Would you buy a car that's been in an accident?

scariestone · Mar 21, 2011

I'm guessing the answer is a resounding no but I wanted to check. Carfax says it was involved in a rear end collision and the pictures of the back don't show any damage, plus it was driven right after so I'm guessing it was a minor fender bender. Is there any way to find out? Its an 08 Ford Taurus X if that makes any difference.

Brianna · Mar 21, 2011

It's hard to say. I was in a fender bender with my car and I personally feel like it is still safe to drive. It was nearly all cosmetic damage. Is it possible to get a picture of the car before it was fixed? Or maybe an itemization of what was repaired on it?

If you can't get solid info about the accident I'd skip over it though.

SavsMom · Mar 21, 2011

If it was a small fender bender then yes, I would buy it. If it were in a severe accident the vehicle would more than likely have a "salvage" title and couldn't be financed or anything and there is no way in heck I would buy one of those.

Does the Carfax say it qualifies for the Carfax buyback guarantee - if it does qualify I would have no problem with buying the car.
Also, will the dealer or person selling it allow you to take it to a mechanic and/or body shop to have the car looked at by a 3rd party to see if they can determine what was repaired.

scariestone · Mar 21, 2011

briheartzu said:
Is it possible to get a picture of the car before it was fixed? Or maybe an itemization of what was repaired on it.

That's actually part of the reason I asked. Is there any way to get that info? It was a fleet vehicle and the company that used it sold it to the dealership. I'm not all that worried about it being "tweaked" or anything. What concerns me is if it was more than a fender bender, have the airbags and seatbelts that were being used replaced? http://www.cars.com/go/search/detai...MkId=20015&rpp=50&feedSegId=28705&aff=aybsema That's the ad for it. DH and I drove a freestyle this weekend and fell in love with it but I found out the transmissions can't be replaced because the factory that made them is closed. So if the transmission went out(which apparently isn't uncommon) we'd be up poo creek without a paddle, no thanks. The taurus x is the same except without the ctv transmission and with a beefier engine from what I have found. Problem is, the next most expensive one I can find within 100 miles of us is at the tippy top of our price range(15k) which is a category I had pretty much reserved for the dang 06 or newer outback I can't find anywhere.

Sorry that was a lot of ramble.

This car buying stuff is making me want to pull my hair out.

SavsMom · Mar 21, 2011

If the airbags had deployed it would typically show in the Carfax.

Also, chances are if the accident was severe enough and the airbags had deployed the vehicle would either have a "salvage" or "rebuilt" title - neither of which show on the Carfax for that particular vehicle. If you really like the vehicle call the dealer and see if you can take it to a body shop and let them tell you what they think was repaired.

Brianna · Mar 21, 2011

Did you read the carfax? It says that no structural damage was reported, no air bag deployment reported. I'd say you're OK- but I would get it inspected before you purchase it.

scariestone · Mar 21, 2011

Ok I didn't realize that. I'm trying to determine if we should even go look at it since its 50 miles away so its not like I can just pop over there quickly to look it over. The only thing I saw in the carfax that made me think it might be more than a fender bender is the tires were replaces 10 days after the accident.

scariestone · Mar 21, 2011

briheartzu said:
Did you read the carfax? It says that no structural damage was reported, no air bag deployment reported. I'd say you're OK- but I would get it inspected before you purchase it.

Oh doy! I must have skipped right over that part and went right to the service record. :doh: Now I feel dumb. Oh well it was still a valid question. Thanks everyone!

Brianna · Mar 21, 2011

It was hard for me to find- good luck with your final decision

bobandjess99 · Mar 22, 2011

It doesn't sound like it was too severe. No damage was reported.
We just bought a new vehicle *today* and the freestyle/taurus X was on our top 3 list. I too came to the same conclusion as you did about the freestyle..taking the chance of the tranny was simply not worth it, cuz if you get one that dies...you are screwed. And the Taurus x's were all a bit too steep.
I will say you should call the place. We had a lot of luck just calling and talking to the people, who tended to give us lots of information over the phone. We actually found out about several accidents and repairs that way, etc. All of the vehicles we were looking at were even further away than yours, like 3-5 hours.

Everything in our immediate area was a LOT more expensive for a similar vehicle? for no apparent reason?

Anyway..good luck. I completely empathize with the situation you are in. I was killing myself after several weeks of trying to find a good deal on a used vehicle loll.

