Would you buy a car with a salvaged title?

[frosty]

Many years ago when I didn't know a whole lot about buying cars, I would never have considered even looking at a salvaged car, let alone buying one. That's what I was told then--never buy a salvaged car. Now I'm a bit more analytical and if there's a car with a salvaged title, I may look into it and see how it got that title. A month back I was very tempted to look at this '98 or '99 SL500 with around 58k miles on the odo for $8700. It was in pristine condition based on the ad and pictures posted. The drawback was that it's a salvaged due to theft. The car must have been sold since I no longer see it on CL anymore. Looking back, a theft recovery doesn't so bad compared with a collision. I'm thinking what if....

This morning I found a 2005 Prius with 103k in excellent shape for $6500. It has a salvaged title due to a "minor" accident that didn't set off the airbags. No frame damage. I called the seller and he said the hood, driverside fender and front bumper were replaced and that he painted it himself after I asked about the color matching. This shocked me a bit. He said it was professionally fixed and inspected. This is very tempting but I was a bit discouraged when he said he's owned it for about a week or so and that he got it through an auction after I asked him about if he was the fsecond owner. He doesn't know. The car looks clean but I don't know if it's worth checking out.

Lately I've been thinking about getting a 2004 and up Prius mainly for its high EPA rating, otherwise I don't like the car aesthetically. My options are really the Audi TT, Honda S2000, and SL500 ('96-'00). Considering an SLK but it's such a chick car and looks too "cute."