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Shots

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Funny story:
I bought a 2006 Dodge Charger Daytona. "Clear" Carfax, we'll say 60k mi. in 2011. Had it for ~2 years. I got into a Fender bender in October 2012. While in for work, I had one of the body techs take a look at unrelated damage on the rear driver quarter panel, Big dent right down to the paint. While he's doing the estimate, he calls me over and shows me inside the trunk and asks:
"Have you had work done on this area before?"
No, why?
"Because this area's been repaired before. Look, you can see behind the trunk liner that it's been pounded out with a hammer, and if you look out here, you can see a slight variation in the paint. There's filler right here. It's good work, there's no issues, but it's definitely been repaired, maybe from the door panel all the way back to the trunk."

I was LIVID, but the dealer had closed at that point so there really wasn't much I could do other than eat it and deal........
Oh, here's a little known trade secret, that the dealers don't tell you about. If it's damaged when it's untitled (for example, someone backed into it in the dealership lot before it's sold) it won't show the damage on the report. If it's untitled there is no record of it, even if it's a dealership that reports to carfax. So the dirty little secret is that A LOT of brand new cars have minor repairs that the buyer never knows about.
And really, if you don't know and can't tell there was damage does it really even matter?
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RubiSc0tt

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Oh, here's a little known trade secret, that the dealers don't tell you about. If it's damaged when it's untitled (for example, someone backed into it in the dealership lot before it's sold) it won't show the damage on the report. If it's untitled there is no record of it, even if it's a dealership that reports to carfax. So the dirty little secret is that A LOT of brand new cars have minor repairs that the buyer never knows about.
And really, if you don't know and can't tell there was damage does it really even matter?
Very Interesting.
I was more angry over the principle- CarFax came back clean, but in fact, it wasn't clean- and that's another chip I could have used to negotiate the price down when I bought it. But at that point, a year or so had already gone by so it was too late to really do anything more. I still did alright when I traded it on my TJ Rubi, so I guess it evens out in the end.
 

Iggy

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I'm unsure how CarFax gets its data on damage, but it gets the ownership data from various DMVs based on the VIN. I think the damage is reported by a car dealership, a repair shop, or maybe insurance companies. There's probably a fee they pay for a damage report otherwise there wouldn't be an incentive for a busy shop to key in the data. Dunno.

There are no regulations mandating damage reporting. It's a cooperative arrangement between the insurance companies, repair facilities, and dealerships.

Would be interesting to understand the process.
 

Shots

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Yes, Carfax gets their data from the DMV, shops (this can include places like oil change shops), dealerships and insurance companies. One of the "incentives" to share data would be to grant free/discounted access to the service. So for example Carfax may pay Jiffy Lube for reports of service because they probably don't care about access. However, a local dealership (especially medium size ones) may really benefit from free/discounted reports. They could sell every car with a Carfax report for buyer confidence, and all it cost them is telling Carfax what work they did on what cars. Win-win. The dealership gets help with sales, and Carfax expands their database.
 

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KevOh93

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My wife told me she wanted hers lifted.
I did 35s, wheels, 3" lift, new rails.
Brought it home and showed it to her.
She informed me she meant her boobs.
lol that was funny. But sorry you gotta deal with saggy boobs.
 

No IFS

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They reinstalled the original aluminum steering box. No problem just noted.
 
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Jerkeejoe

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They reinstalled the original aluminum steering box. No problem just noted.
Yeah, I know. I was told they need to get all of the collision work done and then start the recall process. I was kind of annoyed at that. He also said that they are waiting like 6 weeks for the new steering box when they order them.
 
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Jerkeejoe

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Body is on and new rear bumper installed. They’re installing radiator, air intake, new bumper, and the correct wheels and tires tomorrow morning and then it goes to the body shop for the last of the work.

Jeep Wrangler JL JL Frame Replacement Process & Pics A1477963-5349-43CB-899D-B670EBC78B6A
Jeep Wrangler JL JL Frame Replacement Process & Pics BEB09B23-5695-475A-ABD3-36E865D7F743
 

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TJJL19

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Yeah, I know. I was told they need to get all of the collision work done and then start the recall process. I was kind of annoyed at that. He also said that they are waiting like 6 weeks for the new steering box when they order them.
Yeah, I know. I was told they need to get all of the collision work done and then start the recall process. I was kind of annoyed at that. He also said that they are waiting like 6 weeks for the new steering box when they order them.
Will you let us know, if after you start driveing, anything eles goes bad,such as trans, ect?
 
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Jerkeejoe

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Will you let us know, if after you start driveing, anything eles goes bad,such as trans, ect?
Yep. No Problem.

Got a call from the dealer yesterday and was told that when they went to install the radiator they found a broken radiator mount that they didn't see before because it was sheared off so cleanly. The replacement won't be in until Monday, so the body shop won't get it until. Monday or Tuesday now. Ugh.
 

Rubycon50

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Yep. No Problem.

Got a call from the dealer yesterday and was told that when they went to install the radiator they found a broken radiator mount that they didn't see before because it was sheared off so cleanly. The replacement won't be in until Monday, so the body shop won't get it until. Monday or Tuesday now. Ugh.
Have them check the plastic locating pins on the bottom of the large black air intake box. They brake very easily on impact like yours. I had two of them delivered to my house broken because they were not padded sufficiently during shipping.
Good luck!
 
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Jerkeejoe

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Have them check the plastic locating pins on the bottom of the large black air intake box. They brake very easily on impact like yours. I had two of them delivered to my house broken because they were not padded sufficiently during shipping.
Good luck!
I appreciate the heads up. I actually had them just install a cold air intake while they were at it, so this hopefully shouldn't be an issue.
 
 



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