BK627

Hi,
I am looking into buying a 2003 clk 320 convertible with about 90k miles.
The only thing wrong is that the car has a salvaged title from 2006. the current owner is not the one who was in the accident and has had the car for about 5 years. He is asking $5k for it. I am just turned off about the title not being clean.
My plan was to purchase the car enjoy it for about 2 years and try to sell it. Do you guys think i should buy it?

NardoNZ

it is pretty cheap, and the previous owner had it for a substantial time... I wouldnt be too worried though, as long as you know what happened and by who and how it was fixed. post up a link

BK627

The price to me sounds really good especially cause other cars I been looking at are close to the 10k dollar range.
Has anyone had any experience with salvage title vehicles.

Rudeney

So many thing - dents, dings, accidents, title issues - are used to de-value a car. A salvage title only means the car was totaled. Remember that being totaled just means that the car had enough damage that to repair it would cost 80% or more of it's value. I could very easily walk out into my garage and cause enough cosmetic damage to any of my cars to total them, yet the repair would be nothing but some new sheet metal and paint. Then again, I could also go out there and cause damage that would only cost a few thousand dollars in parts to repair, but would probably cost ten times that in headaches to diagnose. The bottom line is know what you are buying. My guess is that if the car was good for the last six years, it's probably OK, but again, you need to know what you are buying.

BK627

I'm thinking the car is good. But the fact that it has the salvage title is making me hesitant on pulling the trigger. I'm worried I would have a really hard time selling it after a few years

Mka77

That would be my main concern. The word SALVAGE just seems too harsh.

Why not re-builder's title or something along those lines.

Have you ran a carfax or anything on the car?

BK627

yes i ran the car fax, everything looks good except ofcourse for the collision that caused the car to have the salvage title. just doing some research online and for the most part everyone says stay away from cars like that.

But I'm not buying it with damage the car has been fixed 6 years ago. and has been on the road for the last 5 years by the current owner.

Nealgobert

If its a 2003 convertible, does that mean its a W208? Regardless, for the price and the fact that it's been used for 5 years I wouldn't be worried about purchasing it. Good luck

fivepointnine

only kind of branded title that would worry me would be a flood title, that is the one you want to stay away from. If the car looks and drives good, why not get it? 5K is incredibly cheap.

togaclk55

Hopefully you won't have to spend $5k in repairs

Rudeney

Yep. MY2003 CLK Cabriolet is the W208 body. The MY2003 coupe was the new W209, but the cabriolet carried over until MY2004.

babyman1737

IMO, buying a salvage title Mercedes is asking for big trouble. You may purchase it for $5k now, and end up dumping a TON of money into it for problems that were not properly fixed. I've purchased one previously salvage car before, and it was definitely my last. Nothing but headaches.

Yidney

If it was a new slavage title I'd worry, but if it's driven several years since and the seller seems honest I'd do it. For 5K you can't really do too badly. If it was a 50k car then no way. Give it a thorough test drive.

My car is nearly showroom, but recently I drove over a parking barrier that had one of the rebars that hold them in place sticking up a few inches. Cut my front bumper cover. Had a brand new OEM one put on and painted at the dealership bodyshop. In my opinion, this "accident" improved the car because now my bumper paint is smooth and shiney instead of 38,000 miles worth of sanblasting. But since I went through official channels CARFAX will probably show an accident when I go to sell it and some buyers will shy away. So it really depends on why it had a salvage title.

Rudeney

Yidney, you are right. All too often, a simple repair can cost thousands in lost value because Carfax shows "an accident". The reality is, I'd rather have a newly painted bumper than one that's all scratched up and chipped. It's not structural, it's a piece of plastic. Besides that, people see a clean Carfax and assume the car has had not paintwork, but the reality is, it only shows in Carfax when there is an official accident report. If you didn't call the police for your bumper, it shouldn't show up on Carfax.

I<3my4MATICc240

Hey BK,

Listen... You can't trust anyone you don't "know". Don't trust a word that the seller says, just go by the carfax and the salvage title. Call up the Mercedes Benz or repair shop that is stated on the carfax to be where there repairs were done... Tell them the VIN#... They WILL be able to tell you exactly what they had to repair on the car. I know for a fact Mercedes-Benz certified repair places always know the VIN# and repair done of every car that was in their shop!!!! I Strongly suggest finding out where these repairs were completed. One more tip... have the car lifted up and checked out for $50-$100 by a mechanic that you know well. Do not use the seller's mechanic for obvious reasons.

I hope this helps with your buying process!!

- I<3my4MATICc240 - C240 4MATIC + ML320

I<3my4MATICc240

P.S. . . . my good friend bought a car that was in two accidents... it was a risk... Here was how the car ended out to be... It was in good overall condition ... nothing visually appeared to be repaired... The one accident was known to be a door ding ONLY...However, there was a loud noise when accelerating (the second accident was probably more serious). One visual thing that may or may not be related to the accidents is...there were many small clear coat chips in the windshield and front hood... (Unfortunately for some reason he didn't see these when he bought it....dot dot....) Anyways... the car drives FINE... but there is one "problem" (probably from the door ding)... water leaks into the right passenger side when it rains....

You may or may not be able to see the problems relating to this car BK.. be careful!!!!


Sincerely,

I<3my4MATICc240 .... C240 4MATIC & ML320 Sport Utility - Brilliant Silver Metallic

I<3my4MATICc240

P.P.S... he saved $4000 off the KBB value...
Sincerely,

I<3my4MATICc240 .... C240 4MATIC & ML320 Sport Utility - Brilliant Silver Metallic