Hello, I’ve posted before but didn’t get much help. I’m looking at a 2004 Jeep Wrangler X 4.0 manual. On the car fax is said it had an accident in 2004 that was stated as “ police report, accident reported, it hit a highway sign post, functional damage, no airbags deployed”. It’s super clean in the pictures. Should i be worried? Its had 8 owners since then and it’s a low mile Jeep with a clean title, i just don’t know what would be considered a salvage title. What should i look for if i decide to buy it?
Help buying a Jeep Wrangler TJ
- Thread starter Jonesy97
- Start date
GeorgeSully
TJ Enthusiast
Have it taken to a collision shop to check it out before you buy, if the seller doesn’t let you that’s a bad sign.
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He’s been really honest about it, it’s from 2004, how much damage could hitting a sign post cause? Would insurance at the time (when it was brand new) salvage title it if it had frame damage?
GeorgeSully
TJ Enthusiast
I’m not sure but a body or collision shop would definitely be better suited than me for those questions.
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luk4mud
TJ Enthusiast
8 owners in 14 Years?? That would be a big red flag to me. I would not only have a body chop check it out, I would spend the $ to run it through an AAA purchase inspection, and tell the seller if it passes, you'll pay for the inspection; if it doesnt, he/ she has to. I have used that method to flush out issues in the past.
I wouldn't buy it unless I could see photos of the damage before it was repaired, and I'd absolutely insist on having a body shop check out the frame to make sure it is okay and within spec. If the seller doesn't allow you to do that, then walk away and don't look back. If it was truly a minor accident and fixed correctly, no seller would have a problem with a body shop inspecting it.
But also... 8 owners in 14 years? That's a big red flag for me.
But also... 8 owners in 14 years? That's a big red flag for me.
Some were only 6-8 months of ownership, others were 1-3 years. Jeep was barely driven. Only has 110k miles. It looks pristine but i don’t know what the damage would be.
luk4mud
TJ Enthusiast
One person owning it for a few months might be explainable, but mutliples? I'd look for another one, unless the price and condition are just so good its hard to find anything comparable, and even then I'd be very very cautious.
It’s bone stock, super clean, interior is flawless, haven’t driven it yet though, I’ll see what shops are near by
Because there’s a difference between hitting a highway guard rail at 20 mph and hitting it at 65 mph. The latter could definitely cause frame damage that wouldn’t be noticeable unless it was on a laser rack.
It said it hit a road sign post, I’m not sure if it was in the road and the sign flew up and hit the grill or hood or if the person swerved and hit a speed limit post or something like that. Hard to tell. If there was frame damage wouldn’t the airbag deploy and the Jeep would be a salvage title?
No, frame damage doesn’t always mean it would have a salvage title. In some cases yes, but in other cases no.
The airbag could also deploy, but it also could not. It all depends on the impact to be honest. Chances are it’s fine, but for the low cost of having a body shop inspect it, I would want to be sure is all.
My first thought is that it's still around 14 years since the accident so what could possibly be wrong? Then I see the number of owners over the same 14 years and I wonder what is wrong with it? Would any problems even be from the accident?
A nice test drive on the way to get a body shop inspection should answer these questions.
A nice test drive on the way to get a body shop inspection should answer these questions.
I know from my dads experiance that any damage through insurance over 1k is generally marked on the car as an accident. So miminal damage could have been done and caused the stain on its record. Like everyone else said the multiple owners is the only red flag I see. Could be that people just owned it as a toy, got bored, and sold it. Or it has other issues. Best thing to do would have it inspected.
At 9500 you should have a pretty decent number of jeeps to pick from so be picky.
At 9500 you should have a pretty decent number of jeeps to pick from so be picky.
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