time period might imply the severity of the damage.  

Accident reported 6/30/03.  Verbatim from carfax in italic:  Vehicle involved in a rear-end collision with another motor vehicle.  Damage to rear. Rear area primarily damaged. Disabling damage reported. Vehicle towed. Airbags did not deploy.

Then two services were reported of little importance.  Wondering if maybe the garages reported late.

Then 9/10/03, Structural inspection after an accident or other incident: Structural damage reported.

11/04/03, Damage report, total loss vehicle.  Title or registration issued to insurance company. (the owner didn't buy-back)

11/12/03, Sold at salvage auction

01/09/04, Rebuilt title issued.

01/20/04, passed emissions inspection

Then it lapses into service records at a Jag dealer.

That was a long way of saying... two months to repair.  And like you said, might imply.  Was it a simple repair at a busy shop, or a lengthy repair at a hungry shop?

OHSCrifle said:

I'd want to follow it down the road to see if it drives like a crab.
 

random though: Can you use a thermal imaging camera on a hot/cool day to look for bondo?

You probably could, but magnets are pretty much free.

In all of this research, what hurts me most (and pleases me most) is that a one-of-800, custom-ordered $75,000 vehicle got smashed at 7500 miles within a year of being put on the earth, and we're here looking for the best angle to outsmart a potential scammer.

Bottom line... if I were not working for a non-profit arts organization making crap money, I'd probably be more interested.  If I were rich and wanted my dream car, I wouldn't mind dropping $5500 on a money pit and donating it to charity when I realized it was a pile of E36 M3.  In reality, I make [insert pathetic salary here] and don't need another money pit.  I already have four money pits.

Were these aluminum bodied at this point, or did that come later? I can see heavy damage to an aluminum unibody being a very expensive and specialized repair 18 years ago.

I don't agree with anyone's name, address, age, and a picture of their house being posted on a forum. This shouldn't be a place for doxing. 

lnlogauge said:

I don't agree with anyone's name, address, age, and a picture of their house being posted on a forum. This shouldn't be a place for doxing. 

Agreed.  That info doesn't need to stay there for eternity.  Deleted. 

STM317 said:

Were these aluminum bodied at this point, or did that come later? I can see heavy damage to an aluminum unibody being a very expensive and specialized repair 18 years ago.

That was the next generation, a year or two later. 

I too am super curious what totaled it. I don't know that I'd be that scared of this, but I would personally want my own eyes and hands on it before making that determination. Too much to go wrong in too expensive fashion. 

John Welsh said:

How long was the time period from accident to rebuild?  Quickly might imply the "simplicity" of the damage.  A longer time period might imply the severity of the damage.  

the big issue is its Jag so parts take 2-4 weeks to get in a lot of cases when supply chain isn't broken. A 2 month repair could just be tear down, 4 weeks for parts, rebuild in a week. 

mtn said:

STM317 said:

Were these aluminum bodied at this point, or did that come later? I can see heavy damage to an aluminum unibody being a very expensive and specialized repair 18 years ago.

That was the next generation, a year or two later. 

I too am super curious what totaled it. I don't know that I'd be that scared of this, but I would personally want my own eyes and hands on it before making that determination. Too much to go wrong in too expensive fashion. 

04 started the aluminum with the x350

Report said that it was involved in a rear-end collision with another car with structural damage.

What happens when you buy a car you can’t afford, cancel he insurance to save money...crash.   Ok, take it back Mr. Bank, good luck.  Bank now owns it, broken and worthless.   Do they send it to auction?

If you finance a car you are required to carry full insurance including comp/collision.  If you cancel the insurance, they can repo the car... hopefully before you crash it.

But the bottom line is, you took out a loan on a car.  If you cancel the insurance and crash the car, you still owe the money to the bank.  They might sell it at the auction, but you are still on the hook for the rest of the loan.  Hence why they require full coverage, so if the car gets totaled, you have a payout from insurance to cover (usually most of) the loan.

If you finance a $50k car and drive it for 6 months and total it, you probably have $45k left on the loan and the car is worth $42k.  Insurance sends the bank a check for $41k (the car's value minus your $1000 deductible) and you are on the hook for $4k.  If you did the same thing but canceled your insurance, the insurance company sends the bank $0 and you're on the hook for the entire $45k which is now payable immediately since there is no asset backing up the loan.

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

If you finance a car you are required to carry full insurance including comp/collision.  If you cancel the insurance, they can repo the car... hopefully before you crash it.

But the bottom line is, you took out a loan on a car.  If you cancel the insurance and crash the car, you still owe the money to the bank.  They might sell it at the auction, but you are still on the hook for the rest of the loan.  Hence why they require full coverage, so if the car gets totaled, you have a payout from insurance to cover (usually most of) the loan.

If you finance a $50k car and drive it for 6 months and total it, you probably have $45k left on the loan and the car is worth $42k.  Insurance sends the bank a check for $41k (the car's value minus your $1000 deductible) and you are on the hook for $4k.  If you did the same thing but canceled your insurance, the insurance company sends the bank $0 and you're on the hook for the entire $45k which is now payable immediately since there is no asset backing up the loan.

Assuming no gap insurance. When we got our loan for the AngieVan, it was like $200 for gap insurance, and it wasn't optional. But that will vary from lending institution to lending institution.

Update:  The guy removed his ad from FBM.  I messaged him to ask if he sold it and he said no.  I gave him my number and said "brass tacks."  He called right away.  So I called him out using my "dealer" speak.  I said "I'm looking at the ad and it smells like you have some association with a dealer, like maybe you're an auction driver or a detailer."  He said, "Oh, no, I work for a warehouse and I'm moving to Washington in two weeks to learn how to do body repair."

I literally facepalmed after he said that.

I told him that my number is $2000, and if he gets there to give me a call.  (he won't call)

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

Update:  The guy removed his ad from FBM.  I messaged him to ask if he sold it and he said no.  I gave him my number and said "brass tacks."  He called right away.  So I called him out using my "dealer" speak.  I said "I'm looking at the ad and it smells like you have some association with a dealer, like maybe you're an auction driver or a detailer."  He said, "Oh, no, I work for a warehouse and I'm moving to Washington in two weeks to learn how to do body repair."

I literally facepalmed after he said that.

I told him that my number is $2000, and if he gets there to give me a call.  (he won't call)

If he lies about that, what else do you think he's lying about.

$2k would be a deal though

In reply to Antihero (Forum Supporter) :

I'm sure he's lying about everything.  I'm just hoping for someone to put eyes on it and a butt in the seat before anything happens.  I tend to assume that everyone selling a car is lying about a ton of things.  My experience helps me sniff out stuff and I focus on the car, not the seller.

and yes.. $2k would let me win challenge glory.  I wouldn't win any trophies, but watching a Euro Luxo boat wallow around the course would be a source of fun.

Maybe there should be a Sticker Price class.  Difference between the sticker price and what you paid?

dculberson said:

$5500 seems like all the money in the world for a rebuilt salvage 2002 Jaguar. I know the Super v8s aren't common, but are they valuable? Plus, you're single, why do you want a massive rear seat area?

As he will tell you ......some of his best performances happened in the balcony....wink

Saw this today and thought of this thread. 
 

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/9a7xnjbo/2006-jaguar-xj-super-v8