I recently bought a car with a reconstructed title. I was kind of screwed over by the notary and seller(but I blame myselft). I asked if the car had ever been wrecked, he said no. I drove the car, it seemed to run fine but the steering wheel was off a bit...I assumed it needed front end work. When it came time to sign the papers he insisted that we use his friend who was a notary and wouldn't charge us anything. I agreed and off we went. The notary had 3 papers stuck together with a paper clip. On top was a paper with instructions on "how to register your car at the dmv". He said a few words on that, then folded the paper and had me sign the title. Next he folded the title over and slid the 3rd paper my way and said "now sign here". I did. What I didn't know is I was signing a paper saying it had a reconstructed title. The top was covered by the folded over pages I had seen previously.

Now, I admit, I'm stupid. I should have read everything. I was in a hurry and just wanted the car. Huge learning experience.

After buying the car I took it to a local shop for a general inspection. The mechanic called me (know him through work, smart guy) saying "man, i think you need to sell this car". He said the trans mount was broke (I knew that) and the trans its self was over a bit to the passenger side(after I got the car back I tried to install a new mount and couldn't due to the trans being out of alignment), he could also see that the lower radiator support was bent, making him believe that the car had been hit on the front side, knocking the k member out of whack and throwing off the trans alignment. That's when I went back and looked at the paper work on the car, discovering the "reconstructed title".

My question is, "reconstructed" sounds like it's been fixed. Or is it the same as totaled? What I really want to know is if this car has had the frame straightened. I will not dump this on someone else. I didn't get this car cheap, and I feel like I got the ultimate screw job.

And again...yes...I'm stupid.

Also want to add that the car had a fresh paint job(makes a little sens eh?) and you really can't see anything damaged from underneath except for the lower radiator support.

 

This sounds like a salvage title here in Ohio, where a car has been "totaled" by the insurance company, the owner paid, and the insurance company
aquires title, usually sold to a junk yard. I've bought a couple of rebuilt salvege cars knowing upfront what they were. Sounds like you ran into a
couple of shady characters. Good luck. Does Louisiana have any kind of
legal recourse you can use?

 

...

 

they both worked in conjunction to decieve you. i would hire a lawyer.

 

motobooks has posted good info, I'd contact the appropriate channels on this. The deal went down too shady.....

The first thing I ask for before even looking at a vehicle is the title, Then check the vin numbers......

The question is, What's it going to cost to repair this wreck if at all possible ?

 

Was this a private sale, at a garage/body shop .... junk yard ??

Before getting lawyers, how much is at stake ? Weigh it out, lawyers will cost a ton of $$

If it was a private sale, then just move on. If asscoiated with a business, then they they have more at risk .... reputation, future biz, insurance etc .... then it might be worth a chase.

 

You didn't post pics of the underside of the car, but the trans being off to the pass side of the tunnel a little bit is completely normal. The engine sits a bit towards the pass side too...steering box clearance and torque arm too.

 

This was a private sell. I do not plan on hiring any lawyers.

The title actually says "Reconstructed Vehicle". I'm hoping this means the car had to have proof the frame was no longer bent. If I can take this car to the front end shop and the alignment goes well, does this been everything's ok?

Also, the car is actually a 96 mustang gt. It's a lower mileage car and in pretty good condition. I'd like to save it if possible, but funds are limited.

confuzed1-The problem is trans won't like up with the crossmember. The mechanic said even if I got it aligned long enough to get the bolts in, I'm going to go through trans mounts like crazy because of the stress.

 

To get a salvage title in Ohio, it has to be inspected by the State Patrol
to get a safety inspection and you have to have all the paperwork for
the parts you bought- proving you don't have a stolen car or stolen
parts. They don't necessarily check the repairs have been done right.
It sounds like something is not right underneath, maybe have it checked
by a body shop with a frame rack. I once bought a '95 Mustang rebuilt
wrecked/salvaged car. Had 50K miles when I bought it, the 3.8 engine
finally lost it's head gaskets at about 150K miles. Other than that, it was
a good car.

 

I thought we were talking about a Thirdgen here...I'm not up on Mustangs, but it doesn't sound good. Sounds like a trip to a frame shop....

 

Well I've almost got it put back together. I'm working the crossmember holes with a file to get it all bolted up and get the car movable. I live in an apartment so i have to get it going.

I should have around 1k to spend when I get my tax return, may sell the wheels on the car to help with funds, I do have the stockers. Hopefully it will be enough to straighten and/or rest my worries.

 

And this seems to about what happened. Someone did a great job getting the body panels lined up. Everything looks perfect, which also makes me think the damage isn't very bad.

 

Well I finally got the trans mount in. I gotta say I had a smile on my face throughout the test drive. Feels like a whole new car. lol

 

La. state police will look over the car and check the vin. they will not conduct any frame inspection

 

This is correct. So here in OH if you don't know who fixed the car and how, you could have a real junker on your hands. Before I go out to look at a car I ask if the title is clean and clear-no slavage. Good luck with the Stang and hope is works out.

 

I've got the car running great. I also stopped by a local shop and he said he could put it on the machine and should be able to get it straight for around 300 bucks. Not too bad.

I will try a front end alignment first...but I'm pretty sure she's bent. lol

 

my car is a salvage title car. but it was done right. totaled after only 1 years old. when I took it to an alignment shop it is only 1/8 off from left to right front and rear corners. at 1 year it was totaled by the insurance company.

 

Take it to the frame shop first...then to an alignment shop.

 

I was thinking the exact same thing. And there's a chance a few of those nicely aligned panels won't be so aligned once the frame shop tweaks on it a little..not a huge deal...but possible.

 

You unbolt the k-member on that car and you can almost rotate it 20 degrees.


I used to buy a lot of cars when I owned the shop/parts business. "Salvage" is just that. "Reconstructed" means we towed it to the state police with paperwork proving we didn't steal the parts that fixed it. They didn't care if it even moved under it's own power.

The frame shop should be able to unbolt it, tweak it, and get it back to normal. I had a 4th gen that was run over (really) by an 18 wheeler. Bought it for $200. They didn't have full coverage so it had a clean title.

Had to replace from the firewall forward. That was fun. Went straight down the road afterwards.

-- Joe