Isn't it safe to buy 
a newer used car?

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Two local used car dealers were recently arrested for selling rebuilt wrecks with "cleaned" registrations. Not only were they selling these cars off their own lots, but they were also selling to reputable dealers. Read the full story here. What do you think will become of thousands of hurricane-damaged vehicles from the Gulf coast? Gulf residents are very aware, so most of these vehicles will be sold in areas of the country far away from the Gulf coast. The Pacific Northwest is one of their favorite dumping grounds.

A special report in the January, 2002 issue of a popular magazine that rates consumer products reveals that insurance companies,  in an effort to recover some of the costs of declaring wrecked vehicles as "totaled," will often sell these totaled vehicles at salvage auctions. This practice has become more and more prevalent in today's tough economy, giving rise to a thriving market for rebuilt wrecks. 

You might think that buying a late-model used car makes you safer, but in fact just the opposite is true. Think about it - to make the maximum return on their "investment," wreck-rebuilders will choose the most potentially valuable wrecks - the youngest ones.  In fact, 25% of "totaled" cars that are one year old or less - 1 out of every 4 - are rebuilt and resold in the used-car market. The percentage decreases a little for each additional year of age, to a still-sobering 15% of  5-year old wrecks. Consider that 20% of cars 5 years old or less that have been declared "unfixable" by insurance companies are actually back on the road, lurking in used-car lots. Doesn't it make you want to protect yourself?

The quick fix

While there are many reputable mechanics that do excellent work, in the past ten years there has been an upsurge of "automotive opportunists" who are more interested in turning a profit than earning a reputation. It is surprisingly easy for profiteers to fix cars only as much as necessary to make them look saleable, paying more attention to appearance and less attention to quality and safety.  Even if a rebuilder is well intentioned, the technical expertise required to completely restore a vehicle, especially one with frame damage, is considerable. Plus, the ease with which a rebuilder can "wash" a car's title is shocking. Simply purchasing a vehicle history report yields insufficient evidence against a resourceful profiteer.

The result is a veritable flood of "lemons" in the late-model used-car market (to go along with the normal not-so-late-model "problem children" that end up in used car lots). Before you sign your life away, wouldn't you like to know the facts about the car you're about to own?

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