Car value after it has been broken into? and how to find a previous owner?

Question

Here's the deal, the car that i want to buy, is about, 11,900. I was looking around the car and found evidence of a break in... ( small chips of paint around the door handle) So i did some more investigating, the door panel had been "removed", the panel that holds the locking mechanism had also been taken off.... now i know its just a piece of plastic that you can buy for like 5 bucks... so I kept looking for more... I asked myself if i were a car thief what would i have done next.... Thats when i found the steering colum had been popped off... his explination was that the original key had been lost and the guy that changed the ignition and lock for the door, didn't do it right.... plus the other salesman had told me the radio was broken when "someone" was trying to remove it. What should i do 1.negotiate the price down lower & get it inspected myself by a proffesional 2. make them fix all the parts and body work around the handle or 3. walk off and find another car?

Answer 1

I'd walk on that one. But your option #1 is worthy of consideration.

The big issue is that you have no idea how badly the vehicle was abused when it was stolen. Since the ignition was popped, it's highly likely that it was stolen, not just broken in to. The fact that you can determine this with a cursory inspection tells me that repairs were not completed properly.

Answer 2

If it was in fact a break in and the previous owner had insurance, the insurance company should have paid to have it fixed properly. And assuming it wouldn't total out (exceed the value of the car in repairs) it shouldn't have a salvage title based on that situation.
As far as checking out the car, any seller of cars should allow you to take the vehicle to a trusted mechanic for a general check; any person/dealer that won't should send you a big red flag in your head-run! I know that when I bought a used car from a Pontiac dealership, it turns out after I took it I realized some things were wrong that were not mentioned so they took the car and fixed it for free while sending me out in a free rental car. Now if its at a smaller lot, they won't have the resources the big dealers will. I would definetly negotiate lower, sounds like the break in damage wasn't fixed properly. A proper fix would never make you think it had been stolen. See what the dealer can offer you on repairs, and if you really want the car, push on. If not, find another car.