Carfax Question

Carfax has it's good, bad and misleading... A $1500 claim can trigger a Carfax report.

What does that mean? A tailgate, with built in step on a new ford truck is more than that. So you smash nothing more than your tailgate and bang.... Your otherwise perfect truck now has a Carfax ding.

http://www.carfax.com/Definitions/Glossary.cfm
Structural Damage — When the main structure or any component designed to provide structural integrity of the vehicle is damaged. All levels of accidents, from minor to severe, can cause structural damage to a vehicle (i.e., damage to the frame or unibody). Having a structural inspection before purchase is recommended.

So structural damage, going by Carfax's definition could be anything. The dealer really isn't likely to know more than you.

I'm in the collision repair business. I can tell you that structural damage can be incredibly minor. Some structural parts are simple bolt ons. Toss out the old, bolt on the new and everything is as it should be.

Glass is part of the structure on some new cars. Broken stationary side glass with paint damage pushing the estimate to $1500.... There you have a structural repair ding.

But don't get me wrong. The vehicle could have just as easily sustained severe damage.

The important thing is how was the repair. A correct repair returns the vehicle to an OEM level of fit, finish, and safety.

What you need to know for sure is a copy of the repair estimate. Very unlikely unless you can find out where the repair was done.

You can't really go by repair cost alone because the price of parts is all over the place.

Here is another Ford truck example: Let's say a $2000 repair on a 2012 F250. What does that tell you? Bumper and fender? Bumper and core support?

Could just be that some kid with a skateboard broke both power folding mirrors that are $1000 a pop.

So if a truck had 2 new mirrors installed in 20 minutes, would you call it wrecked?