Prebuy Help - Wichita, KS

[TDG77]

Hi all! Newbie here, so I'm not sure if this is the right place for this post. If I'm in error, please feel free to direct me elsewhere!

I've considered putting a deposit down on a used 2018 GT350 in Wichita, KS that has apparently been in a minor accident, per Carfax, where damage looked to be on the cosmetic side. However, I'm a little skeptical. The initial photos for this car showed what appears to be a few scratches along very front of racing stripe and perhaps some bending of hood, but can't be for sure.

When I contacted dealer today, I requested pics of the car in more detail - lo and behold the racing stripe is gone and hood looks great. According to the salesfolk and managers, the racing stripe "looked like trash," so they took it off. There also does not appear to be any hood or bumper scratching/bowing, etc. and all seems to match up paint-wise I'm waiting for them to send me the maintenance records. If all is minor and no big deal, I'll be fine, as this will likely be a daily driver for me and I have no intent of getting rid of it if I do buy it.

Add to this that the car has been on one of this dealer's lots since about September or so (according to Carfax). Needless to say, I'm just curious what is up here. I'd like to know if I'm getting a good deal or just getting wool pulled over my eyes.

As I live in OK, are there any folks on this forum in the Wichita area that might have the ability to give this one a look-see for me and help assess before I throw a deposit down and drive 2 hours to look at it?

I thank you in advance for any advice!

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[honeybadger]

My guess?

Someone caused damage to it on/around delivery, they repaired it, but didn't want to shell out for the OEM stripes (they cost several thousand from Ford when ordered from the parts counter).

 

[TDG77]

My guess?

Someone caused damage to it on/around delivery, they repaired it, but didn't want to shell out for the OEM stripes (they cost several thousand from Ford when ordered from the parts counter).

Looking at Carfax, damage/accident was recorded at around 2500 miles on the odometer, back in Feb of last year. These guys are telling me that they were "aftermarket" stripes, so not sure what to make of that.

 

[honeybadger]

Ahh...didn't pick up on it being used. My bad.

Recommend going to look at it if you're serious (and inspecting it closely). Some repairs are fine and some are crap. Can't really know until you look closely.

 

[TDG77]

Ahh...didn't pick up on it being used. My bad.

Recommend going to look at it if you're serious (and inspecting it closely). Some repairs are fine and some are crap. Can't really know until you look closely.

Yeah, that's my dilemma. It's going to be at least a week or two before I can actually get up there to look, so trying to ascertain if I should just bite the bullet and put a (refundable) $500 deposit down until I can get up there to look. I'm no expert and just don't want to get duped.

 

[Wine dude]

500 refundable deposit isn’t bad
Have them pull the warranty service record, and also the body shop repair ticket

 

[Tank]

Go through the “GT350 Basics” thread in my signature and look at the delivery and routine checks section. Also, check out the link below.
In any case, use the history to get the best deal you can..
Good luck!

https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/th...ve-a-prospective-buyer-for-used-gt350.111880/

 

[TDG77]

Go through the “GT350 Basics” thread in my signature and look at the delivery and routine checks section. Also, check out the link below.
In any case, use the history to get the best deal you can..
Good luck!

https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/th...ve-a-prospective-buyer-for-used-gt350.111880/

Thank you much! I'll check those out!

 

[ClayDee]

Looking at Carfax, damage/accident was recorded at around 2500 miles on the odometer, back in Feb of last year. These guys are telling me that they were "aftermarket" stripes, so not sure what to make of that.

Should be coded in the VIN if it came from the factory with or without stripes.

 

[JLRX]

Sent you a PM

 

[Tomster]

I see what you are talking about. My guess is much like Kevin's. The hood was damaged and either repaired or replaced and they didn't want to spend the money to replace the stripes. Those OEM stripes (for the hood) after the repair would cost about $1000 to replace. Now it appears the stripes off the whole car are gone and that is a lot of money (many thousands) if you were to replace them with OEM.

