FWD car wrecked in rear.

[koda6966]

Hey guys, as some of you know I'm always on the lookout for vehicles I can flip. Like my 2002 Zx2 I picked up for $350 with a shot timing belt and exhaust, and a few of my other past vehicles. I've been looking for something cheap that I can fix up and drive instead of sell, since my Jeep only gets about 15mpg average.

I managed to find a little Chevy Aveo (Yes I know, Chevy, yuk.) that looks like the owner skidded out and slid into a pole or a tree. The only damage (it's a pretty big dent, clearly cylindrical) is to the bumper cover, trunk lid, tail light, and quarter panel. It hit hard enough to blow out the rear window but the frame is intact and doesn't appear tweaked from the photos they sent me. The owner said as far as they can tell the frame is straight, and the wheels look straight from the picture (hit in the very corner of the passengers bumper) so I'm not expecting too much residual damage.

Now, lets say there is a tweak to the back side of the subframe, but the wheels are straight and she rides even. What possible negative effects (besides tire wear) could I be looking at if I buy it? It's a FWD car, so the back wheels are essentially idlers with brakes.

I am looking at the car this Saturday, and I plan to get under it real good with my flashlight and examine everything for damage but I may not be able to see too much depending on how it's set up.

 

[adsm08]

Make sure all of the doors open and close easily. That is the best way to tell if a uni-body is tweaked. Once you twist a uni-body car the doors won't open and close anymore.


Also, the Aveo isn't a Chevy, it's much worse than that. It's a Daewoo.

 

[simpler=better]

If it's tweaked hard and you need to realign the rear assembly, you can always rig up an offset plate. I'm pretty confident some 1/4" plate would be stronger than anything that was in there stock.

FYI-the junkyards down here are 50% Chevy small cars, and 50% everything else....

 

[Mark_88]

Just cut it behind the front door and mod yourself a pickup car...probably easier and less expensive as long as you reinforce the areas that you cut...and seal up the compartment really well for those cold winter days...

 

[koda6966]

Mark, I like the way you think. Haha.

I checked it out, the back window frame was clearly tweaked and I don't want to rock plastic or caulk if I hammer it out to put a window in. Then underneath, I could see quite a few flaked spots where it had bent. Ended up shooting the guy a decent offer and he countered with a higher asking price. I told him to have fun scrapping it.

 

[koda6966]

And ew, daewoo really?

 

[hoosier1104]

Find a rotary. You will enjoy it. I know I do.

 

[BRUTUS_T_HOG]

Oh boy those Daewoo's love to break timing belts at 60k on the dot. They come in off the freeway all the time with every valve bent. Ehh they aren't THAT bad

 

[adsm08]

Oh boy those Daewoo's love to break timing belts at 60k on the dot. They come in off the freeway all the time with every valve bent. Ehh they aren't THAT bad

The first shop I worked at had been one of the last Daewoo dealers to close down in the US, in addition to being a Ford dealer. We did a lot of work on them and a lot of those people were really cheap. We had one guy with 75K on his Nubira, and we had tried to sell him a timing belt every oil change since 60. I recommended it the last time I worked on his car, and just like every other time he shot it down. A week later he finally regretted it. Then he bought a Focus.

 

[simpler=better]

The first shop I worked at had been one of the last Daewoo dealers to close down in the US, in addition to being a Ford dealer. We did a lot of work on them and a lot of those people were really cheap. We had one guy with 75K on his Nubira, and we had tried to sell him a timing belt every oil change since 60. I recommended it the last time I worked on his car, and just like every other time he shot it down. A week later he finally regretted it. Then he bought a Focus.

[rant]

People don't understand the timing belt should be done at 1/2-3/4 the recommended interval. Seriously, $100 in parts or $2,000 in parts...it's a no brainer

[/rant]