QuassEE · Mar 22, 2011

When my van got hit, it was less than $4000 damage but there's still a Carfax report on it. I actually ended up taking an even bigger hit ($5000) on depreciation trying to sell the van with a crash history!

Yes, I'd buy something that had been in a collision that didn't involve frame damage, frontal airbag deployment, and didn't have rebuild status. My van was hit one other time, also very minor (about the same amount of damage as the rear-ender) but it was $16k to fix because the side impact airbag went off. I still had no issues with my van nor was I uncomfortable driving it, since I know it was fixed right.

-Nicole.

scariestone · Mar 22, 2011

Thanks!

I'm thinking we'll go look at it this weekend. I have a feeling the only thing I won't like about it is the awful gas mileage because I absolutely loved driving the freestyle. Bobandjess- every other taurus x in our area is 15k or more so if this one doesn't work out we'll have to move on to other vehicles. I'm not going to pay 10k for something that's 10 years old and that's what a lot of them cost. Its crazy.

bobandjess99 · Mar 22, 2011

Yep, i know what you mean about the $15K + . I couldnt justify paying twice as much for the taurus X as what i could get the sedona for.

good luck!

jourdysmom · Mar 22, 2011

I know I replied to this earlier but it must have *poofed*

My concern (more than the accident record) would be the amount of miles on it in such a short amount of time. AND that it was a fleet vehicle. People do NOT treat vehicles nicely when they don't own them and have to maintain them. Same for rentals, you just never know what it has truly been thru in those 90k miles :twocents:

SafeDad · Mar 23, 2011

I would not necessarily have a problem buying a vehicle that had been in a minor bumper basher from the rear. Of course, you'd want to know that was the only damage!

Like QuassEE said, I would personally avoid anything that had been in a frontal or side impact that caused frame damage or airbag deployment. Supposedly, crashworthiness should be similar if proper repair work is done, but of course, you never know if the job was done properly so my opinion would be not to take that risk.

Rear end crashes tend to be less common and severe than frontal/side crashes, so that makes it a much smaller concern, especially if it was only a bumper issue.

scariestone · Mar 23, 2011

DH said the decision was completely up to me but then somehow decided he could "veto" this car because it was only made for 2 years so he thinks parts would be hard to find when it breaks. So.... I'm back to square 1 now and about to just give up and drive the volvo til it falls apart completely, kick it, and leave it by the side of the road. How can anyone find car shopping fun?!

bobandjess99 · Mar 23, 2011

scariestone said:
DH said the decision was completely up to me but then somehow decided he could "veto" this car because it was only made for 2 years so he thinks parts would be hard to find when it breaks. So.... I'm back to square 1 now and about to just give up and drive the volvo til it falls apart completely, kick it, and leave it by the side of the road. How can anyone find car shopping fun?!

oh no. What criteria do you have? I see only 1 child, so are you dead set on a 6-7 passenger vehicle? Or do you just want something with the flexibilty to seat more? Do you love wagons like the TX, or is anything SUV or minivan like your preference? Are you looking for a lot of cargo area?
Since the freestyle/TX has top of the pile crash test ratings, (and you are on this board) i assume crash test ratings/safety is a huge priority?

littleangelfire · Mar 23, 2011

I love car shopping! Excited that I get to do that now, with tax refund.

Have you considered the Mazda5?

scariestone · Mar 24, 2011

We've really only looked at wagons/crossovers. I looked at a civic for 5 seconds because of the great mpg before I decided it was way too small. I will never ever ever ever ever drive a minivan and suvs are way too big. I've mostly been trying to find a 2006 or newer outback or 2004 and newer forester but those don't seem to exist in our budget. And yes, obviously safety is the #1 concern. We definitely don't need a third row at all. We only have the one kid and may not have any more.

We've ruled out anything euopean because they cost a fortune to fix or the passat wagon would have been an affordable option. I would also consider a mitsubishi outlander but there aren't any around here. So at this point I feel like I'm beating my head against a wall. We actually went yesterday to look at leasing a 2011 forester as it would be within the monthly payment we want, we won't have to worry about paying to fix anything and when the lease is up we can purchase it for the depreciated value which is 4-5k less than they would charge someone else to buy it if we traded it in. Plus I drove it and fell in love with it. I was hoping I'd hate it so I could cross it off.

bobandjess99 · Mar 24, 2011

what about a nice used matrix/vibe? nice small wagon

Would you buy a car that's been in an accident?

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