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Hey folks,
I'm looking for some advise here on a situation I have. As most of you know i purchased my S last January. Before I bought it I ran a car fax. The fax came back clean and all that wonderful stuff. However, after spending some time detailing it and getting up close and inside I have a feeling that the car may have been damaged at one time. I do not know the degree of damage, but i'm almost certain it was painted and some sort of bumper work was done.
My question is this. The lines on the hood and trunk do not line up well. The hood does open and close without any issue. You will notice in the picture that there is a large gap in the low right corner than the left corner.
Now the trunk is a bit different. On the drivers side the level height of the trunk lid is not the same as the fender. When I open the trunk it does open without a problem, but there is a slight "pop" noise as it goes to the fully open state.
What can be done to correct, adjust, improve the noticeably of the issues?
Are all the VIN tags in tact (existing, not painted over, do they match)? IIRC, there should be one on the inside of just about every body panel. If they're all there and in tact, they probabry just need a little adjustment (not sure egg zachary how to do that tho).
The VIN tag to the front bumper is just under the front tip of the hood on the driver side. It's unlikely, but possible that they just don't line up perfectly from the factory, but usually those minute imperfections only apply to the area where the rear bumper, quarter panel(s) and tail lights meet. I'd have to see it in person to determine whether you're being super nit-picky or if these uneven gaps are beyond OEM specs.
I'd have to see it in person to determine whether you're being super nit-picky or if these uneven gaps are beyond OEM specs.
Well get out here at look at my car!
It does look like the fitment is a bit off of the hood and I think the trunk lid is warped just slightly. Over all the adjustments would be so slight i'm not sure if a body shop could fix/adjust. Maybe ya'all might know.
The front bumpers vin tag should be clearly visible. It's not uncommon for cars with clean carfax reports to have been involved in an acident. I hot a dog at 50mph and smashed up my bumper and headlight and the body shop put on a new bracket for the headlight and heated my bumper up to reform it and painted it. You can barely tell something is wrong if you get right up on it and I tell u. It's not on carfax, I paid $260 out of pocket to have it fixed
Good informative video, Scott. I think (or hope ) most people nowadays know not to rely completely on Carfax reports, but that's a good reminder and explanation of why. Vehicle history is one of the biggest reasons I prefer to buy from a private party over a dealer.
[QUOTE=JulieU,May 1 2009, 07:06 PM] Good informative video, Scott. I think (or hope ) most people nowadays know not to rely completely on Carfax reports, but that's a good reminder and explanation of why.
What to do?
or if these uneven gaps are beyond OEM specs.
I think (or hope 
) most people nowadays know not to rely completely on Carfax reports, but that's a good reminder and explanation of why. Vehicle history is one of the biggest reasons I prefer to buy from a private party over a dealer.
