[rrich49132]

I have a question for everyone. How many of you would not buy a car if there was an accident reported on carfax? There is no frame damage and I attached a picture of the portion of the carfax that shows this. Normally I would pass but the car is priced right and has just 37K miles and was purchased at carmax 1.5 years ago. I know if interested I would get this checked out but not sure I want to look into this due to the accident on the record? Cars with 37K don't come along too often.

 

[mkaehly]

My theoretical answer is "NO" but in practice???. . .ask the owner if it's ever been hit/hit someone else. . .see what they say/what the "story" is. If they are honest about it then I might consider it depending on what happened and what the price is. . .But the PPI should flush out the real story if you move forward from there.

 

[kosmo]

not w/o have a trained eye look at it first.

 

[rrich49132]

I should of continued this in my other thread I opened a while back as to my search for an M5 but really just wanted an option as to the accident. Talked to the owner and decided to pass. It had a new clutch put in 4K miles ago and he just replaced all tires with some very cheap ones and on top of that car has a number of rock chips and curb rash. Not that concerned with a few imperfections but given he told me car was driven hard and the way it should be driven scared me off.

What a shame for a car with just low miles. Was a bit too fixated on the mileage.

 

[timmay77]

Seriously? Have you ever purchased a car before? This is a common sense question..... Good Lord.....

If it is light damage, say $750, that was repaired properly, yes. If it took a massive rear end hit that was $5k to repair? No. Use your head dude.

My car has 1 accident on it's car fax. The PO had full detail with pictures of the accident and gave all of the information to me up front before we even discussed the price. He had the dates, pictures, shop phone number, address, contact name, and receipts for everything. I felt confident enough that the damage was light, even proven buy the documents, that it would not be an issue......

 

[rrich49132]

I knew I was going to get a smart ***** response from timmay77. There is nothing on the carfax that says $750 or $5000 repair.

 

[JChurch]

I knew I was going to get a smart ***** response from timmay77. There is nothing on the carfax that says $750 or $5000 repair.

That is why you ask and have it looked at by a trained professional. I am not trying to be mean, but it is sort of just common sense when you are buying a car. Ask as many questions as you can, find out as much about the car/seller as you can, and don't be afraid to even google the seller if need be.

This is a great board. However, we can't make your purchase decision for you. You will find the car that you know is yours.

 

[Clemster]

Ray,

Carfax reports are to be taken with a grain of salt. They miss things and make mistakes. The are a decent tool for determining where a car has spent it's life.

$750 can mean anything from a bumper cover or headlight assembly to a near totalled event. An inspection by a trained eye is the only way to know which. Some buyer turn and run from any repaired vehicle, others don't. Figure out which one you are.

To me, a car driven properly hard is often a better bet than a babied garage queen. My car is the former and you rode in it.

You told me yourself that you are both practical and frugal. If you have strong concerns about maintenance costs, repairs and resale values, you may be courting trouble with this venture. You need to invest some passion in this one.

 

[///Marylander]

Just curious , what is the asking price on this car ?

 

[rrich49132]

$27,500

2003 BMW M5, $27,500 - Cars.com

 

[crds]

I have a question for everyone. How many of you would not buy a car if there was an accident reported on carfax? There is no frame damage and I attached a picture of the portion of the carfax that shows this. Normally I would pass but the car is priced right and has just 37K miles and was purchased at carmax 1.5 years ago. I know if interested I would get this checked out but not sure I want to look into this due to the accident on the record? Cars with 37K don't come along too often.

What concerns me at least as much as the accident, is the nearly 4 year "gap" in the Carfax record surrounding the accident. Where was this car?!? Seems like it may have a questionable history. I think you should get the one on eBay that is listed for hmmm was it $89,000? That one looks sweet! Yeah, I know, way too pricey.

 

[ard]

The 'report on carfax" is the least concern to me. What "matters" is the amount of damage sustained.

With commodity cars, traded in...sold at auction....sold to carmax...no history...no pictures...this is what you get.

There is a reason that low mileage, no story, documented history cars demand their position in the market.

On this car, did you look at it? There is no such thing as a used car without rock chips. And a good body shop could inspect the paint and get an idea of the extent of the repairs. COuld have been simply a new bumper skin and paint from a parking lot mishap.

