I've posted just recently about the down fall of my previous X and am now posting this thread with what I feel maybe somewhat of a problem or problem to come. I just recently purchased an 2005 X and for some reason I am feeling as if it could be a flood damage vehicle or has had flood damage prior. The title is clean and so is the history report but having the vehicle in hand is now a whole other story. I purchased this vehicle off of eBay "same place my previous X was bought from" except on this X I didn't take the trip from HI to TX because of looking at the sellers ratings and feedback, as well as his eBay awards and certificates, and whatever else. Well this was a HUGE mistake on my part and having spent close to $2000.00 alone to get it from TX to HI is already a lost on my part considering the vehicle I am now stuck with unless I try and sell it.


Here is the link to the listing Ford : Excursion Ford : Excursion | eBay or eBay item number: 320806642668


The pics are very misleading and at this point I am battling the seller in which he had sent me some really nasty emails and has also gone the extant of paying a third party mediation group a $100.00 to have my negative feedback removed.

That aside and my knowing at this point I'm stuck with this vehicle unless I was to try and sell it off only brings me to discovering more of the state it's currently in. I'm gonna start off by the AC vents. There seems to be dirt that is so thick and down deep into the vents that it definitely isn't because of the vehicle sitting for too long and collecting dust. This stuff is without a doubt DIRT. This dirt also surrounds the drive stick area around the rubber boots and is also quite heavy on the inside of the door handles of each door. I've also discovered heavy dirt inside the rear side panel where the rear AC and jack is. These are areas in which theres just no possible way for large amounts of heavy dirt to be in unless this vehicle is infact a flood damage vehicle.

Also the passanger side door doesn't seem to match up with the rear door and sticks out a small bit to where it almost looks as if the passanger side door isn't closed shut good but. Also the reinforcement on the underside of the hood seems to have had some glue come loose causing it to make a squeek like sound while driving. The radio also doesn't seem to work. Or should I say it works but there is no sound. I've also had problems with the rear DVD Player in which it continously runs even without any disk inside. This thing goes on as soon as the vehicle is started and stays on for a period of time and then shuts off. The DVD Player also seems to eject disks when trying to press different functions or playback options. And again no sound either when a movie is playing.

Also my overhead consol display is also in non-operation. The display isn't displaying anything and is just completely blank but the buttons E/N & RESET lights up, as well as all other controls do indeed work without a problem.

Come to the rear passanger side of the vehicle you will see some discolored paint near below the passanger side rear tail-light in which it almost looks as if the previous owner tried to repair something that is uknown on my part.

ALL THIS AND IT HAS A CLEAR TITLE. I personally feel at this point as if I had gotten a lemon or a flood damaged vehicle due to the areas in which there is heavy dirt. Also on the floor below the 2nd row seats was some rat fecus. I also discovered some really small tiny ant like insects crawing near the rubber moldings of the door around the hinge area inbetween the front doors. The other day I also came across a small roach like insect which crawled out from one of the vent holes on the inside near the windshield.

I'm not all that menchanically inclined and had taken the vehicle to an autobody shop when it arrived to see if they could tell if any type of accident had taken place or not and they couldn't pin point anything looking out of place or that the vehicle was in any kind of wreck what so ever.

Personally my current feelings as of this point is that with the state the vehicle is in and maybe it not being involved in any kind of collision that my newest thing coming to mind is that maybe it was a flood vehicle? and that maybe this could be the reason for the insects, rat fecus, and heavy dirt in some odd areas? Also the rear side panels where the spare tire goes and the AC and Jack is are also pry'd apart near the 3rd row seat belt area. Almost as if the person had taken it apart for whatever reason and did a poor job in putting it all back together again.


Could anyone here share some input on this? I'm almost certain there must be alot of illegal chop shops and dealers that are able to obtain clear titles or have titles kept clear of any kind of flooding or accidents, right? I am feeling that something definitely happened with this vehicle but it was somehow in some way kept off of the history report of this vehicle and also the title still remaining clear with no odd reports.

 

the no sound and loose panels could be from a previous sound system installed. it is evident in photos that there was an amp that has been removed.

title staus, if someone didn't go threw insurance then there would be no reason for title to be salvage.

i can't give you a good answer on the dirt

goodluck with the dealer.

