Should i buy a salavged title car?

All I can suggest is read all you can on salvaged titles & why a car was given one. Good luck-you may need it.

That price seems to me to be pretty high for a 3 year old car that sells for about 12K new. I say keep shopping.......

No way! It will have problems all the time!

At the least, the bumper hit prob triggered the air bags, and that's often a $x,xxx job. If the bags werent replaced and someone tampered w/ the dash warning to shut it off, and then it reappears and you cant get through inspection [if your state inspects for that] you could be in for $$$. Check if insurance co's in your state will insure it and if so, at what price & coverage. Get the VIN and ask em. Check if your state requires them to inspect Salvages, etc, for integrity, maybe safety equip, etc. Failure = no reg. Salvage has some good deals, but it's very risky for beginners, imo. But it's worth getting your feet wet by checking everything out, imo.

This car will have practically no resale value. So if you drive it for 2 years and want to trade it in, and won't be worth anywhere near what you owe. Salvage title means the cost of repair was more than vehicles worth. So it was totaled by insurance company (most likely). If you are comfortable with that, take it to a mechanic for an inspection (100-150 bucks). If it is sound mechanically, plan on driving it til the wheels fall off, and are alright with it being worth nothing as soon as you drive it off lot, go for it. I personally would not buy that car.

If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. States don't put salvage titles on cars for a little bumper damage. An insurance company probably totaled this car at some point.

There is often damage from wrecks that isn't apparent. It's quite possible the frame is compromised. Even if a frame has been straightened, it's not the same in strength that it was, so if you get in another wreck, it might be a much worse impact than it would have been if it was never in a wreck. Apparently the insurance company thought there was enough damage to total the car. Since there must have been estimates to determine how much the insurance company would give the owner or repair service, ask to see these. If the owner doesn't have copies, ask where he had estimates done and inquire with these establishments. Pictures alone will not tell you the total extent of the damage.

The car is worth $8k tops (40% less than comparable a clean tiled Mazda), assuming it passes a pre-purchase inspection by someone YOU choose. You should also assume it may not have working airbags (you can get a scan for that to see if it does). I have nothing against salvage/rebuilt cars (I own one!) but you have to be very careful when buying one. Personally, I would never spend more than $3k on one since they have such diminished value and you may not be able to get collision insurance. For $8k you can get a nice clean titled car. I would pass on this.

don't do it. i thought about buying a car with a salvaged title for my first car it was a 2003 ford taurus but they only put a salvaged title on a car if it had major structural damage to the frame or engine. a buddy of mine totaled his 03 explorer and his car had major structural damage to the point where he couldn't move the car forward. not only will the car probably be in terrible condition but the resale value on the car could be non existent if you can't find someone willing to go for a car with a salvaged title.