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Basic Resto: Getting the Deal

Purchasing the practical project car

The idea of restoring a vehicle conjures up visions of artisans meticulously massaging a pricey classic. But for those of us who will never get any closer to a true classic than an auto enthusiast magazine, restoration more likely means locating a practical car or truck that needs work and turning it into a reliable source of basic transportation.

Watch Your Step

Like cruising the house ads for an older home euphemistically calling for "a little TLC," buying an older vehicle can result in getting more car for your money. Extending the house analogy, it can also turn into a money pit. The difference boils down to a little research, getting expert advice and maybe an innovative venue to find a vehicle that merits some restoration. After covering these basic points, we'll go over a few specific models in a following article.

Let's first look at the financial side of considering a used vehicle. According to industry statistics, typical resale prices are less than half of the original retail price within three to five years, so you can see the advantage of buying something previously owned.

The Right Price

Chances are, though, you simply won't find a real steal in a conventional car lot. Dealers have done the work themselves to bring the vehicle up to top dollar and, while they may offer a limited warranty on the vehicle, you know the asking price is top Blue Book. Private party sales can be good sources, especially if the owner hasn't beaten the vehicle to death and just wants to make it go away. A quick trip to a trusted mechanic and knowledge of the actual value of the vehicle are the best tools to bring to this type of sale.

Now, for less conventional sources of good used cars: Utility companies, public agencies or other fleet operators can be the tickets, especially for a basic, no-frills pickup. These operations have to maintain a good service schedule to avoid big repairs and to keep the trucks on the road. In some cases, fleet operations have figured out an age at which it is more cost effective to sell older vehicles and replace them with new. In other words, the vehicle is being sold for economic reasons rather than mechanical.

The same can apply to rental lots. One urban legend maintains that renters trash rentals. Maybe if the vehicle is a Porsche, the renter might be tempted to test the red line, but like fleet trucks, rental cars are generally well maintained. The one drawback with rentals is that they are sold off long before they are considered "older" vehicles.

Salvage Beast

Another tricky option is a salvage title car. Before you recoil in horror, consider that a vehicle may have a salvage title because of only slight damage. Case in point: a vehicle that has fallen off the Kelley Blue Book with damage to, let's say, a fiberglass bumper, which is a disproportionately expensive fix for even minor damage. If the insurance company decides the fix exceeds the value of the vehicle, it ends up with a salvage title. With this type of purchase, you need to know what you're doing, or take the vehicle to a good body man and mechanic for a thorough inspection. Some damage will not impact the drivability of the car—like our fiberglass bumper example—but a bent frame or serious flood damage can turn into that proverbial money pit.

The major downside to buying one of these vehicles is the salvage title goes with it: Resale may take a lot of explaining. But if your goal is to find a cheap source of basic transportation you intend to drive 'til it dies, it's worth looking into.

Case History

One new avenue worth exploring is the vehicle history reports, especially with salvage-title vehicles. CarFax has been in the business of providing extensive reports since the mid-1980s, using only the vehicle identification number (VIN) of the car in question. "Consumer Guide" is another source of past history with the added advantage of general information on the vehicle's reliability and cost of replacement parts.

These types of history reports can alert a prospective owner to the possibility of an odometer rollback. Mileage is included with title changes and smog checks. Obviously, if the mileage shown on the vehicle is less than its last smog check, something's fishy. For our real-world scenario—a specific search of basic transportation with the intent of doing work on the vehicle—high mileage may not be a consideration, but it should impact the price.

Other elements of the history are accident reports, previous title changes, lemon branding and junk titles. One title you may want to avoid is the junk title: A vehicle reported by its owner or a dismantler as one that been junked, thus the name. If you're wondering how a dismantled car ends up being sold as a whole one, consider the wonders of welding big chunks of several cars together into one. Pretty scary.

With these modern tracking systems available for a nominal price, a search for reliable, solid transportation that needs a little TLC becomes much less risky.