Water in trunk

General Discussion
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1

Hello

I am planning on buying a 2003 Taurus with about 95K miles. It drives ok but the trunk has a lot of water hidden under the carpet. It is a bit musty and I suspect the water has been there for at least a week if not more The dealer said it was traded in recently. He said he will fix this, but I am not sure if this has a permanent fix. Any suggestions?

2

Unless you don’t mind it rusting out, don’t buy it.

3

Could be a flood damaged car, or worse. Keep looking.

Twotone

4

I had a car that developed a leak around the lid that settled in the trunk. I don’t think it’s unusual but agree that if you’re not comfortable with a closer more complete inspection, a fix and a negotiated lower price…“walk on by”.

5

Run. Fast.

The car has a leak. It’s probably easy to fix. Either trunk seals, or if it has a sunroof, they need to clean the drain lines out.

But you don’t know how long it had the leak, or how long the water has been sitting there. It wouldn’t surprise me if you’d have to replace every material in the trunk to get rid of the smell…especially once summer hits and the temperature becomes more conducive to mold growth.

6

This Could Be An Indication That The Car Has Had Collision Damage Repaired.

In addition to always having a pre-purchase mechanical inspection on a used car that one is considering, I recommend having the body inspected for repaired collision damage, especially if the body integrity raises red flags (like a trunk full of water) and especially a trade-in.

It could be minor and easily remedied (Don’t those cars have a rear antenna ?), but maybe not. It could have faulty, shoddy, or botched repair work. Feeling lucky ?

CSA

7

Hi…
Thanks a lot everyone. I decided not to go for that car. It didn’t look like a flood damaged vehicle but as CSA says and I agree it could have had a botched body repair. I could have got it fixed and negotiated a lower price but in the end I did not feel comfortable doing that. Good that I opened the trunk and looked under the mat, or else I might have bargained a little and gone for it. I have seen some internet forums where people have complained about the same issue in Ford Tauruses. Well, now that my curiosity is piqued, I would like to know if this is common?

Siva