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

Spank

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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.
This is one of the downsides of any accident "report" on a vehicle. You'll never get the entire story, regardless of the good or bad.

The resale value for my Jeep will take a hit whenever I go to trade or sell because I have an accident on mine, but the damage was to a measly plastic fender flare. A young woman sideswiped me trying to avoid another idiot who wasn't paying attention and almost plowed into her. I doubt either of us would've even bothered reporting it if it was only that, but said measly plastic fender flare managed to chew up a good portion of her fender, hood, and front bumper.

I can mention this, show detailed pictures and records of everything, but a potential buyer will always wonder if that was really all that happened. A dealership will make me eat shit on it no matter what, give me grief that they don't know the entire story, but then go ahead and feed the customer what did go down and minimize the hit on their end.

Thankfully on this particular Jeep, the OP definitely got the gist of it.
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steelponycowboy

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If something like this happens to your personal Jeep, it is always best to take plenty of pictures and keep any documentation of what was done to fix it. That way you can give peace of mind to the next owner when they check the CarFax before they buy.
 

HungryHound

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I did, my first Jeep 87 YJ . Got it in San Diego. Dealer had like 10 used ones all in a row, all red. It was clean, shinny, had a new stripe and every thing including 3 Major issues that developed.

First, it would stall, not just up steep hills but like on Tuesday morning on a flat road going 40. The carb was fouled and other sh!t.

Second, the rear folding seat broke with two friends in it while exploring Borrego.

Finding #2 help solve #1. The seat frame was rusted through. The seat looked fine. I found a Rental agreement in the springs from......... Hawaii. Light bulb moment! Driving on the beach! SALT water. Back to #1. I pulled the air cleaner (old) off my new carb. I inspected it. The inside lip up above where the filter sits was rusted like east coast rusted. I figured the part was dipped then sprayed and some of it was bare metal. The 87 had a dryer hose snorkel on the air cleaner that went down to the front just below the turn signal.

I order a new air clear from the same dealer. When I got there I asked 'Any complaints about stalling on the ex-rental Jeeps? The answer from the parts manager was of course NO! While a young military type is arguing with the service department about his stalling Jeep (used).

I told the kid I could fix the problem. I could be a cocky son of a bitch. I took my new air cleaner housing all brand spanking new. I took the top off and got out my trusty pen light and looked. Sure enough NEW-part-Bare metal. "Ya see that, those Hawaiian rental Jeeps are full of hidden rust, caused by salt water. Bet your seat frame is rusted also." I was offered the part for free. The military looking youngster said what about me? He got a free carb and air cleaner-bastard.

Being cocky and some what stupid, I kept the YJ. I was rewarded a year or so later with #3. All the lights and gauges would suddenly quit working. Jeep ran fine. AND it was only really a problem at night. You could trace every wire on that thing and find nothing, no broken ground, no corrosion, no hidden rust. Till your smartassed neighbors kid with like 3 weeks of autoshop asks, "Did ya pull the fuse block assembly out and look at it? Uh, .... that would be a NO.

So if you are still reading.. DON'T buy a rental or branded title vehicle. Only 3 exceptions IMHO are:

1 a motorcycle that's a weekend track bike,
2 a trailered rock crawler or mudbogger - none of them street legal.
3 for entry in a destruction derby or figure 8 race.
Just reading this old post. I'm so sorry about your past problems. I'll have to admit I did rent a YJ in Hawaii YEARS ago and I abused the hell out of it. Beach, salt water, lava rocks....heck, I even borrowed a wrench from the maintenance man at the hotel and took the doors off. Sorry you ended up with it!
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