Jaguar XK XKR s Coupe | eBay

$29k for a wrecked XKR-S i would be $16-$20k in repairs would be needed from just a visual on this

i am almost certain this is from Marina Del Rey. my good gf lived in a condo in MDR and I was stumbling through the parking lot and saw a beauty 12 coupe.... car is for sale in that area... i bet it is the same

anyone have an idea on cost to fix this if you have to ballpark?

 

I wonder why the air bags didn't blow?

 

This car is only good for parts. The frame and substructure is toast... I've been involved in the used car business over the last year and a half and have seen many "dressed up" salvage cars being prepped by unscrupulous resellers to hide previous damage. The salvage market is a scary place to buy a car because there are so many unscrupulous resellers doing this to make a quick dollar and the auctioneers encourage it. Buyer-beware...


If you look at the quarter panels they have severe folds from the front impact. I feel so bad for anyone who buys this...it well be a nightmare and he or she will loose a lot of money. The car has been "dressed up". It is unrepairable.


Here is the company behind the sale responsible for hiding the damage: http://getwwa.com/cars/salvage/53505a9754ce9


I have seen this many times over the last year. I have even received some phone calls from brokers trying to sell "dressed up" cars that look like they have no damage but have severe hiden damage under "glued" on replaced body panel parts. The salvage car business is no place to mess around in. The players are very corrupt and unethical and the auctioneers are doing nothing to stop the practice--they actually encourage it making the salvage market super scary.

 

Nice find as your pictures show the uncut version which looking at the right front makes it a total disaster. Nice that they put the airbag cover back on the steering wheel as it now looks like it is still good.

 

DGL,
I have been in this business since 1985. You can't "lump" all sellers and repair persons in your statement. You can't assess the damage just by pics. A visual inspection of the car would be better. It does look to have missed the right frame rail and could only be suspension damage. From the looks of the wheel, it also sustained cabin damage due to the wheel travel backwards. Which is probably why it was totalled. We are all not "corrupt and unethical" as you state. If a person is not familiar with auto body repair and damage repair, then they need to find someone who is to view the car and give them a proper estimate of repairs.

 

The used car business is shady at best. The salvage reselling business is much worse. The auctioneers that sell salvage cars are doing whatever they can to encourage resellers to "dress up" and relist their cars because they collect auction fees all over again. There is a website, namely, salvagedb.com, who inventory all salvage cars running through auctions to show the damages etc. This is a good website because it discloses the truth (pictures, title branding, damage, etc.). However, the auctioneers don't like this website and have taken legal action to close them down. Now the website is not allowed to repost the pictures. If the salvage auctioneers wanted to grow the business and make it a safer place to buy their auctioned cars they would encourage full disclosure. However, they are only interested in collecting auction fees from buyers and obviously don't care about business ethnics. I have spoken to many yard managers and senior managers who auction these cars off and they all say "where as is as" and the "dress up" practise is not frowned upon but encouraged. Furthermore, pictures are only taken in low resolution to not show the damage in detail and the pictures are taken at angles to show less damage; salvage car buyers are interested in the damage not seeing the salvage car's good side.


Of course there are some ethical resellers but the industry doesn't care. I can show and post hundreds of salvage cars such as above including title washing. The car above has substantial frame damage. The right sock tower is all twisted as I seen in another picture. The seller should be showing the frame damage pictures and the before "dress up" pictures. Also, the folds in the quarter panels clearly show substantial frame damage. Jaguars have aluminum frames and this amount of damage is not economically repairable. Hell, they even put a new steering wheel airbag on the car to make it look better. I have spoken to this reseller before concerning a different car and I can assure you they know what they are doing.


Would you be happy if you bought this car to find out upon delivery it has soooo much hidden unrepairable damage and also knowing the reseller knew of it and never disclosed it? "AS AS WHERE AS" protects the reseller...BUYER BEWARE.

 

Wow, sounds like you have been burned in the past. I am insulted that you grouped every dealer/bodyshop in that same statement. I own both and have been buying, repairing and reselling (albeit only 1 or 2 a year) salvage cars since 1990. I stand behind everything I sell with a warranty.


First off depending on the state there are rules that need to be followed to even get a salvage car retitled. In AZ after the repair is done you need to have the car inspected. Need to provide documentation of repairs done and they actually check for airbag replacement and you must provide receipts for them. Then and only then will you get a branded Restored Salvage title.