I am assuming that those stripes were OEM. Like someone mentioned, use the VIN to find out. If someone was so cheap to cut corners like that, I wouldn't have a lot of confidence in any repairs that were made. I would take a close look to see if the hood has been repainted. Keep in mind that this is an aluminum hood and it is not the easiest to repair. If PDR couldnt fix it or the repair was botched, they might have replaced the hood and didn't want to shell out for the stripes.

If the stripes were OEM to the car, I wouldn't touch it unless I was being offered an exceptional deal.

Get the full Ford maintenance history for the car. If you know someone at a ford dealership, try to get a copy of the OASIS report. That report will have a detailed record of anything that was ever done to that car by Ford. Another concern of mine is not knowing if that engine is an oil consumer. That's a whole other topic. If I did buy it, I'd want a couple hundred mile return policy in place to determine if this car uses oil. Read this post.... https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/threads/is-this-2017-gt350-too-good-to-be-true.114712/

Good luck and caveat emptor

 

[johnny1]

If asking price for white/blue 2017 one with leather heated/cooled seats at Mel Hamilton in Wichita is not over priced it has just over 4,000 miles and was my car bought new in Parsons and at 73 yrs. old hardly drove it. only went 40 miles out of town with it one time and never had it above 4,000 rpm. I have no connection with the dealership, just saying its been well cared for always kept in a carport also. Feel free to contact me if they will sell reasonably if you have questions about it.

 

[TDG77]

Thanks for all the tips/thoughts! My follow-ups:

Should be coded in the VIN if it came from the factory with or without stripes.

I've been trying to figure this out, but I can't see anywhere in the VIN decoders I've used (including Ford's) where it mentions the stripes. Am I missing something? I also looked for original window sticker, but it's "not available yet."

If the stripes were OEM to the car, I wouldn't touch it unless I was being offered an exceptional deal.

It seems like an OK deal - '18MY with 3300 miles. They are asking something like $54 or $55K for it. They have come down to $51K.

Get the full Ford maintenance history for the car. If you know someone at a ford dealership, try to get a copy of the OASIS report. That report will have a detailed record of anything that was ever done to that car by Ford. Another concern of mine is not knowing if that engine is an oil consumer. That's a whole other topic. If I did buy it, I'd want a couple hundred mile return policy in place to determine if this car uses oil.

I will see if I can't butter up someone at the local Ford dealership to see if they'll help me out there. They are pretty easygoing and nice. As to return policy, I may check on that. Since I live about 150 miles from the dealership, maybe they'll give me the week.

If asking price for white/blue 2017 one with leather heated/cooled seats at Mel Hamilton in Wichita is not over priced it has just over 4,000 miles and was my car bought new in Parsons and at 73 yrs. old hardly drove it. only went 40 miles out of town with it one time and never had it above 4,000 rpm. I have no connection with the dealership, just saying its been well cared for always kept in a carport also. Feel free to contact me if they will sell reasonably if you have questions about it.

Thank you, sir! I've seen that one advertised and they only have a few exterior photos of it. They seem to be asking a bit more than I'd like for it and will probably stick to that price point, but I may contact them today and see if they're actually willing to haggle. EDIT - looks like they had more detail on their actual website, as opposed to cars.com, etc. Very nice! Care to disclose how much you got for the trade?

My other question has to do with warranty (and may be a stupid question altogether) - could the minor accident void any part of existing warranty? I

 

[johnny1]

Some one will chime in but don't believe a minor incident has any thing to do with 3yr/36,000 mile warranty. And I assume your talking about the other car you are looking at cause unless some out there damaged it mine had absolutely no damage (not even a scratch) when it left here from the GM dealership I traded mine to for a new truck and they sold/traded it to Mel Hamilton and drove it out there.

 

[TDG77]

Some one will chime in but don't believe a minor incident has any thing to do with 3yr/36,000 mile warranty. And I assume your talking about the other car you are looking at cause unless some out there damaged it mine had absolutely no damage (not even a scratch) when it left here from the GM dealership I traded mine to for a new truck and they sold/traded it to Mel Hamilton and drove it out there.

No, sir, I'm not speaking of yours at all. Yours looks to be great (although, I'd prefer to have one with the newer oil filter assembly, but that can be changed)!

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