Ok guys I need some info help here.i recently purchased a 2001 6 speed with 89000 miles on it. Before buying I call the DMV to make sure the VIN is good nothing negative was said about the VIN I provided. The guy who bought it never put it in his name but the pink was signed over from the seller and title shows clean from 2017 , so I go and check out the Vette and it ran great and still does but then I happened to run a Vin online for some reason and find out in 2009 it was reported salvage title and 2011 shows rebuilt title, so now I'm bummed and just want to get rid of the car but I runs and handles great. Prior to buying it I checked the structure of the frame and it all seems great all the panels look original cause they all have the same clear coat peel but one thing that still has confused me is the airbag in the dash. The airbag doesn't sit flush with the dash and is mounted uneven, By the way I bought the car for $6500. What do you guys think the car is worth? Will I make more money parting it out or selling it whole? Here are a few pics

Like to add


Whoever had it before did the a horrible spray paint job on parts




Idk why someone would do this

 

 

What's the problem?
Why did you buy it in the first place?

If it runs and handles good, why would you choose to part it out?
If you bought it simply to 'flip' it, you gave roughly the correct piece.
If you are convinced it needs to go, advertise it (be honest about the title), sell it to someone that wants to drive a nice car and isn't concerned about trying to make a profit on it. I'd place a price around $8500, so you have negotiation room.

Why didn't you check car fax before you bought it? (greed with that low price?)

 

I always wanted a Corvette as a kid and thought I got one clean title one with alot of money saving mods at $6,500. The reason it bums me is because I want to put money into feel like it will be a waste due to the title status. I thought by calling the DMV that they would have all the updates from any car title wise and I was just so damn excited to being a owner of a Vette that I overlooked other Vin check options

 

Sell it. From what I’m reading, you’ll always have doubts spending the money on mods. You should easily be able to get back the $6500 you paid.

 

No problem. Keep the car and have fun with it. If you're worried about making money at the other end then a C-5 probably wasn't your best choice in the first place. It will be a couple more decades before C-5s become collectible so any money you pour into it won't give you a return on your investment even if the car had a perfect title.

Mine is a '99 and has 162,000 miles. Do I care if it has a "rebuilt" title? Hell no. Does it matter? Not at all. If it was a 8000 mile garage queen, maybe but why own a Corvette if all you're going to do is keep it in the garage and look at it. Just have fun with the car and stop over thinking your situation.

 

You got a C5 with decent miles, it runs great and the price was dirt cheap IMO. Why not just enjoy the car as is? The title may be blemished, but you really don't have all that much invested into the car. If you decide later you want to sell it, you may be able to get close to what you have in it or parting it out could bring more than you paid for the car.

 

The selling price should have tipped you that something wasn't right. You have a few choices. Demand your money back from the seller (you may have to sue him for non disclosure), Keep the car and enjoy it, knowing that when you do sell, it probably wont be worth any more than what you bought it for.

Mods are for the owner, not the car. You never mod a car with the expectation of ever getting back more than 10-20% of what the mods cost you.

 

Drive it and enjoy it! It would make a great low-buck fixer-upper. (so you don't lose your fanny when you decide to sell it on).

 

All you make great points, what's up with the passenger airbag though? Do they have a tendency not to line up if mounted wrong?

 

Provide a picture of the bag. I'm guessing you had an air bag deployment, which is why it was totaled. I'd check your front end (frame and cradle) very closely for any major damage.

 

So that's why it's illegal in most states to "float" a title. (buy it from one person, not change the title over, and then resell it to a new person). Had the guy you bought it from titled the car in his name, then the title would have come back as rebuilt. In NC, if you sell a vehicle that you know has been branded as "salvage", you have to provide a disclosure form to the buyer stating such. You'd probably have a case in small claims court, but not likely worth the effort.

That said, if the damage happened back in 2009 and was repaired, then it would seem the car has been doing fine for the last 9 years. As mentioned before, I would thoroughly inspect the sub-frame, and maybe have the alignment checked, but beyond that, it's probably ok.

And as mentioned, $6500 for a relatively low mileage C5 is dirt cheap. (the price should have tipped you off). But even with a rebuilt title, you should be able to get your money back out of it if you want to sell it.

Also of note... it has 243 heads and the LS6 valley cover, which are upgrades. A stock 01 C5 coupe would have had 241 heads and the LS1 valley cover. So you already have some mods. And if somebody changed the heads, they likely changed the cam too.

I say keep it unless you find a structural or safety issue.

 

The low price was a tip off, very suspicious.

 

Very true I inspected the cradle and frame and it's all good, car drives straight so that's why I'm confused on the airbag part

 

You bought a C5 with sub 100,000 miles for $6,500 and are upset? Even with a non-clear title that's a pretty good price. People have made more than that parting whole cars out. I got to be honest though too that sort of price should have been throwing up all sorts of flags all the way around. Not many people buy clean title C5s for under five figures (it *does* happen, but not frequently).

Next time don't "call the DMV" prior to buying; you always buy or run some sort of VIN check. Preferably not just one.

The only thing that would concern me in the interim is if the car is currently branded with salvage status then you may want to re-check your insurance policy. Many carriers have some specific stipulations re: salvage titles, and often may shift the car over to a specialized policy and in some extreme cases will not cover anything re: the car at all. If you just recently put insurance on the car you'll likely receive some sort of subsequent notification or similar from your carrier once they find out the car has been branded salvage.

In re: to the passenger air bag, I could barely see the passenger side in the photo you posted but my guess as to what is wrong with it is it was installed over the dash, which is incorrect. The correct way to install the passenger air bag is to remove the dash, position the bag and cover, and then install the dash so it recesses into the opening.

 

I will take some pics of the dash

 

The price you paid ($6,500) for a 2001 with 89,000 miles is priced to reflect a salvage title IMO.
Now that you have it, you may as well drive it and enjoy it as you can always get rid of it for close to what you paid for it. As others have said, any money you put into mods from this point on is money that you will not recoup and is for your enjoyment only. But, this is true for money spent on mods on virtually any Vette.

 

So, it sounds like the airbags deployed and were replaced. I would most definitely get them inspected.

 

$6500 is a bargain, considering what you got in return....The car runs and drives great, that is biggest plus factor out of it all.

Right off the bat, if I was looking at a car with front airbags deployed, the red flags would go up in a nano second for closer scrutiny. To me, that would be a deal breaker for purchase. Just my opinion and observation but, your headlight covers look like they are severely mis-aligned, and it's not surprising that the dash air bag isn't flush or is seated improperly. The over spray on the undercarriage is another half-assed job. Overall, what was damaged in the past and replaced/repaired. I see a continuing trend of someone's mindset trying to get by spending the cheapest amount, and having someone repair it that was either lazy or wasn't qualified to do it correctly.


In conclusion, you got what you paid for....You can always take your Vette to someone and have those eye sores remedied.


Good luck with your '01....

 

Sounds like a good buy to me. Sure there are some rough edges like that sway bar, but if it runs right, you've got an excellent value IMO. You knew buying this that it wasn't a show car to flip.

Just keep it an have fun with it guilt free. You don't have to worry that you're putting too many miles on it or baby it. Maintenance is cheap on these cars anyway.