Mike the 98 vetteman

37k miles red guy says it Runs good
Body damage; Passenger fender and quarter, hood, front bumper, rear Bumper and passenger quarter. Front passenger headlight. Exhaust. All need replacing. Claims no frame damage, but fender quarter panel places need to be bent back to fit new panel. Also, rear bumper brackets have to be bent to attach bumper. I assume the front too as there is no impact bar left there. Please give me your honest opinion

$7500

I am under the impression this may be only good for a part out car.

Dcollins3208

The cost of repair will likely outweigh your potential savings. Meaning you may as well buy a non-salvaged one because once you're done repairing the salvaged one you very well may have put the amount of money into it that you would have buying a non-salvaged vehicle. If the insurance company salvaged it, it likely needs quite a bit of money back into it to get it right again. This, of course, assuming you will be paying a shop for labor rather than doing it yourself. If you're doing it yourself it may be a nice little project that might benefit you. Any pics by chance?

Chicago1

Well put it to you like this what will it cost at the end when it's all said and done? You can get a 99 vert in the high teens low 20's. If no frame damage and say only needs a few g's in parts go for it. If it's going to cost you about the same as buying one it's not worth to fix but maybe part out.

Mike the 98 vetteman

Sorry no pics. Ok I get loud and clear that there is no money in fixing it. What might be the estimated profitability of selling off the parts.. if any? Also, at what price would the car start to look enticing?

Dcollins3208

Not sure to be honest. My best advice would be to check the going price of the parts you would be selling, especially the engine, trans, and diff. Then you've got all the body pieces, interior pieces and trim, etc that you can part out. There's quite a bit to be sold, hard to tell if it would be profitable without knowing the going rates.

racebum

fek no, that's high if it still needs to be fixed

a salvage 100k mile 1999 FRC sold in my area last year completely fixed for 6500

Mike the 98 vetteman

Motor 2K, auto trans torque tube diff 1.5k, both suspensions 1k, doors and body panels 1k, vert top 0.5k.

So Im estimating 6k I think modestly for that. Is that reasonable? How much more in the rest of the car? What would be a good price to buy a car in this condition?

racebum

zero

think of all the work involved and the hope you will get those prices

if you had all the stuff to fix it that would be one thing

but, older salvage c5s sell cheap, often for part out value

baxsom

Not to mention that in your state can it be converted to a normal title after you restore it? I bought my 00 in perfect condition with 35K miles for 14, You will have more than that in repairs.

ZigZag

Bought my 99 vert for 10,500 with no issues. Keep looking there's lots out there just do your homework and you'll find one.

Rex L. Malott

I bought a 99 Convert, 6 speed, 69,000 miles, already pretty much done. Started having issues on the way home (75 miles). Problems have never stopped after 4 years of paying for repairs ($3,000). Currently, I"ve put 30,000 miles on it but the clutch is out and "Active Handling Light" comes on all the time(and nobody can fix it). So, now I've got a Rebuilt Title 99 Vette Convert with issues; Started out=$10,500+$3,000+another $2,000 for clutch= Maybe $7000 Vette. Told my wife, "If I ever say I want to look at a Rebuilt Vette or any car...Kick me in the A__!!

Dave68

There are lots of good salvage cars out there. I'm talking about the ones that have already been repaired, the owners has the "before" photos and the receipts for repair. A good auto body shop can weld a good front end to a different vehicle's back end, and do it in such a way that the alignment will be well within factory specs.

The things to remember about these vehicles:

They can be difficult to sell (moot point if you plan to keep the car until it'll sell for <$5,000.

You must pay in cash - no loans from the bank or credit union are typically possible

Most insurance companies/agents will insure for full coverage, as long as you realize that a salvage vehicle (to them) is worth 50-60% of the blue book value. Keep this in mind when you buy the vehicle.

I picked up a 2008 Mazda MX-5 with power retractible hard top and 41K miles for $10K.
That was a good $7-8K less than blue book and the car runs and handles beautifully.

Fcar 98

No not for me. There are to many good cars to buy for what this will cost. Unless you want something to keep you really busy I would walk on by

Phanni

Make an offer OF 6000

You're pretty much correct on the part out pricing.
If the seats are 'perfect' add another 750-1000.
radio $100, CD player 75

Now here's the biggy, if the EBCM is a working M code, $750, V code 1000+
intact air bags 350+ each
Consider it'll take several days to disassemble, a place to do it, and time and effort to sell the parts.
There'll also be a lot parts that will never sell.
If the wheels are not wagons, they also have value
suspension parts are usually hard to sell.

good doors about 500 good fender 300.
mirrors 75
the steering wheel position sensor for a 98 is pretty expensive too.

CactusCat

Don't forget the $2K for a working EBCM.