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Just move on.
The rebuilt title likely (state dependent) means it was in an accident in which the insurance company deemed the car totaled (ie, it would cost more to fix than what they have to pay under the insurance policy, so they just left it in a junkyard and paid the owner under the policy).
Not uncommon for some random guy to buy a totaled car, “fix” it, and resell it.
I would ignore the fact that a search show no crash history. A collision could evade the websites. But no one is registering all this with the state if it’s not true.
Do not buy a car with a rebuilt title.
Your best bet for a stick is likely a VW.
I personally love a stick but it's too much of a pain to find, and I'm also paranoid about injuring a leg and not being able to drive the car.
Enthusiast
Sorry to hear about your challenges. A few things come to mind before anyone suggest options
1. How much do you drive daily? Weekly? Monthly? How much is your daily commute and will you also use this car for long drives?
2. What’s your budget? Are you looking to self finance or are you planning to take a loan - generally more challenging to get approved for a loan if it’s a private party txn
3. Why manual car only?
4. How good are you with fixing the car or will you have to take it to a mechanic even for small stuff like oil changes, etc.
5. How long do you plan to use it? If it’s already 200k+ miles for example and 12 years old there may not be too many miles left. But if it’s 80-120k miles then you might be able to get 10 years out of it
A rebuilt title includes the car was a total loss at one point of time due to an accident, flood or hail damage or possible written off by insurance because it was stolen at some point of time. Some of these are potential red flags. I wouldn’t rely solely on the seller’s disclosures because they could be looking to get a lemon of their hands
If you do decided to go ahead strongly recommend getting it checked by a trusted mechanic or a an independent mechanic you hire to get an honest unvarnished opinion. Make sure the car passes state inspection and emission checks. Happy to chat or answer any questions
Thank you. I have a mechanic I have gone to over the years with my old car. He does everything for me from oil changes to new clutches. He checks my car annually for a "health check" and i will have him do that before I buy. I have never driven an automatic and dont want to. I have no issues cashing a $50k car if I wanted but I dont spend money on depreciating assets. This car has 124k miles on it and I feel it can last a long time like my previous one if its well taken cared of. My 1998 civic got almost 300k miles before she gave up. My mechanic said cost too much to save her it wasnt worth it. Im looking for between $5k to $10k and this one meets everything im looking foe other than the rebuilt title. I cant find why it has a rebuilt title and thats just holding me back.
Pro
I say this as a car guy, but the automatics now have gotten really good. I would only get a manual for my fun 2nd car. Traffic is so much worse now and I hate stop and go in a manual.
Nice choice, I have a 2014 Civic Si Sedan. Great car, but look for a clean title one. Even more of a red flag if they don’t know why its a rebuilt title