 

Doesn't look to bad to me for 175k......please post up some pics of your problem areas so we can get a look at what you are seeing.

 

Pictures sure look good for 175k miles and 7 years. Personally, I wouldn't have assumed a vehicle priced that low would be without issues. It could have had flood or accident damage in the past - however unless it was reported to the insurance agency or to the DMV it may or may not show up on the title. If the accident damage was less than 25% in most states it wont show up or need to be disclosed either.

The overhead console problems are pretty common and can usually be repaired fairly quickly if you have access to a soldering kit.

The dirt in the vents is a weird one - but - remember these trucks do not have a cabin air filter. If you live on a dirt or gravel road than dust and other things will make it into the cabin. I would personally get them cleaned but we have allergy issues in my family so it would be completely necessary to do so. There are many products on the market which will disinfect the vents and everything in the air intake. It wont remove the dirt but it can at least clean any impurities out.

The DVD players can certainly have issues - dirt is one and age is another. I would just replace it - not a huge deal and will get you a better or larger screen in the process.

Good luck - I know things like this can soil a purchase decision but it looks like you overall got a pretty nice Ex that just needs a little TLC to be great. Enjoy it and make it like you want it to be.

 

If that truck was used anywhere near the Texas oil fields or on a huge ranch dust everwhere is to be expected due to the enviorment.
That truck does not appear to me as being in a flood by the pictures. It does appear as needing a good detailing.
I find it hard to imagine the dealer would advertise the truck with the ford emblem in the condition it is in on the grill. It would not have taken mutch to replace it.
In most states a car or truck sold with undisclosed flood damage, a Dealer is liable for TRIPLE damages. So I don't think the dealer would have sold you a flood truck.
If you put fourth a little effort detailing the truck I think you will end up with a good deal and happy in the long run.
Detail one section of the truck at a time to perfection and your outlook will change.

 

Thanks for the words in tryna keep my head up about this purchase. Another thing that continues to go around in mind is that another buyer of a vehicle from this same seller on eBay had purchased an 2007 Dodge Diesel in which he personally contacted me via eBay messages to ask the reason for my leaving the seller Negative Feedback. Well after having chatted with the buyer for sometime over the phone he had mentioned on the Dodge that he purchased that some of the body parts he could see being poorly painted in which you could still see a paint bleed through the masking tape, and also mentioned some of the same problems in which a door or two did not match up with the other doors. He had also mentioned rat fecus on his dash. He had also said that he was in the auto body industry for over 26 years and had never really come across something like this before in which the vehicle is in an okay state of running condition but with multiple faultiness in either mechanical or electrical problems. His radio also did not work and also head the really heavy dirt within the AC vents. He had wanted to speak to me about my leaving such feedback and had mentioned he took it to a few auto repair shops in which they had told him it'd cost him little over $5000.00 to get the vehicle in decent running/driving condition because of the state the vehicle is currently in. Also mentioned that he was looking to take legal action which we didn't go into detail about.

I addressed the seller regarding a few things and in a short minute or two the seller out of no where said in his exact words *well you can leave me any kind of negative feedback because my eBay manager will have it removed for me - and you can go F--K YOURSELF* ever since the time of the negative feedback and the valgur words being used he then went out and spent a $100.00 for some third party mediation to have my feedback removed in which a decision will be made maybe by Monday or Tuesday. He also sent some really really nasty emails and had no willingness to work ANYTHING out.

His emails not just got nasty it started rolling out with statements such as *Thanks for the $5700.00 profit fagget* and some other pretty harsh words all for some regular question about the vehicle because I was thinking of leaving negative feedback if he couldn't work with me. Well after some harsh things being said and some nasty emails and phones from him I said forget it and left him the negative feedback. But at this point of knowing that it is not just myself who is having the kinds of problems I'm having with doors not matching up, discolored or fresh re-paints, and also the rat fecus. The entire purchase has me a bit puzzled at this current momment. I will also try and get some detailed pics of the rear interrior of the vehicle to show breifly what I'm speaking of and also how misleading the sellers pics was. The AC vents I managed to go with a clean paint brush to brush out the thick visible dirt from the clogged areas and have much more cleaning to do but the rear will still show a great bit of the dirt I'm speaking of as it's just all that normal or common on my part to see such things in such areas. But then again I guess this could just be me. Other than the odd areas of thick heavy dirt and some funny odd noises and sounds when driving things just doesn't seem right on some level of the entire vehicle and the state it's in.

