Used 17 PIU - Lies and Deceit or just nitpicking?

[LessThan8]

Hey guys, been a while since I've been on the forum since my last 2000 XLT, just got a 2017 PIU w/ 3.5 TT. Long story short i bought the car from a dealer that said the car had no accidents and was a used highway patrol car w/ 93K. On the site I used before purchase (Carguru) it said that it had an accident and no damage was reported. Well after buying the car for a good deal (or so i thought) 15,995. Seemed too good to be true, so i spent the next few weeks throwing it up on the lift and looking around. Well I threw the VIN in google one day and, man I should have done that sooner.

Hibid

Couple of things I found, I wanted to get input on how big of an issue this might be and things to look out for that I might not be considering.

-4 Different Year tires w/ different tread depth 4-8mm
-Driver seat rocks back and forth
-Steering col bent (on rotation steering wheel height changes)
-Front Pass strut area has deformation (Groans on turns, sounds like bumper flex)
-Turbo inlets have radiator style hose w/ clamps
-Caulking around the timing cover
-Vibration at highways speeds on Front
-AC nonfunctional

Wondering what you all would do in this situation, I'm bringing it to the dealer today to bring up these concerns and hope I'm hitting all the ones that aren't nit-picky and just safety.

 

[peterk9]

Hi Cory. That seems a little more than a slight fender bender. Probably someone bought it and threw some used parts at it and perhaps used it as a trade-in. There's a good chance the unibody was damaged as well. Was it a Ford dealer you got it from? Any chance of getting the deal cancelled or was it sold "As Is"?

Peter

 

[mguy13sport]

The accident report on CarFax did not say much. Strut mounts are common failure so I would check that first. Body mounts and control arm bushings are also common failure on the police cars that see heavy use. It was also exposed to north east weather so that will only accelerate deterioration.

The factory turbo piping is rubber/plastic. Its fine until you upgrade turbos.

RTV around the timing cover means someone probably already replaced the waterpump / timing gear. That is the most common failure point with the 3.5/3.7 engines.

Hopefully it had a front push bar on when it hit the other car

 

[Mr. Alligator]

I would go back to the dealer and focus ONLY on all of the items related to the non-disclosed accident.

I do not think you are nit-picking. But maybe the seller is not lying and was not aware either. Hopefully, the seller/dealer will make this right.

I would not drive it with four different year/type/ tread depth tires,

Good luck!

 

[Mbrooks420]

This is one great reason to avoid a previous patrol vehicle.

 

[Mr. Alligator]

This is one great reason to avoid a previous patrol vehicle.

Previous patrol vehicle.,, might be the only thing that gets harder use than a taxi, or a rental.

 

[LessThan8]

I fit in that category of a patrol vehicle being the right vehicle, and unfortunately my department (EMS) still has theirs in active duty for a while. But I drove that around for a while and loved the dynamics of it. The price matched with the ease of reoutfitting for EMS, just made sense. If they were upfront with the accident, I probably would have walked. Rust is actually minimal, like really minimal for a NY vehicle. Some pics of my car, and the work whip.

 

[LessThan8]

Dropped it off at the dealer, not Ford unfortunately, and gave them the list. Heres hoping they come through.

This dent is what's got me most concerned.

 

[BKennedy]

If the department sold it at auction instead of repairing it, it was considered a total loss. They might not have reported it that way if it was their fault, since they are most likely self-insured. That is major damage shown in the pictures.

 

[whatsup]

Hibid

A simple google search usually turns up auction vehicles. Yours took pretty significant damage to driver front.

I'm going to guess you purchased it from Grace. Based on their website, it seems like they perhaps specialize in buying crashed police vehicles to fix on the cheap and resell. Good luck.

 

[peterk9]

Dropped it off at the dealer, not Ford unfortunately, and gave them the list. Heres hoping they come through.

This dent is what's got me most concerned.

Hey Cory. Have had it in for a 4-wheel alignment yet? Just curious to see if there was structural damage.

Peter

 

[whatsup]

Hey Cory. Have had it in for a 4-wheel alignment yet? Just curious to see if there was structural damage.

