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Can't figure out why a car was totaled


Guest HolyLlama

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Guest HolyLlama

Went to a friend's junkyard today to to look for parts. I got out there and I saw a 240sx in almost perfect condition. The clear coat was peeling, the driver's seat had a small tear and the front bumper was missing, otherwise it was perfect. The interior was still shiny, nothing was missing under the hood, if it had been hit in the front, it wasn't hard, nothing was out of line. I know it has a salvage title because the guy fixes all the vehicles with a clean title. The only things I can think of are: stolen, confiscated, blown motor, or an electrical problem. I know I could never sell it for a decent price, but I've been wanting a 240sx for a while and this appears to be a cheap way for me to get one. Can anyone think of a reason why the car was totaled?

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Could also very well be a 'donated' vehicle. Many people donate them to a charity 'clearing' house, they go to auction, if they don't sell, they go to the yards......or the JYs buy them at auction for rock bottom prices.....

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Guest HolyLlama

Looked at the car again today, he cut the grass. Both fenders have light damage. It looks like the bumper may have been pushed back and caused the fenders to crumple. They need to be replaced, but nothing behind them looks damaged. KBB says retail value on this car is 2500 and in Alabama 75% of retail value is what it takes to total it, so

1850 would total it. I backed into a guys Nissan Frontier and it cost 1300 bucks to replace and paint the fender so I think I can understand why it was totaled now.

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Guest Aaron

Yeah, a lot of cars get totaled by the insurance companies if one fender has to be replaced (especially rear quarters). My wife's Pathfinder was almosed totaled when she slid off the road and backed into a tree. only damaged the driver's quarter and bumper. If the bodyman had not been able to find a used quarter, it would have totaled it.

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Sounds like it's the body damage that did it.

 

But an interresting bit of trivia: Some insurance companies, CSAA (the California AAA) among them offer mechanical coverage as well. I had a friend that was an adjuster and he totaled out a beautiful 914 because the tranny scrambled. He had no choice. The price to replace it was more than the book value of the car. The owner was not happy.

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