 

Definitely work on getting some pictures because without them it will be hard for us to judge anything.

 

I'd agree with that to a point...with Katrina when folks called to inquire about flood coverage they filed it as flooded to prevent fraud...you didn't have to make a claim, it was noted regardless as possible flood vehicle. I woukd have imagined Galveston would have produced similar info. Does the Carfax list any owners in the Galveston area or the Katrina areas?

Sandstorms. Especially if down low in the vents, inside the doors (gets in through the outer weatherstripping and falls to the bottom of the doors). Also can get inside weird parts of the undercarriage. What does it look like under the carpets and up under the pedals? Are all of the rubber grommets in place? Water often blows those out if flooded quickly, sandstorms don't.

The overhead console is a common thing caused by a bad solder, not always an issue with flooding.

If the engine electrics are good, gauge set (works and odd matches records), most of the other electrical issues can be explained. The audio as someone else stated can be a botched aftermarket stereo install.

Not trying to sway you one way or another, just some thinking points...

 

x2 on the pictures. It looked decent in the eBay ad, but then again, their job is to market it and make it look good, so I'm not taking that with too much value.

I think a big way to tell if it was in a flood or not, pull up the carpet and see if the floor is rusty. I think the easiest way to get a quick look would be to pull one of the door sill plates off, preferably a back door that might be a little less used to have gotten wet from other means. It just pries up with a screwdriver- it's held in with maybe 8 or so push in retainer clips. You should get a clear view there, but if not, you should be able to pick up the carpet a little right there without pulling any seats, etc. out. I expect this would probably be dusty under there, but it shouldn't be too terribly rusty.

If you feel ambitious enough, you can remove the entire dash and clean all that out with just a few screwdrivers, a few small torx bits, and an average metric socket set.

Have you investigated the eBay buyer protection service? It claims it covers this vehicle. That might help you get a little farther with that guy.

That VIN has a lot of hits on Google, more than I usually see. However, no salvage records that I found. I've found with my recent insurance purchase, they issued a salvage title by mistake even though it was supposed to be sold with a clear. That automatically caused the Autocheck report to not work, which it had before the sale, and even though now that the state of Indiana fixed the title situation and sent me a clear title, the Autocheck still will not work- so it must carry a salvage brand still somewhere. That's why I have reason to think there was no funny title work there.

However, the mark on the driver's side running board looks just like the one I had on the salvage one I bought- the running board caved in a little from the large forklift picking it up there to move it around the salvage yard. How bad is the frame bent underneath? Sure looks like it was forked at some point.

Other thoughts:
- The seats look good for 175k, at least in terms of the driver's. The driver's has wear in it, but it isn't torn. Since so many people don't replace them when they get torn, are these seats out of another Ex with lower mileage? I guess the seats could looks this good at 175, but it was in the Texas sun quite a bit of the time.
- The steering wheel certainly doesn't look 175k worn. Again, it could have been replaced or even just covered most of the time, so it still looks pretty good. Honestly, it looks like a 60-70k wheel to me.
- I am surprised they couldn't just clean those spots on the carpet. They look like they'd be a fairly easy clean and it would look great again.
- The apparently low engine coolant worries me.
- The cut out cold air intake makes me kinda worried about how much dirt the engine took in for the ducts to be dirty too indicating dusty conditions.

I would also work on pulling the main blower fan unit for the heating and cooling in the engine compartment. It's the round thing on the right side up on the firewall. Three screws should hold it in plus a plug, but some other stuff may need to be moved out of the way first. Pull that fan out. Clean the blades really good and really clean out that cavity in there. A lot of dirt and mold collects in there and the air blown through your ducts goes through there too.

Question about the DVD. I haven't used mine in so long, I forget exactly how it works. But, do you have headphones and a remote with it? I wonder if it's trying to play through the headphones and that's why you have no volume?

The radio issue could be anything. I'd say the first step is to pull it out (use either a radio removal tool or four small screwdrivers in those holes), push out on both, then try to pull the radio toward you at the same time. See just how dirty it is in there. Maybe the radio is just dusty inside and needs some pressurized air to clean it out? Then again, it could have gotten wet and screwed it up.