Peter

The link with pics I posted above seems to indicate there was "structural damage", but it seems odd that none of the airbags deployed. The link also indicates the vehicle sold at auction for $2,100 (and a 13% buyers premium).

 

[peterk9]

The link with pics I posted above seems to indicate there was "structural damage", but it seems odd that none of the airbags deployed. The link also indicates the vehicle sold at auction for $2,100 (and a 13% buyers premium).

I guess I should have asked if that damage has been corrected. An alignment might show whether it has or not. I had a vehicle before that didn't have near the damage that this PIU had and it affected the unibody structure which had to be corrected.

Peter

 

[LessThan8]

Yeah I was in a bit of a rush to get a vehicle, and took the bait knowing that I'm handy with cars and have a full frame lift to do work on it. But didn't expect the full front clip to be gone. There was an RCM error when i pulled events from Forscan. Cars still at the shop but trying to decide if I lemon law this car. I can only expect random issues happening from full on repairs like this with no reporting documentation.
Yeah i did get it at Grace, and Paula had the gall to tell me they "got it in new condition"...

The whole situation is exhausting

 

[utilitytristin]

I'd check suspension parts like control arms, bushings and strut mounts. I just replaced mine and they're common failures. They've also occurred on my regular Explorer. The timing cover "caulking" could be from a gasket maker if the water pump was serviced, and given the mileage on the CarFax report, that seems to be the likely reason that "caulking" is there.

 

[BKennedy]

I would take a picture off the auction site into the dealership and ask them if that is what they consider "New Condition".

 

[peterk9]

I would take a picture off the auction site into the dealership and ask them if that is what they consider "New Condition".

The problem with that would be that the vehicle was fixed up and not in the pictured condition when it arrived at the dealership.
I do agree though that the dealership should have looked into the vehicle more that they apparently did seeing as how some of the damage had to be evident.

Peter

 

[BKennedy]

Hibid

A simple google search usually turns up auction vehicles. Yours took pretty significant damage to driver front.

I'm going to guess you purchased it from Grace. Based on their website, it seems like they perhaps specialize in buying crashed police vehicles to fix on the cheap and resell. Good luck.

The problem with that would be that the vehicle was fixed up and not in the pictured condition when it arrived at the dealership.
I do agree though that the dealership should have looked into the vehicle more that they apparently did seeing as how some of the damage had to be evident.

Peter

He purchased from a dealership that specializes in buying wrecked police vehicles, according to the above post. I think they knew.

 

[LessThan8]

Update! I basically went in and did just that @BKennedy, told them flat out that I found the auction site and MY VIN. Left it there, got 4 new-ish tires (older rims unfortunately, no matter since i want the non PI rims soon), they "sent the car off to the body shop" and fixed the hood alignment, New front drivers seat, back seat is now secured, 2 new headlights. TPMS is not paired anymore, so attention to detail is needing work. Alignment is good, but balance on the tires are still a problem at 80. I'm happy they did anything at all to be honest. I'm going to ask for a work order for it so I can actually see in text what was done. With Mass lemon law, I have 5 more days of warranty, since it was there for that long.

I'd check suspension parts like control arms, bushings and strut mounts. I just replaced mine and they're common failures. They've also occurred on my regular Explorer. The timing cover "caulking" could be from a gasket maker if the water pump was serviced, and given the mileage on the CarFax report, that seems to be the likely reason that "caulking" is there.

Checked under the lift a week ago, and these all seem in good condition. Thanks for the heads up, Ill be keeping an eye and take another look at them before Mt Philo Hillclimb this weekend. Hoping to change out PTU and oil before then too. Have a ford specialist that will be taking it in and changing out the rear toe links and looking at the whole thing for anything else out of whack.

Dont be like me, ALWAYS CARFAX

 

[BKennedy]

Good news, as long as your satisfied. Remember that resale is going to be an issue with that car. Major collisions reduce value.

My Silverado has been in three collisions, which when all added up were more than the original purchase price in repairs. My insurance company has a rider attached to it that will make up the difference in resale value because they didn't total it last time it got smacked. In any case, not planning on selling it for a long time because when I get a vehicle I like I keep it. It's a 2008 with 140,000 miles, and a engine that was completely rebuilt under warranty at 86,000 miles. No reason to get a new truck.