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Would you be deterred from buying a Sahara with accident on its Carfax?

ReggieFred

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I would never buy rental cars or dealer loaners. They are abused constantly. I typically also will never buy a car that has be involved in ANY accident severe enough to be reported to a Carfax, especially a rollover. IMO, a car just never drives the same after bigger accidents. But that’s just my opinion.
Anytime the police write a report an accident will be added to car fax. I had a vehicle that was gently hit while sitting in my driveway after a little ricochet. Only real damage was to the plastic bits on the front drivers side. It’s on car fax.
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Duck Dodgers

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I may have to take back all that I said about buying rentals.

Hertz is filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Can you say “fire sale”.
 

aldo98229

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Anytime the police write a report an accident will be added to car fax. I had a vehicle that was gently hit while sitting in my driveway after a little ricochet. Only real damage was to the plastic bits on the front drivers side. It’s on car fax.
It must depend where you live. Here, and other places I’ve lived, the carfax is not triggered by a police report but an insurance claim. If someone chooses to pay to repair an accident out-of-pocket, it won’t appear on the carfax.

A couple of years back I went to Carmax to look at a used, low miles 2016 Dodge Challenger Scat Pack they had listed with a clean carfax. Upon close inspection one could tell there were signs the rear had sustained substantial damage: repainted rear bumper, misaligned rear facia, missing DODGE letters across the rear tail light panel, exhaust tips mounted crooked, etc. Yet the carfax showed nothing. The prior owner must have chosen to fix the car out-of-pocket rather than go through insurance.
 

mjaga

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Anytime the police write a report an accident will be added to car fax. I had a vehicle that was gently hit while sitting in my driveway after a little ricochet. Only real damage was to the plastic bits on the front drivers side. It’s on car fax.
It must depend where you live. Here, and other places I’ve lived, the carfax is not triggered by a police report but an insurance claim. If someone chooses to pay to repair an accident out-of-pocket, it won’t appear on the carfax.

A couple of years back I went to Carmax to look at a used, low miles 2016 Dodge Challenger Scat Pack they had listed with a clean carfax. Upon close inspection one could tell there were signs the rear had sustained substantial damage: repainted rear bumper, misaligned rear facia, missing DODGE letters across the rear tail light panel, exhaust tips mounted crooked, etc. Yet the carfax showed nothing. The prior owner must have chosen to fix the car out-of-pocket rather than go through insurance.
I’m not positive, but in IL I think that burdens falls on the repair shops. I really don’t understand how it works. I’ve seen it all ways, reported, not reported, with combos of accident reports made and non-accident reports. What I’ve learned is CarFax and Autocheck really aren’t even reliable sources of history. My car has been involved in two accidents (at the hand of the dealership) and neither appear on any auto reports. They outsourced the body work, to actual shops.
 

MLS_AZ

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I wouldn’t touch it. It likely has a salvaged title, too, given that it flipped.

Those declarations never go away. You will have a hell of a time getting rid of the Jeep whenever you decide to part ways.

If you don’t regret buying a rebuilt vehicle sooner, you will then.
Rental car + Carfax accident + roll over = very bad option. I'd say stay away from it and look for another vehicle. This will haunt you in the future when/if you decide to sell it, as mentioned above.
 

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steelponycowboy

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I would buy it for an off road rig where I was going to replace/upgrade most of it anyway.
I agree with most. You don't know what kind of accident it was or what was damaged/replaced. Dealer will lie to you or just won't know, owner wants to sell so won't be honest.

When you go to sell the value will be down and you'll have a hard time getting rid of it because of the carfax with a smart buyer.
 

Trojan_Actual

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Nope. Wouldn't touch that.
 

sf5211

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I too vote no.
Reason: How many folks in this forum have trouble with undamaged Jeeps. (Steering, stalling, options not working) just to name a few. The odds of having a trouble free Jeep are slim.
I’m sure even with your discount, being it’s a 2018 they’re still going to ask for a hefty price.
You can however sometimes get lucky. In 2006 I still had a mortgage and bought a 94 Ford Explorer for $2600.00 bucks. It was not yet the time to “treat” myself. I only had to put in a new clutch and used it for 11 years trouble free.
The difference here is I’m sure that 2018 Jeep isn’t gonna be $2600.00
 

word302

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I too vote no.
Reason: How many folks in this forum have trouble with undamaged Jeeps. (Steering, stalling, options not working) just to name a few. The odds of having a trouble free Jeep are slim.
I’m sure even with your discount, being it’s a 2018 they’re still going to ask for a hefty price.
You can however sometimes get lucky. In 2006 I still had a mortgage and bought a 94 Ford Explorer for $2600.00 bucks. It was not yet the time to “treat” myself. I only had to put in a new clutch and used it for 11 years trouble free.
The difference here is I’m sure that 2018 Jeep isn’t gonna be $2600.00
This statement is just silly. The percentage of owners with issues is tiny. They are just loud. Don't get me wrong, there's no way I'd buy a newer rig with roll-over history, but your statement is just plain false. Millions of trouble-free JLs rolling around out there.
 

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timn1984

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Alright guys. So the opportunity has come along where theres a 2018 sahara for sale...thats priced perfectly. Like too good a deal perfect. The salesman sent a link to the carfax and disclosed it had been in an accident.
Turns out it was a rental vehicle for 3,000 miles and one of the people who rented it...flipped it. Had to be towed from the site but airbags didnt deploy.

would that deter you from buying it? I mean, assuming all work was done correctly?
I know of plenty that have been flipped or overturned, gotten the work done, and been fine.
Short answer is "Yes" do not buy. But it also would depend on your need and what are you using it for, daily driver? Or recreational on weekends? I would personally stay away from ANY vehicle that has been in any kind of accident, there is too much that can go wrong. you might as well buy a bag of LEMONS to go with it. But if you can get the price to where you can live with any future major fixes, then maybe you could buy.
 

sf5211

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This statement is just silly. The percentage of owners with issues is tiny. They are just loud. Don't get me wrong, there's no way I'd buy a newer rig with roll-over history, but your statement is just plain false. Millions of trouble-free JLs rolling around out there.
Ok Word thats fair, I guess I can't argue with you being I've had 2 Wranglers already and have had zero problems with either one. Maybe like you said it's the "loudness" in here because I see so many folks with problems in these rooms.
 

four low

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What was the dollar amount of the damage ? Was it a ""salvage" title ? Some states ( NY for one) will not allow registration until the vehicle has been inspected by the State, for safety and stolen parts....
 

steelponycowboy

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Unfortunately, there probably isn't anyway to find out what the extent of the damage was. It could have been a low speed parking lot bump, it could have been a roll over. You'll never know. Having said that unless you can verify the details of the damage and not just take the owners or dealers word for it, take a pass and buy a different Jeep.
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