But alas, the lack of documented history is a problem.

A

 

[rrich49132]

Car is in Dallas.

Accident was a while back. I just got the wrong vibe from the guy when I talked to him on the phone. When he told me the reason why he had a new clutch at $32K is that he drives the car the way it is suppose to be driven. I get the feeling he has run the piss out of it. Also when he said when tires where shot he went with the cheapest ones he could find as it was a waste of money to buy good tires.

This might be wrong to say but tire choice in my opinion says allot about the owner of the car. The ones that spend good money are usually the same ones with good service history.

With regards to Adams comment he does have some hard miles on his car but his car is probably one of the best maintained cars in here. Have no issues with a car driven hard if it has been maintained very well. I just got the feeling this car drove hard and was cheap with the car.

Not that concerned with the rock chips and minor rash on the rims if that was it. Have not seen the car as it is not local to me. Have a number of pictures. By the way car has a transferable carmax warranty for another 2.5 years but from my understanding those warranties stink. I have a friend with a land rover with a warranty from them and they have either refused a number of claims or only paid a portion of it.

 

[Clemster]

This car has been pursued here before without a final outcome posted. Just punching the VIN into Google or our Search feature reveals this. Try it!

 

[///Marylander]

$27,500

2003 BMW M5, $27,500 - Cars.com

This price is good for the car with Zero accident report , IMO carfax report brought the value of this car 10000 $ down , I would only consider it after an expert inspection , crazy bargain price and with the idea of keeping this car for a long time , because reselling the car would be a challenge after you put some miles on it. Based on the point of collision and magnitude ,cars can have issues in traveling straight lines and uneven tire wear etc. Takes the FUN out of driving specially an ///M5 -

 

[desmotesta]

Yet again another thread from the same person about another new car he found.

To answer your no brainer question, NO. I have had fender benders in cars that never made it to CARFAX (in VA and NC). I am not clear on the criteria of "accicdent" on CARFAX but if I was spending $27,500 on a car it would have to be accident free.

Please don't take this the wrong way, but how old are you?

Most of the questions from you, and the threads along with them, are so elementary that I wonder if you have ever bought a car on your own.
Do yourself a favor and find a good reliable friend/family member and take him with you to purchase the car (when you eventually find it). Asking several questions on multiple threads will not give you the common sense and gutt feeling you need when buying a used car.
No offense.

 

[Eight8toy]

Lol just buy one already!
In all honesty though if you are in Virginia and you're looking at cars located in Dallas and having second thoughts, I think it's best that you wait for something local to come up. And when it does, go with cash in hand and offer full price, worked for me and I have no regrets doing so

 

[Bmw2bad0904]

rrich,

It seems like you want someone to have made every preventative maintenance repair, put top of the line tires on it, and price it at $22K with only 45000 miles on it. It seems like you dont want to spend any money on the car after you buy it. These cars are 8 years old at best your going to have to settle for something you are acting like your shopping for a 2 yr old car

 

[rrich49132]

I know I will spend money on it after I buy it. I just expect a car near $30K to have minimal immediate needs. Is that an unrealistic expectation?

 

[desmotesta]

I know I will spend money on it after I buy it. I just expect a car near $30K to have minimal immediate needs. Is that an unrealistic expectation?

Your expectations are right on, I would expect the same. The fact that we see a new thread with a question, of which you seem to have an answer for already, is a bit annoying.

By now, after so many of your threads, the following should be clear to you ( and the next time you post a new thread, it should be about pictures of new car):

- You will probably spend between $23K-$29K for a Low mileage, fully serviced with records 2002-2003
- you will need to have a PPI (goes without saying), NOT so you can negotiate more but so you can decided if you can live with the list of repairs needed after purchase
- The car has to have NO paint work if possible, or minimal paint work and CLEAN CARFAX/Auto report
- You will most probably have to travel, GOOGLE for how to buy a car out of state
- Call your local DMV and check their rules for registering out of state pre-owned cars
- Call you Insurance company and get a clear quote of what your insurance will be

Think of any other thing I have missed, and GO BUY A CAR once you find it.

Good luck