THE LOCAL FORD DEALER HAS COME DOWN $5,000 ON A 2001 TAURUS BECAUSE IT WAS A DEMO AND THE ENGINE HAD TO BE REPLACED DUE TO WATER DAMAGE (DROVE THRU BIG PUDDLE). I’VE DRIVEN THE CAR, NO NOISES TO NOTE. TO BUY OR NOT TO BUY?
SORRY, THAT’S A 2011 NOT A 2001 MODEL.
Me, I’d pass because the water might also have gotten into the wiring, which might show up later as problems. Might be fine. But for the amount of money you’re still spending, I’d want a new car without major issues in its history, a history that’ll follow it on Carfax, I imagine.
If a “puddle” damaged the engine to the point that the entire engine needed to be replaced then the “puddle” was more like a lake or a river. I wouldn’t go anywhere near that car if that is the story they are telling you.
Turn off your caps lock key.
I would never buy a water damaged car unless it came with a 20 year 200,000 mile bumper-to-bumper zero deductible warranty. In other words – NO! You never know how long it will take for water damaged electrical problems to surface.
Not buy. Imagine how high the water would have to be to be sucked into a running motor. This is a flood damaged car and there are likely other problems that will show up in due time. At $15,000 off I’d still not be sure about buying such a car.
p.s. - I’d want $5000 off an undamaged Taurus. That price is no bargain.
Water high enough to get injested could easily have gotten into the door cavities, the rocker panels, the carpet, the saats, and countless other body cavities electrical things. Kudos to the dealer for being honest (assuming he was up-front about it), but this one’s better avoided.
or you coul tell him you’ll give him $1000 for it and see what he says. He’s stuck with this dog, so his real price will be what it will bring him at the dealer’s auction.
I’ll assume it’s their description of the type of water damage “drove through a big puddle”. “Cig” is right. I know a $5K savings is tough to walk away from. An engine replacement, as bad as it is, is the tip of the iceberg and you have a dealer you can’t trust. The worse of both worlds.
“same” is right too. Premature rusting will make an engine replacement look like chump change. If they want to give you an extended bumper to bumper warranty, (6 years, 75K for example) talk turkey. Otherwise, run !
You can negate some fresh water body infiltration with oil treatments, but it’s still no electrical malfunction guarantee.
Air intakes are often at the bottom of the engine bay these days. If the Taurus has one, the water only has to get to the bottom of the engine to get sucked into the fuel injectors. There doesn’t even have to be enough water to get in past the door sills. That’s the best reason not to drive through large puddles on the road. If you are going fast enough, it could be thrown into the air intake.
If it were worth more, they would charge more. The problems of tomorrow are unknown today. Buy a code reader and check for codes or monitors not in ready status. If that car comes up clean, flip a coin as to whether or not to take the risk. The big puddle it drove through was a flood. Have you watched the news during the past two years?
If you are one of those people who can sell “ice to eskimos” you will be able to unload the car if it is a junker. If not, and you can afford to “eat the possible loss” you can probably still buy it. If it has a salvage title, you will probably be stuck with the car for quite a while. Have you had good luck in your life?
What is the real cost difference? I imagine you could get a new one with a 3k mark down easily and would go with that.
For piece of mind, it really wouldn’t be too difficult to tell the extension of flood damage on a car for a qualified body shop. A few strategic body panel removals an inspection in some tell tale cavities would be all it would take. Negotiate with the dealer forbthe cost of an independent inspection, an extended warranty and a rock bottom price.
A pricing web site said $3k off (10% is common on most new cars) plus a $2k Ford rebate = $5k discount for a new, non-demo, non-damaged NEW car. Like I said, $5k discount is no bargain.