would you buy it?

1

1x99nova

Forum Member
i am looking at a 2010 ford flex sel to buy at a great price. it has 7500 miles and the balance of the factory 36000 mile warranty. however, upon looking at carfax it shows it was in a rollover accident. this car has a clean title, no salvage or rebuilt. it looks great, you would never know by the looks. can they fix these things after a rollover to be good as new? is there any way to trace the extent of the damage? would you take a chance at a great price? (about $5000 less then trade in value). any thoughts? thanks ......roger
 
Hmmm, I dont think Id do it. Back about 15 years ago, my mom bought a 1994 SHO, and the dealer never told her it was in a rollover. The car itself looked mint, but one day the moonroof got stuck open and wouldnt close. Carfax wasnt around back then, so you had to be more careful. A friend of the family, who is a body shop owner, looked the car over and there wwere a few tell-tale signs it was in a rollover. She took it back to the dealership and demanded they give her money back or face a lawsuit. They fessed up to the "mistake" and gave her a refund.
 
obvious snarky question. . . is the Flex being sold in Dearborn? If so, I'd run away. Personally, I'd lean towards passing but I'd have to get a few questions answered.

Who did the body work? How many miles driven since the repairs? Can you get a copy of the repair records to know exactly what was replaced? Will the seller let you take the car somewhere to be inspected? Have any contacts in the auto repair biz? If you're really serious and don't have a body shop hook-up, I'd consider paying for an inspection.
 
When I read your question I was already seeing the It sounds too good to be true, is it? Pass...Even if it would check out at a shop or something, not worth the risk....My mom bough a car in 95 too, similar to Tin, same thing, it was nice, she had no idea, but it was hit hard before she bought it....
 
Who is the seller? If its a ford dealer I wouldn't buy without an extended warranty if you're planning on keeping it past the factory warranty duration. I also wouldn't follow everything carfax says as in most instances they tend to make damages from accidents sound worse than they were. I've purchased cars from insurance auctions that were lightly damaged and carfax comes back with moderate or severe damage report. A lot of times a total loss will only show on the carfax report if the car got titled to an insurance company after the loss which does not always happen. If the flex is a smoking deal have another body shop inspect it for previous repairs and they can tell you what the extent of the repairs were and if they were quality repairs. Has the dealer been up front with the cars history?
 
if the title matched the condition...ie salvage, maybe rebuilt if they had some documentation of the repair. I vote no.
looking at them myself...are you finding any ecoboost ones??
 
Maybe. Are you a gambler? Have you had more positive results than negative ones? How much can you wager to take a hit on (risk amount) ? If it's going to break you buying this vehicle, walk away.
 
thanks guys. i'm buying it from a private party. today, i talked to a ford service manager and he said if the title is clean he would go for it. i also talked to a friend at his body shop and he said the same thing. he said replacing tops is a common thing these days and it's not a big deal. they even replace tops for hail damage rather then fix them. i've had it checked out by a mechanic and he said mechanicaly it lookd fine. i'm getting ready to retire and this vehicle is going to have to last a long time:) any other thoughts out there?
 
I say no. There always seems to be problems that pop up later with smashed vehicles. A rollover doesnt sound like minor damage to me...
 
1x99nova said:
thanks guys. i'm buying it from a private party. today, i talked to a ford service manager and he said if the title is clean he would go for it. i also talked to a friend at his body shop and he said the same thing. he said replacing tops is a common thing these days and it's not a big deal. they even replace tops for hail damage rather then fix them. i've had it checked out by a mechanic and he said mechanicaly it lookd fine. i'm getting ready to retire and this vehicle is going to have to last a long time:) any other thoughts out there?
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Why ask for more opinions when every single person who posted said they wouldn't buy it and you still said you are going to.

For the record, a mechanic is not a body guy, and probably has no clue what to look for in a damage repair vehicle. Replacing a roof for hail damage is a lot different than repairing a roll over, they is a lot more involved when a vehicle rolls.
 
1x99nova said:
thanks guys. i'm buying it from a private party. today, i talked to a ford service manager and he said if the title is clean he would go for it. i also talked to a friend at his body shop and he said the same thing. he said replacing tops is a common thing these days and it's not a big deal. they even replace tops for hail damage rather then fix them. i've had it checked out by a mechanic and he said mechanicaly it lookd fine. i'm getting ready to retire and this vehicle is going to have to last a long time:) any other thoughts out there?
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so you asked everybody but a bodyman for their opinion? take that thing to a quality body shop and get their opinion, alot of times the average joe doesnt notice things that stick out to a body guy. listen to these people they work on cars everyday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Having seen a few rollovers outside of my house and the type of damage that is done when one happens...run away, far away. Its not only the top that gets replaced in a rollover. The pillars collapse, glass breaks, seals are destroyed, etc. Theres an ass for every seat, just dont put your ass in that one.
 
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MystryGuy said:
so you asked everybody but a bodyman for their opinion? take that thing to a quality body shop and get their opinion, alot of times the average joe doesnt notice things that stick out to a body guy. listen to these people they work on cars everyday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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True. Even an average body man is goin to notice things most other people will not. Find out how long the seller has owned it and how long ago it was repaired
 
I'd avoid it unless they wanted like $10k for it, and you were 100% confident it was fixed right. I'd want to see the repair invoices from the bodyshop too.

My wife's '11 Flex has been a great car so far, but than it hasnt been rolled.
 
1x99nova said:
thanks guys. i'm buying it from a private party. today, i talked to a ford service manager and he said if the title is clean he would go for it. i also talked to a friend at his body shop and he said the same thing. he said replacing tops is a common thing these days and it's not a big deal. they even replace tops for hail damage rather then fix them. i've had it checked out by a mechanic and he said mechanicaly it lookd fine. i'm getting ready to retire and this vehicle is going to have to last a long time:) any other thoughts out there?
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Not quite the approach I would have taken, but it's your money. Have you verified that Ford will transfer the warranty?
 
doing a little more research the car went on it's side, not a total rollover. clean title, balance of factory warrenty. taking it to body shop before buying it. thanks for the opinions. roger
 
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