[Patris]

Hi fellow members,

Looking for advice from you knowledeable folks before I make my first TSX purchase. The year range I am interested in is the 2012 in specific and I wanted to know if there are items or certain things I need to look into the vehicle when doing my inspections. You guys surely have a lot of tips in terms of maintenance or high priority items to verify when purchasing so I wanted to create this thread to see if I can get any assistance in that regard.

I have a 2012 Acura TSX with technology package in my sights and its a real beauty. This car REALLY fits my budget but i'm a bit weary as it has a salvage title. My uncle has said that salvage title doesn't really matter much but other friends commented that they would step back from the deal. Let me share some insights maybe I can get your opinions on if this is a good deal or not? Anything I should verify in person or with a mechanic when checking out this vehicle?

Link to the ad: 2012 acura tsx w/ technology package - cars & trucks - by owner -...

2012 Acura TSX w/ Technology package
73,426 miles
automatic
grey in color

Its mentioned that the front end is all new so wondering if there is a way to see the previous damages or issues that occurred with the car. I'm in love with this model and am in rush to purchase by end of this month as I am currently using ride shares and it sucks! Please advise if you guys would pull the trigger or negotiate the seller a bit more in this instance as for this price range its the one I found that is the cleanest.

 

[merlinj79]

My 2004 has a salvage title, which was due to a minor scrape along one side that touched both doors and a fender. The cost to repair was higher than the book value (pre-covid) so they "totaled" the car. It was in my family since new and I had kept up with all maint. and did paint/body as needed, I knew the history, knew it was solid, so I just bought it back from insurance and got a salvage title.

So it could be something minor like that, decent chance since it's an older car why would anyone sink a bunch of money into major repairs to resell with a salvage title?

But you really should find out what damage occurred, and I'd get it checked by a frame specialist to verify the frame was never bent. Fire or flood damage would also be a big no-go.

I think there are places you can search for that info, especially with a salvage title. CarFax?

 

[SaharaDessert93]

Not really sure what the guy above meant by putting in loads of money to resell as salvage… the way it works for a vehicle to get a salvage title is if the price to fix the damages on the car exceeds the actual value of the car pre-damaged. So for this TSX to become salvage, the cost to repair the damages would’ve had to exceed at least $10,000 as this car is worth at least that (with a clean title). In my opinion, $10,000 or more in damage is fairly if not pretty significant damage. So you better hope whoever did the repairs wasn’t just trying to make a quick buck by cutting corners on the repair.

 

[merlinj79]

Not really sure what the guy above meant by putting in loads of money to resell as salvage… the way it works for a vehicle to get a salvage title is if the price to fix the damages on the car exceeds the actual value of the car pre-damaged. So for this TSX to become salvage, the cost to repair the damages would’ve had to exceed at least $10,000 as this car is worth at least that (with a clean title). In my opinion, $10,000 or more in damage is fairly if not pretty significant damage. So you better hope whoever did the repairs wasn’t just trying to make a quick buck by cutting corners on the repair.

Before covid the blue book value would have been lower, probably less than $10K with an AT. IMO it would matter when the salvage title was issued.

 

[_Sam]

I guess it depends on where you are. Salvage cars can’t be put on the road where I am so there’s that.

As long as you’re getting a deep discount and it checks out, it could be okay.

 

[CalgaryTSX]

So this is a 2012 2nd Gen TSX with 73000 miles, salvage title and an auto trans for US$10,500.


In my opinion:

• it's overpriced for a salvage title
• it's overpriced for the undesirable auto trans.
• it's overpriced for the undesirable 2nd Gen TSX.

I think you can do much better even if you desire a 2nd Gen TSX.

 

[SaharaDessert93]

Dang that seems high! I bought my ‘11 tsx CLEAN TITLE WITH 82,000 miles last year for $12,000! ….A salvage title takes the value way down, so that sounds like an easy pass

 

[_Sam]

My clean title '09 with a manual and ~120k miles was 4 grand lol

 

[Patris]

Hey guys, thanks for your all suggestion, sorry I didn't reply, It was a bad deal and I just didn't proceed with it. I decide to purchase Vehicle History Report from Detailed Vehicle Report website, I'm very satisfied with this site, as it's not expensive ($15) only, and there are auction pictures of this car, The damage doesn't seems to be that bad, but there are clean title TSX out there with similar price I'd rather get the clean one. Thanks again guys, if you guys has experience owning a salvage Title Vehicle Please share your story.

Report link: Vehicle History Report for VIN: JH4CU2F69CC023982