[Alan smit]

Hi guys, Thanks for having me here, It is a privilege to be here, straight to the topic recently I found this fairly used 2016 Scion iM with 43500 Miles selling for $11,900 but it has a salvage title, So I had to take a precaution before purchasing this vehicle, and I would like to hear from expert in the group to suggest me what to look out for, here are things I will do in the inspection day.

I will like to inspect the vehicle, and I want to look out for the following:

• Smelling upholstery to check if was involved in a flood
• Noise in the engine
• Check the transmission
• Coolant and oil leaks

Please feel free to let me know if there is anything else that I am missing, and give me more practical ways of ensuring I get the best car, I need this car but I do not want to rush the decision.

 

[gcomer]

You might google the VIN, sometimes can find out a lot that way, if it has gone through an insurance auction or something of the sort. And of course there is always CarFax.

Can check the engine bay, wheel wells, undercarriage for signs of over-spray - see if it has been repainted. An old school trick is to use a magnet on the body panels to check for bondo... if it has much thickness the magnet won't be attracted as strongly - only works on metal body panels of course.

If you think it might have been flooded, can check places like the spare tire area, or lean the back seats forward so you can see down to underneath where they pivot, see if there might be signs there that didn't get cleaned up. Suspension and other nooks/crannies underneath would be places flood debris might get caught and missed when cleaning.

That is low mileage for a '16, hopefully it is a gem and not hiding some dark secret.

 

[Alan smit]

You might google the VIN, sometimes can find out a lot that way, if it has gone through an insurance auction or something of the sort. And of course there is always CarFax.

Can check the engine bay, wheel wells, undercarriage for signs of over-spray - see if it has been repainted. An old school trick is to use a magnet on the body panels to check for bondo... if it has much thickness the magnet won't be attracted as strongly - only works on metal body panels of course.

If you think it might have been flooded, can check places like the spare tire area, or lean the back seats forward so you can see down to underneath where they pivot, see if there might be signs there that didn't get cleaned up. Suspension and other nooks/crannies underneath would be places flood debris might get caught and missed when cleaning.

That is low mileage for a '16, hopefully it is a gem and not hiding some dark secret.

Thanks for the suggestion I will do that and share the update.