Now I will agree that there are many people slamming salvage cars together and repopping them on the open market so I tell people this if they have any interest in purchasing a restored salvage title car.


#1, ask to see pictures before and during the repair process (we do this on every one)
#2, ask to see the actual repair paperwork from a REPUTABLE body shop (if they cant provide this it probably wasn't fixed right)
#3, verify via carfax or autocheck that damage they fixed is what is noted. If they show you paperwork for rear bumper repair but carfax says it was hit in the front, walk away.


At least one car a year I buy at a salvage auction, repair and donate to a charity. Without companies like us (other shops do it also, all over the country) some people cant live a normal life like you and I so please don't lump us all together.


So lets look at WHY people buy salvage cars and resell them.


First off insurance companies write repairs at full retail price for parts and whatever that states repair and refinish labor rates are. This can easily total many cars. The insurance company also knows that some are worth a lot more at salvage auction then to repair them so this also factors in. I have seen insurance companies total a vehicle when the damage was 50% the retail value and also have seen them NOT total a vehicle at 95% of its value and repair the damage. So its just a call they make on a per car basis.


So when I buy one we charge the repairs at cost, both for parts and labor. If you find a po dunk shop where they pay there workers say $10-15hr and you buy all used or aftermarket parts you can repair a salvage car and flip it for profit. Problem is people need to understand that whole process and protect themselves. Every time I see an ad saying, was totaled for a little damage on the bumper I know they are lieing. that NEVER totals anything, even the $9000.00 front bumper on a 2013 Ferrari. Education is a strong tool and allows people to see clearly instead of making assumptions that lead to insults and misconceptions.


Lets touch on the car in question. Being the Jag has a aluminum frame you can clearly see it needs rails and such. Given we have done numerous Ferraris and a few Jaguars, you MUST be a Jaguar or Ferrari certified shop to order any structural parts that must be aluminum welded or aluminum riveted. We are not even though we can do those aluminum repairs so we have to send those vehicles to a manufacturer certified bodyshop for those repairs. This being said, I doubt anyone could buy that Jag, slam it back together quickly and flip it to an unsuspecting buyer. Just cant do it with these late model cars.


Bottom line is I would buy it in a heartbeat if I could do all the repairs in shop. I have no problem fixing or owning a salvage car but I repair them so I know they are done right. For the novice I say, you need to be informed before making that purchase.

 

I absolutely agree with John's comments above. For many years I had a tenant who bought, repaired, and resold salvaged vehicles, not necessarily high end sports cars, but everyday transportation cars. Over those years, I bought many cars from him including a Toyota Avalon, Camry, Nissan Altima...My closest friend bought a Corolla that went through all three of his kids. These cars were safe, reliable, and priced well below their non-salvaged counterparts. So, my experiences have been positive, and I would have no problem buying a salvaged vehicle depending upon what kind of damage and whether or not I knew the dealer.

The XKR-s in question, is not represented as an "easy fix," it's sold with no warranties, and is available for prior inspection, so that anyone purchasing it is doing so knowing what they're facing. While I understand there are many unscrupulous dealers, I don't see much evidence that the one offering this car is misrepresenting anything. The airbag discrepancy is one of concern, but I would guess that upon closer inspection, it is evident that it has blown, and that the cover is not re-installed to fool anyone.

 

Thanks to the others who have commented. This post really struck my nerve to say the least. And that is being really nice about it. I am like those who have commented. I strive to make the wrecked car the same as it was new. I even sometimes add factory options to the car which it did not have when new. I take pictures of the damage to show buyers what it looked like before. My recent purchase had very lite damage to the front radiator support but was salvaged due to it's mileage. I repaired this car and my wife used it for work. She put 10k miles on it before I sold it. I would NOT repair a vehicle that I would not feel safe having my family drive.

I'll give you an example of knowing about wreck cars. In the late 90's, I was at the wreck sale waiting on a 1994 XJ6 Vanden Plas to go through. It had hood,front bumper and fender damage. It would not start so it was pushed into the lane. I bid and won the car fairly cheap because people thought it had severe problems. I reset the master fuel reset and drove it out and loaded it. It helps to know what to look for or how to look on a salvage/wreck vehicle.

