I flew from Utah to Long Beach to purchase a salvage/rebuilt 2012 Honda Civic CNG w/ 18K miles from Shoreline Auto Sales. I worked with George and Jose over the phone prior to the purchase. Jose picked me up at the airport in the Civic I would end up purchasing. We drove to the dealership where I inspected and drove the Civic (drove perfectly). George and Jose both have a low pressure sales approach, which I appreciated.
The Civic had sustained front end damage. The hood, grill, bumper cover and radiator core support and airbag & seat belts had been replaced using OEM Honda parts. What I learned while I was there is that California has strict rules regarding rebuilding vehicles which involves the highway patrol inspecting the vehicle and verifying the dealership has receipts to prove they replaced the most critical safety related parts.
The short version ends here. I purchased the car and drove it home without incident. I have driven this car 4,000 miles in the few months I have owned the vehicle. I continue to be impressed with the repair work. The bottom line is that I saved $6,000 buying this vehicle from Shoreline compared to a clean title vehicle of the same year and miles.
Now the long version for those maximizers who like all of the details about buying a rebuilt car.
For me getting a good salvage/rebuilt vehicle depends on four factors
1. Only buying the "right" damage.
2. The quality of the repair work.
3. The purchase price relative to the same clean title vehicle.
4. Having realistic expectations
1. Some vehicles should not be repaired and put back on the road. In talking with George, I found he has purchased rebuilt vehicles for years. He knows what to rebuild, and what to send to the salvage yard for parts. I feel he avoids purchasing vehicles for repair that will have drive-ability issues after repair because he runs an honest business and cares about doing a good job for his customers.
2. I have bought and sold cars on the side for the last 15 years. I have personally supervised the repair of dozens of vehicles. I was very apprehensive about purchasing a vehicle from a re-builder I didn't know; however, the price was amazing and the vehicle looked really good in the pictures.This gave me the confidence to fly to California to check out the car. My Civic CNG had charcoal metallic paint, which is a difficult color to match. The color and blending were done very well. I can spot repaint work, and I cannot tell this car was repainted without looking really really close. The rebuild work was good quality, all of the gaps were even and everything worked correctly. Most important, the vehicle drove perfect.
3. I saved $6,000 purchasing this vehicle with a salvage/rebuilt title from Shoreline compared to a clean title Civic CNG of the same year and miles. I doubt I could have rebuilt this car myself for the price I paid for the car. What I also learned while I was there is that shoreline owns a salvage yard and body shop specializing in Acura, Honda, and Toyota parts. This allows them to use factory OEM parts to rebuild the cars for an amazing price. They own the whole supply chain.
4. Realistic expectations: Most rebuilt cars will have some minor imperfections. My navigation screen had a small 1/8 nick in the screen from the accident. The engine block had a mark on the metal casting (nothing that affects driving or reliability) One of the metal AC lines that was slightly bent during the accident and there were marks on it from being straightened. I am very picky so I notice everything. I was okay with all of this because 1. The civic drove perfect no shaking or alignment issues. 2. The paint and structural elements of the vehicle were repaired 100%. 3. I am okay with these small imperfections because I saved $6,000 dollars and that is the whole point of driving a rebuilt vehicle, paying less for a depreciating asset.
I always recommend verify the fluid condition and levels on any used car purchase. The oil, transmission fluid, and engine coolant are the lifeblood of the vehicle.
Final impression. Shoreline Auto does good rebuild work. The other cars I saw for sale on their lot looked top notch. Without question I believe George is an honest individual. I found that he was hard to warm to on the phone initially; however, I later learned that as the owner of the company, he is just super busy. Once I met and worked with him, he was really great to work with.
Sincerely,
Scott Pryor
Tooele, UT read more
