Would you ever buy a rebuilt Legacy title?

Found the perfect color/year of Legacy that I'm looking for, and it's even a manual! Very rare in my area.

However, the title is rebuilt. My question is this: would mechanics at a Subaru dealership automatically not recommend this purchase, or would they wait until after the inspection to make that call? I know very little about rebuilt titles.

They will say no sight unseen assuming you are wanting to finance the car. If you have cash or your own financing it is worth a look to see how well of a restoration was performed on the car. Sometimes the oddest wrecks are dubbed TL but then again sometimes the car was flooded. If you have time def go look at it, open the trunk feel the matting back there and in the floor boards if its damp prob due to water damage. Which typically means a faulty or bad control module(s) and other electrical do-dads.

Open the hood if the fenders dont match it probably took moderate front end damage, same for the doors and rear. Again doesnt mean its a total paperweight owners on these forums have bought , rebuilt and sold LGTs. All in the work conducted to get the car true again and the buyer accepting that fact.

Check with your insurance as well sometimes they balk at these types of rides.

Oh interesting, great point about the insurance, I didn't think about it.

I'm actually paying with cash, and going to have a Subaru dealership look it over. I'm assuming folks selling cars on Craigslist are usually OK with that?

Oh interesting, great point about the insurance, I didn't think about it.

 

I'm actually paying with cash, and going to have a Subaru dealership look it over. I'm assuming folks selling cars on Craigslist are usually OK with that?

If they aren't there is a reason I recently sold my Legacy 2.5i to a guy via C-list, he requested we meet at a shop for inspection. Met up, his mechanic took it for a drive then onto the lift we both walked the car pointed out any issues (which there were none ) then we exchanged money and paperwork.

I would do the same ask the seller to meet you at a shop you choose to put the car on the for inspection, on these boxers you can spot a lot of problems with the engine from underneath (cams seals, leaks, cracks, blown gaskets) better than top down.

Also there may fixed that look off but aren't and the owner can explain better. For example i had a drain valve in the pan and had recently replaced the tube seals. The drain was foreign so I explained that and there was dry oil from the tube seal job. So it may get the person that fixed it a better platform to sell the car.

As a dealer I would just kindly add that many ads on Craigslist seem to portray Rebuilt titles as being as easy to get as a door ding. Remember that a rebuilt title was created from damage beyond the retail value of the car at the time of the accident. If the rebuilt title occurred just a few years into the cars life, it was a lot of damage/money.

Personally, I'd never own a rebuilt titled car because I wouldn't want the extra burden to hang over me when I went to sell it.

As a dealer I would just kindly add that many ads on Craigslist seem to portray Rebuilt titles as being as easy to get as a door ding. Remember that a rebuilt title was created from damage beyond the retail value of the car at the time of the accident. If the rebuilt title occurred just a few years into the cars life, it was a lot of damage/money.

 

Personally, I'd never own a rebuilt titled car because I wouldn't want the extra burden to hang over me when I went to sell it.

True but then again my 2008 Legacy was hit in 2011 and they wanted to total it out of shear simplicity. why fix a $7K car with $3800 worth of damage, which $1050 of that was the SPT exhaust

So he should try to get to the nature of the rebuilt title first I agree, sometimes the have visuals to back up the claim.