 

It is what it is. If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck and sounds like a duck good chance it is a duck. The readers of this thread can judge for themselves.


I said nothing about body shops so I don't understand your logic pertaining to body shops. I mentioned salvage car auctioneers and salvage car resellers. A lot of salvage cars are purchased based on the seller presenting and disclosing the damaged car through pictures and a description. Auctioneers and resellers who do not disclose and present material knowledge of a salvage car are intentionally doing so to make the damaged car appear better than it really is. This to me is unethical business practice. If a car or any other item someone sells has known damage and they fail to provide the material damage to the buyer by presenting the item better than it really is I have a problem with the seller. Auctioneers and resellers of salvage cars hide behind, "where as as is" terms of sale. Consequently, what the buyer is buying may have a lot of hidden damage. So, why would a reseller of a salvage car not disclose material facts...simply to screw the buyer. Auctioneers and resellers of salvage cars have created an industry of misconception. They only give you limited information; however, they know a lot more and do not disclose it.


If you are a purchaser of salvage cars to repair them or as the end user you should be very concerned and work towards full disclosure for the industry to make it safer for everyone. With holding material information from a buyer is just not cool.

 

That car is toast, DGL I didn't even notice the ripples in the rear quarter panels until you mentioned it. The eBay pictures make it look decent unless you look really closely.

 

This is my point!


There is nothing wrong with selling, reselling and buying salvage cars. However, why doesn't the industry work together to create safe industry? Misrepresenting or not disclosing materially known facts about a salvage car that is being sold through auction or otherwise is promoting an unsafe industry. It is perfectly find to buy, repair and resell salvage cars as long as you fully disclose all known material facts about the car you are selling. Hiding behind "as is where is" sales terms and not fully disclosing material damage or known facts is just not cool. We don't live in a third world country but the auto salvage industry does. Why the salvage industry doesn't clean up and follow full disclosure rules to promote a safe industry is beyond me. A clean auto salvage industry following good business ethnics of full disclosure to discourage shady resellers will allow the industry to grow and become more safe.

 

I need to apologize, I was half asleep this morning when I read the post. Now that I have gone back, looked at the full listing and pictures, I want to say this. STAY AWAY FROM THIS CAR AT ALL COST !


I know of this Utah dealer who flips these. He buys out of state, has the car moved to a storage location then resells them for profit. This way he doesn't have to do all the proper paperwork. Also, unless he hands you a title in your name (he cant, bill of sales isnt the same thing) or your a dealer the only way to title this car is to take it BACK to CA for all the inspections after its repaired. THEN and only THEN will you get a SALVAGE title, then you still have to re apply in your own state and provide whatever they need so you can license the car.


As much as I don't trust him I will say with ANY vehicle bought online or via pictures its buyer beware. I have been fortunate in the past but I know what to look at in pictures and its not whats in front of your eyes its the things around it that will tell a story. Given the popped cent logo on the steering wheel it tells me the airbag blew and the cover was pup back on for picture taking. Also the under hood pics show a nice shiny engine but if you look around you will see a lot of missing clips for the plastic covers and the fill bottle on the right side is twisted. IMHO the entire engine cradle has shifted back slightly causing everything to be "off" on and on top of this no rear end damage but the rear quarters are buckled and on both sides. Pretty much tells me the hit was hard enough to move the crumple zone / center section and caused the rear quarters to buckle. WOW is that thing a mess. If someone IS stupid enough to pay the price I highly doubt they will ever be able to put it back together but........ given I want to do a XKE resto mod it would be a sweet drivetrain.

 

Apology accepted, John Fox. I think some other thread participants need to apologize also.


My whole point in contributing to this thread is to make readers know just how shady the salvage auto industry is. It is truly like dealing in a third world country. My other hope is for people to understand this and contact their government politicians to enforce full disclosure to promote a safer industry for everyone. The same unscrupulous people that are promoting this unethical business practice have the most to gain by creating a safer industry. However, the unscrupulous sellers in the industry would rather steal a dollar today and sacrifice thousands tomorrow. Yes, that's how a third world country operates, everyman for themselves in a land of no rules and terms that negate legal recourse. Very sad, even more sad for the poor people who get taken in.

 

I wonder how the X150 performs in collisions. From the photos, it looks like it did pretty well!

