I depends WHY it was written off.

You should get it for a price that reflects it's history because it will effect the resale.

The best rebuilds (deemed by ICBC) will be from theft recoveries. When a stolen car is not found by X amount of time, ICBC will pay out and sell it at auction.

Another good rebuild is when a new car is stolen for certain parts (ie leather interior) and the dealer can't get the parts in for a really long time so ICBC writes it off and the interior gets replaced by the buyer later on, from wrecked cars.

does anyone know the difference between "rebuilt" and "altered" status?

way back when i was looking for a car i came across 2 cars with this title. one was an m3 that i couldn't follow through it's paper trail and couldn't get answers about it other than there was no accident history and that the vin changed at some point in its life... the other had suffered an engine fire and was written off by icbc, but the seller said a replacement engine was swapped into it and icbc gave it an "altered" status :confused:

werd

u buy it cheap, by the time u sell it aint worth shit

I wouldn't touch a rebuilt car with a meter stick.

Generally they're couple thousand below a non-rebuilt car of the same model.

My family and I have extensive experience with rebuilt cars. My family down south purchased 2002 Lexus IS300s (x2) a 2006 Lexus LS460, 2002 Acura TL, 2003 Acura TL-S, 2000 Toyota Sienna, 2004 VW Passat W8, and a 2007 Toyota Sienna.

What you have to do is to ensure that there has been paperwork and documents stating what happened. The cars we've purchased were either:

1. Stolen / Recovered from theft
2. Fender bender / Accident

You have to ensure that there is extensive paperwork outlining the details of the vehicle. For the ones we've purchased as a stolen / recovered from theft, the vehicle was as-is with a few scrapes and dings. Absolutely nothing wrong with it. Insurance companies (in the US especially) will write it off with the DMV and say it's rebuilt. A majority of the other cars we've purchased have been in accidents but nothing to say that it was so horrendous. A majority of them were side impacts, front end or rear end collision but no frame damage. The only exception to the cars we've purchased was the VW Passat where the oil pan was hit a huge bump in the road, it had a huge hole resulting in the engine seizing. To this day, we haven't had a single problem in any of these cars with the exception of the TL's transmission blowing (known issue.)

Personally, and this is just my own advice - do your homework on rebuilt cars. Ask the seller for all the paperwork and verify with the shops that did the repair. You have to be prepared to ask a lot of questions like whether or not the shop that performed the work is reputable or not or what exactly happened resulting in the rebuilt title? You also have to ask yourself whether you're going to be keeping the car long term (3+ years) because reality is, a lot of people will stray away from rebuilt cars. Will you be able to sell it? You have to think about the variable factors prior to purchasing a rebuilt status vehicle.

My 2 cents.

Edit: You cannot import a vehicle that was water damaged.

rebuilt = new BC issued VIN.. when the car is repaired and passed safety.
altered = chassis and engine VIN mismatch.

Engine swap you can apply for altered status, which gives you cheaper insurance for collector / fun purposes.

I've dealt with a ton of rebuilt cars throughout the years. I had a friend that used to import wrecks from U.S. and rebuild them here. Mostly higher end cars (NSX's, newer TL's, Boxter's, 911's, STi's and a Ferarri).

Some are alright, but still never seen one good enough to me. They've ALL had some sort of issues... for me it's mainly electrical issues I encounter. If it's SUPER cheap (ie. half of market value) I would consider if it's decent. But expect there to be issues.

I remember that friend of mine sold his close friend a rebuilt TL and needless to say, they're no longer friends now. He probably saved 20-25% off market value but for the amount of hassles and money he had to spend on top wasn't worth it he said.

How far apart is the difference in cost for a car to rebuilt or not?

If you're in an accident and take your car to a good bodyshop they are going to repair your car to its preaccident condition. They wouldn't give you back your car if something was wrong with it because then they are liable if something should happen. Repairs like this are guaranteed for life and if you keep all the documents (photos, papers summarizing what was fixed) it should give you and any prospective buyer some peace of mind.

And about frame damage... Most modern cars are made using unibody construction and technically don't have frames (aside from trucks and a few cars like the crown victoria).

Basically, it comes down to doing research if you're a buyer and being honest if you're a seller. Sometimes rebuilt cars can be a huge bargain if you're smart and thorough.

This is pretty much my own opinion. I'm going to be getting a used car next year and want to keep my options open. Just because a car has rebuilt status does not mean I'm not going to look at it, it just means I'll be more careful.