Did a local Ford dealer show us a altered car fax?

[Onrie]

Long story short, after a rain we got on Saturday, we discoved water leaking into the third row seat of our explorer. We take it to the dealer, the mechanic and interior guys are stumped, they have the body shop look at it and they find the culprit, but they also find that the roof and rear hatch have had work done to them, they believe the roof has been replaced at some point, most likely due to hail damage.

When we purchased the vehicle, we were showed a clean carfax, the car was a rental out of Florida, and was sold at acution to the dealer we purchased it from. We are just not sure what action, if any, to take from here.

I know there are other sites besides carfax to research a vehicle and i am looking into those aswell. I was just hoping for opinions. Thanks for reading.

 

[jade97]

Items only show on CarFax, IF they were reported.

 

[K5OUN]

CarFax's are not a guarantee the vehicle is free of any damage or claims. Keep in mind not everyone reports to CarFax. In this case the dealer will just dump the blame on CarFax, and while they do offer a buy back guarantee the devil is in the details;

The CARFAX Buyback Guarantee protects you from unknowingly buying a used car with DMV-reported incidents (salvage, fire, flood damage, odometer problems or lemon history). This coverage lasts one year and is transferable.

So basically if the car had a title issue in the past and CarFax didn't catch it, then your covered.

 

[wifes2011xlt]

I might be able to run a carfax you.

 

[Dmk51]

I can get you an auto check report
Send me a pm

 

[dco43054]

The only way to replace the roof is with major cutting and welding. It would likely be pretty obvious on the inside with the headliner removed.

 

[peterk9]

I might be able to run a carfax you.

Just a reminder that under the Forum rules it specifically states No sharing Carfax reports.

Peter

 

[tmg19103]

Not only does it not show on Carfax if it is not reported, but it also can take several months for an accident to get reported and then show on Carfax.

What a person in an accident may do is seek to do a quick repair and trade-in due not liking a car that has has some major body repairs before it shows on Carfax (so as to get a better trade-in deal if the dealer does not pick it up) and if the dealer either knowlingly or unknowlingly (I've traded in with dealers and they just give them a quick go-over - primarily the engine) sells the car quickly enough the Carfax shows up clean. You then try and sell the car a few years later and the Carfax is not clean.

The moral is - always have a mechanic with body shop knowledge go over any used car you buy to see if it has been in an accident before purchase.

I personally consider Carfax useless for these reasons. Always have the used car checked by your own guy.

 

[gatzdon]

There may be a simpler explanation.

It is a well known defect here on the board that the sealant in the roof rack and rear hatch hinges leaks water into the third row seating area.

What you may have is a crappy repair job that didn't fix the leak. Or even funnier, it may even be the original sealant that looks like a crappy repair job (mine was pretty atrocious looking before I sealed it all up myself with clear silicone).

 

[NEWPORTNJ]

I would never buy a car that was once a rental car, those cars get abuse big time. This issuse is a known issue with some explorer's , so a rental company more than likely will never had reported this to ford for warranty repair. Good luck...!

 

[tmg19103]

I would never buy a car that was once a rental car, those cars get abuse big time. This issuse is a known issue with some explorer's , so a rental company more than likely will never had reported this to ford for warranty repair. Good luck...!

I only buy used cash. Generally about 2.5 years old so I get 6 months bumper to bumper and another 2.5 years powertrain (about 25-30k miles to get the depreciation I want and stay under warranty miles for 6 months). Would never touch a rental. Even when a used car is professionally detailed for sale by a private owner, an educated eye can pick up how well it was taken care of by the owner. A good mechanic will tell if there is accident repair and state of the engine/suspension.

 

[Onrie]

Thanks for the input guys. Sorry for the delayed response. It's been a busy month for work

 

[Black Bengal]

Recommend running an AutoCheck report yourself.

http://www.autocheck.com/vehiclehistory/?siteID=2191&WT.mc_id=2191&gclid=CITmj9WnyskCFRCGaQodfqUCXw