 

I should have never let your postings or opinion get to me. But you cannot assume that all states don't care or have laws governing these types of cars. For those who don't know how each state's laws are concerning wrecked or salvage cars, they should read them. All states are not the same. An average person cannot buy a wrecked or salvage car to rebuild. If a dealer tells you that you can, he is full of it.

In my state, you have to be a certified rebuilder to buy these cars. No one off the street can do this. There is also a record of all damage done to the car, which always stays with the car records. Once the car is repaired, it MUST go to the department of DMV before it will be issued a title or can be titled. It will go through a very extensive inspection. I have watched them in person. And I have watched several cars be seized due to improper repairs.

 

07XKJaguar, wouldn't you prefer if all salvage car auctions and sales had mandatory full disclosure of all known damages and branding and if not disclosed would be punishable under law? Don't you think this would create a safer industry? The main salvage auctioneers in the US and Canada purposely present salvage cars only with basic information and selective low resolution pictures to make the lots look good. However, as a buyer, wouldn't you be more interested in what is wrong with the car you are interested in? These salvage cars are bid on from all over the world. Not everyone can drive up and inspect the lots before auction. My point is because of this accepted practice the industry leaves a lot to be desired and functions like a business in a third world country. I did not say all body shops, repair shops and salvage dealers are untrustworthy; however, the industry is shady in general and this comes directly from the market makers, the auctioneers, who sell these cars and allow this unethical business practice so they can collect more auction fees from the buyers. Why do they not disclose full information? It is not cool to knowingly sell a "dressed up" car to hide damages and have a poor buyer get stuck with a pile of junk. The main players in the industry in general encourage this practice to maximize short term profit and they don't give a **** about the poor guy you gets stuck with a pile of junk. I'm not saying it is just this reseller. It is the industry! Of course there are also good resellers and players in the industry who are conscientious but the basic fundamentals of the industry encourage unethical business practices.

 

No slight to you DGL but my apology was to the forum in general for replying before reading the whole post and directed right at you.


Nobody will ever police this because the salvage yard is doing what they need to do to sell the car legally. Selling only to those who are BY LAW licensed to purchase from them. What the buyer does after that is not there problem. In most cases the next line to pass is the DMV and whatever they require. While I do understand your thinking I would look at much larger problems in the country (Medicare comes to mind) first, than worry about who is buying a wrecked car and doing a cheap repair for resale. Not downplaying the problem but your starting to sound like its as big an issue as world peace. Again.... just agree that we can disagree about its importance. I still stand on educating the consumer first and foremost.

 

Interesting following this thread since I recall way back when I was looking for a first car for my son there was a local sell-it-yourself event at the nearby college campus lot (CSUN) every weekend and we would always see "salvage" vehicles that looked as good as new. A little research taught me to stay away.

DGL--are the photos you posted absolutely of the same car that is for sale by that dealer in Gardena? If so how did you track those down?

Doug

 

Doug, Yes, it is the same car. The VIN matches. Do a google search on the VIN number and the auction listing will appear from a number of on-line auction sites. I've seen this happen hundreds of times. Someone would buy a complete wreck beyond repair very cheap at auction and "dress it up" with a new hood, fenders and bumper, paint to color and rearrange the engine compartment etc. to make the car look like it has minor damage. After doing the dress up they would take the car back to the auction (same or different auctioneers) and list the car with a completely different damage description. I have a problem with this because the auctioneers encourage it to collect another pay day. The other problem is it is unethical and some poor sole will be in for a big disappointment. A lot of these cars are sold on description and pictures only from out of state or out of country buyers. The buyer relies on the information and takes a great leap of faith into the frying pan. Albeit not all cars are misrepresent like this; however, the auctioneers do nothing to stop it--they actually encourage it. I can post at least 100s of cars that have been dressed up like this and sent back to auction with different descriptions and damage reported. I can also show where the auctioneer sold a flood titled car, resold it with a salvage title and resold it again as a clean title. To me this is unacceptable and unethical to happen in North America.


I'm not against repairing salvage cars. I'm against the market makers allowing this unethical business practice to happen knowingly and encouraging it. It gives the industry a very bad reputation and the auctioneers are doing it to themselves for a quick dollar today at the expense of growing what could be a great industry.