Clean Titled Truck w/ "No Accidents" and Frame Connectors?

[SickStroke6.0]

Hey guys, trying to help out a friend.

He just bought a truck (his first diesel), and the CarFax was super clean. No accidents, 2 owners; both times sold by a dealership. He bought the truck privately. After owning the truck for a few months, I noticed he had some extra bolts on the frame rail. Upon further investigation, the frame has been cut, notched, and welded back together right beneath the firewall. It looks to have been repaired very well using solid welds and frame connectors. It is not noticeable until you sit underneath the truck. However, this goes against the CarFax and suggests that the truck has been previously wrecked. Frame damage is nearly ALWAYS an automatic trip to the salvage yard. I also told him sometimes the airbags are not replaced, due to the heavy cost of replacement. He is incredibly upset, and I told him I would seek advice. I am concerned for his safety, but he is more concerned about the large check he wrote several months ago (he paid cash for the truck). Would this be something he should seek a lawyer about? Quick research pulled up the suggestion of contacting a "lemon law" lawyer, because this is most likely a shady crime that some dealerships have been known to commit. They will buy the wrecked vehicle at an auction, and fix it before having the title branded.

Having a truck with previous frame damage cuts the value in half, IMO, as with salvage titled vehicles. He paid right at market value for the truck. Any help would be greatly appreciated. He is also afraid to sell the truck, since he does not want to be held liable for this issue in the future.

 

[BKopp]

Has he brought this to the attention of the dealer? They're reactions to when you tell them will give away if they had knowledge of it. If they back peddle then they know and tried to cover it up. If so then hire an attorney


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[SickStroke6.0]

Has he brought this to the attention of the dealer? They're reactions to when you tell them will give away if they had knowledge of it. If they back peddle then they know and tried to cover it up. If so then hire an attorney


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He bought the truck privately, but the previous owner bought it from a dealership.

 

[psduser1]

Sucks for buddy.
Carfax means squat. If it was repaired, and works as designed, I'd say run it, and don't worry.
If buddy bought it, and got a deal, then he has no reason to be upset, just because he "may" have overpaid.

 

[BKopp]

Oh I'm sorry I missed it that you wrote that.


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[CT9AIX]

If I'm not mistaken all those Carfax type websites only report if vehicles are repaired under insurance claims. So if you wreck the truck, bring it back to your house and fix it yourself out of pocket it won't show up on any reports before you never claimed it.

 

[Freightshaker]

A coworker's friend wrecked his S10 pretty bad. He is disabled so they built the truck back up in spare time in garage. It was pretty major I believe cab was cut in half and a new junk yard half welded in. They work great together and upon completion you wouldn't know. Not that he is ever selling it but the carfax is clean lol.

 

[04stroker]

Carfax doesn't mean much to me I have had vehicles repaired under insurance at a body shop more than once and pulled a carfax on my own vehicle out of curiosity and neither of the repairs were shown on it. I am not sure if just certain body shops/insurance company's report to Carfax and some don't or what the deal is.

 

[mandkole]

I learned a lot about CARFAX a few years ago. My wife was broadsided in our leased MKX 4 weeks before lease return. We had the Ford dealer fix it. it was fixed very well and were seriously considering purchasing it anyway. We got no help to buy it (due to the reduced value) so we didn't. No big deal.

However, the rig went to auction with $15K worth of repaired damage. The accident NEVER showed up on the CARFAX. This surprised me as the accident was also reported to the state patrol as required by state law.

Carfax helps with getting an understanding of title transfer and where its been, but don't count on it for properly reporting accidents.

 

[suprdzlduty]

Post a pic of the splice

 

[psduser1]

Carfax is a voluntary disclosure business, as in, if I call and tell them I have a vehicle has been repaired, no more, no less.
Like I said, if he got a fair price, it's all good. Sounds like he wants to flip this for a profit??
Carpe diem, or some sht like that, lol.
The law cannot protect you from your own ignorance.

 

[webb06]

Post some pics. If it's the spot I'm picturing in my mind that I've seen on the frame then it's factory. But pictures will help a lot

 

[Jason]

My truck has what appears to be a splice under the firewall on the frame. Few rivet heads, and welds around it...I believe that's factory.

 

[1badpsd]

Carfax is a voluntary disclosure business, as in, if I call and tell them I have a vehicle has been repaired, no more, no less.
Like I said, if he got a fair price, it's all good. Sounds like he wants to flip this for a profit??
Carpe diem, or some sht like that, lol.
The law cannot protect you from your own ignorance.

No his buddy is upset cause he paid market never wrecked value and now believes its been in a major accident.

 

[greyford1979]

Ditto on the factory frame splice under the firewall, otherwise there must be an awful lot of wrecked Super Duties LOL. And same with the carfax thing. My niece backed into my Scion Tc I had, then a year later my buddies wife backed into it in the same some spot. Neither time showed up on carfax. I did however disclose it myself when I sold the car.

 

[SickStroke6.0]

Ditto on the factory frame splice under the firewall, otherwise there must be an awful lot of wrecked Super Duties LOL. And same with the carfax thing. My niece backed into my Scion Tc I had, then a year later my buddies wife backed into it in the same some spot. Neither time showed up on carfax. I did however disclose it myself when I sold the car.

You guys..... If I am this stupid, I'm going to lose it. LOL going to check my truck now. LOL

 

[Jonnydime]

Factory joint pic from Wayne's Ex conversion thread.

 

[Tom@BigTimeKustomz]

I had a very similar experience with Carfax to Mandkole. In 2009, I crashed my Cummings into a light pole structure (4 ft. or so concrete base for parking lot lights) and bent the frame pretty awful. Insurance company decided to repair it by replacing the entire frame to the tune of $10,9xx dollars or something. Truck was an '04 with 100k+ miles on it, and although I fought it, they replaced it. Point of the story is that Carfax still said 1 owner and no accidents when I sold it. Buyer beware anytime you're buying anything used, whether it be car, truck, motorcycle, waverunner, etc....

Best of luck to your buddy!

 

[co04cobra]

Factory joint pic from Wayne's Ex conversion thread.

Lol. That's actually at our shop. I had posted that pic in Waynes thread because we were doing similar builds at the time.

I agree with the other guys though. Post a pic of what has been done to the frame.

The 99-07 frames all splice together there.

WAY, WAY, to many people believe all the hype B.S. that is carfax. Pretty much if the insurance didn't pay to fix it, then its not going to show up on any kind of damage report.

We have built and fixed countless SDs over the years. If the shop actually knows what they are doing, there should be no cause for concern.

Some people actually prefer something we have built because things get repaired, and serviced that most used trucks never get.

However, regardless of a carfax, we document all repairs and it's the first thing we disclose to the customer with initial interest in that vehicle.

 

[SickStroke6.0]

Oh my goodness. Just looked at my truck, and it has the same thing. I cannot believe how stupid I am. LOL