Buying a used vehicle...sigh
I have been doing a ton of web shopping for a low mile, used F250 crew cab gasser. I'm just doing my due diligence and trying to get the most out of my purchase but to my wife, it has become my lates...
Forum Discussion
Yeah, it's tough to find good, recent used trucks for sure. All I can think is that it's good old supply/demand economics. One thing I personally put zero faith in is Carfax. Sure, it can give you some good information but the absence of information should never be relied upon and clean bill of health.
Carfax scours DMV databases and whatever crumbs they can get from insurance companies but it's far from absolute. My ex-business partner had too many beers one night and wrapped his truck around a tree a few years ago. It probably should have been totaled but the insurance company chose to fix it. 16K damage to repair it. Since it was a 1 car accident and Farmers didn't report it anywhere there's no paper trail. All these cars getting flooded in recent storms and whatnot is a whole other worry.
Fear not though, as an alternative, get an inspection from a third party. A guy that knows cars can tell if a car has been in a flood or accident within minutes. I have a buddy that does this for work and I can't believe how/what he picks up on instantly. Rusted screws, swapped body panels, rubbed paint on the edges of the hood from a wreck, etc., etc.
If you're shopping a vehicle far away you can even save the drive just by paying someone to go check it out before you get too excited.
Carfax scours DMV databases and whatever crumbs they can get from insurance companies but it's far from absolute. My ex-business partner had too many beers one night and wrapped his truck around a tree a few years ago. It probably should have been totaled but the insurance company chose to fix it. 16K damage to repair it. Since it was a 1 car accident and Farmers didn't report it anywhere there's no paper trail. All these cars getting flooded in recent storms and whatnot is a whole other worry.
Fear not though, as an alternative, get an inspection from a third party. A guy that knows cars can tell if a car has been in a flood or accident within minutes. I have a buddy that does this for work and I can't believe how/what he picks up on instantly. Rusted screws, swapped body panels, rubbed paint on the edges of the hood from a wreck, etc., etc.
If you're shopping a vehicle far away you can even save the drive just by paying someone to go check it out before you get too excited.