Not saying there wasn't a problem at one time, but my '05's driver's door is slightly out of alignment. The top is OK, but the bottom is slightly out at the back compared to the back door when closed right next to each other. Has been like that since 40 miles sitting on the dealer's lot, so I'm assuming it left the factory like that. Might be a factory flaw?

Other areas to check for major rust, though some of them could have been cleaned up by the dealer:
- Behind lower dash panel, driver's side, by fuse box. The metal dash frame.
- Inside the jack door area- the jack, the brackets, etc. It all may have a little surface rust on it already though from the A/C being damp back there.

That being said, my black '02, which spent from February 2002 until April 2007 in humid, salty south Florida, has a small amount of surface rust on the jack bracket in the jack door area, a small amount/dullness on the seat frames underneath the second row seats when tipped up, and on the inside dash frame by the glove box. All very small amounts, but they happened when it sat in the salty air and the previous owner didn't use the A/C much to dry it out in there. What I'm talking about you seeing is pretty significant rust, like an dark orange/light orange tone to the metal pieces (especially the dash framing by fuse box). That would certainly say it was pretty wet at one point.

One final question. When you first turn the key on, do you see the check engine light illuminate briefly? It's an engine looking light in the instrument cluster just above the seat belt light, below the low fuel light, and just to the left of the "E" on the gas gauge. If this doesn't illuminate when you first turn the key to the on position (don't have to start), then either the bulb is dead or someone removed it to hide a problem.

 

Autocheck says it was in Washington state through August 2006, so it didn't get to Texas until well after Katrina.

This is a very good point. Also, the wheels looks almost sandblasted, not at all shiny. Maybe they're just that dirty, but I can't imagine that with how they cleaned the rest of the truck. I've got one that got stuck in the sand and just spinning a couple times took all the clear coat off and made it dull These all look like that one I have, at least before I polished it and re-clearcoated it.

Also, in going back to look at the pics again, does anyone else see possible paint work on the very right rear quarter, just above the cladding? Looks like a big blotch there of paint that is very close but not quite the same. Maybe just some dirt or something or a reflection in the pic.

 

Good news - but don't forget hurricane Ike that hit Galveston in 2008...check the registered entries and see if you can identify any hits near Galveston.

I've seen sandstorms in AZ strip the clearcoat completely off, and if your paint was already damaged, forget about it. My point on that comment was that could cause serious dust to get entry into the air ducts - or as some other posts mention, just a long dirt driveway every day twice a day.

I see it and I don't think it's a reflection since you can make it out at two different angles - you can see it in the full side angle (2nd pic) and the rear quarter angle (4th pic).

On the 2nd pic I can't tell if it extends to the cladding, but the 4th pic looks like it does. It wouldn't make sense to me to see someone try to paint the cladding - just get a new piece and call it a day. I'm wondering if it could be residue?

Ever see someone leave wax on a car in extreme heat? It can cook itself right into the paint. I'm wondering if you take some Flitz or something similar and go over that section if that wouldn't come out? Quick story - I had a battery explode while 4 wheeling and I got some of the acid residue on my forearms. Taking the battery out in the field I ended up with two distinct marks on the paint where the acid messed up the clearcoat. A quick hit of Flitz and a buffer ball and I wasn't able to point out where they were afterwards. If you can get something like that maybe it will come out?

 

X 2 on pulling up the carpet...check both rear doors under the sills, and if you can't get those out check the passenger side front - easy to pull the sill and front kick plate, then you can get under the carpet a good way in.

 

It says it was registered in Sealy, TX for the whole time it was in the state. Sealy is about an hour west of Houston on I-10.

Welcome to AutoCheck

 

I just purchased a CarFax report and can't find anything odd but I am still having the feeling of flood damage due to the areas in which the heavy dirt is. Later today I will get some pics of different areas on the vehicle - some closeups to is leading me to believe and think this.

Also is Sealy TX a bad place or place in which is near to any kind of flooding or hurricanes?

 

Oh also if it is indeed a flood damaged vehicle when or around how long could it take for the electrical things to fail on me? At this point pretty much everything is in working order minus the no sound from radio, and the overhead console area. But if it is flood damaged how long could things take before failing on me?