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Hood Gap - Should I Not Purchase This Vehicle?

9K views 69 replies 19 participants last post by  Mr.phil2u 
#1 · (Edited)
I am looking at a 1-year-old S60 in otherwise perfect condition except for this pretty significant gap in the front hood. I am looking to purchase the vehicle remotely. Should I pass on it? Not sure if this is something the local Volvo dealership can fix under warranty or is it going to cost me a new hood out of pocket. . .

Edit: Dealer is 3rd party dealer and the car fax shows it started as a rental vehicle for less than a year then sold in auction.

Update: I have decided to pass on the vehicle and keep searching, thanks everyone!

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#3 ·
The price is really good and the carfax is clean. Rental vehicle for about 1 year with about 3 years of warranty left. I wonder if this is something Volvo dealership can easily fix or am I about to learn an expensive lesson lol
 
#6 ·
Oh man, the price is always good for a reason huh :( Can a PPI done by a Volvo dealership be able to detect whether or not this was involved in an accident? I am not sure if there is another gap on the hood.
 
#7 ·
I just called a certified Volvo body shop near the car's location and they recommend me to get the dealership to bring the car to them to an inspection or else it's not worth it because rental companies can fix all sort of things themselves and none of it will ever be reported to Carfax. That's what I'll do then. If the dealership doesn't agree to then I'll just sit this one out. Thanks, everyone! :)
 
#8 ·
I'd definitely not even consider purchasing that.
It's not the fact that it may have been involved in a front-end collision.
It's the simple fact that it wasn't repaired properly.
Something is out of alignment - whether that's the subframe or a mount or something -- 100%, I wouldn't spend anyone's money on that vehicle.

The funny part is - I came in here specifically to tell you that you were over-analyzing things and it was fine. Then when I saw it (having worked years as an ASE-Certified Technician, and in/around body shops) whoever repaired that thing did not repair it properly.
 
#12 ·
Update: The used car dealer is willing to take the car to whatever Volvo certified body shop that I was talking to. I just have to pay for whatever the body shop charges to inspect the vehicle. I am hopeful that it might just be a minor issue for the hood and the deal is still alive.
 
#13 ·
OK - so let's say the body shop looks at it and says the hood just needs readjusted on its mount point.
Chances are it was in an accident right - so parts were replaced.
Do you really trust that person's "behind-the-scenes" work, underneath, with paint, etc - when they couldn't even mount a hood up properly?

I mean - you could buy the vehicle and it could be the best, maintenance-free vehicle you'll own for the next 200,000 miles. Or it could not -- it's all about stacking the odds in your favor.
 
#14 ·
Given this car's rental past, I wouldn't touch it. As you said yourself, these companies can fix all types of stuff without it being reported on CarFax. That is a very significant gap, and to me looks worse than parking damage. This car was surely in a collision of some sort. It's cheap for a reason.
 
#16 ·
Couldn't the Volvo-certified body shop be able to find out if the vehicle was involved in an accident and subsequently repaired or not? If their inspection is reliable and they do not detect any repairs or damage from an accident, wouldn't you move forward with the deal then? because the issue might just simply be some front hood clips like some of the commenters are saying?
 
#17 ·
We've seen a few post-repair SPA sedan and wagon pics on these threads where forever reason the body shop is not able to properly align that front cover with the hood. Don't ask me why it's so hard but if I were you I wouldn't even be paying for the inspection. The seller should do that on their own dime because no buyer would take the car in that condition.
 
#18 ·
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#19 ·
FWIW, I had the hood on my car replaced. No "collision" per-se. Just some idiot in a 6x6 military style truck backed into me and his trailer hitch destroyed the hood and nothing else.
Had a new OEM hood put in and the gap between the hood and the nose was larger than before. It was uniform all across and all the other gaps were fine and the hood opened and closed perfectly. It was just strange how the gap was slightly bigger.
 
#20 ·
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#22 ·
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#23 ·
If anybody worth their salt were fixing a minor repair, don't you agree that it would have been done properly and in perfect alignment? The hood looks to be perfectly aligned with the fenders and with small, consistent gaps, which is good. The gaps front fascia to headlights are inconsistent. This points to possible frontal damage, hopefully to the front fascia alone (price one with labor, paint and fitting!) However, a lot of damage can occur to a car beneath the surface. Can you be sure there is no damage under the car? Rentals are great off-road! Behind that fascia, you have the A/C condenser, the radiator and their fixing points, possibly electronic sensors too. Ask yourself, wouldn't the seller of a one year old mid-range car like this absolutely ensure it's perfectly put together if they economically could? I wouldn't even bother with an inspection. I'd pass on this and spend a little more for a car with no 'stories'. There are plenty of good cars out there.
 
#24 ·
The 3rd party dealer is taking the vehicle to the body shop tomorrow for an inspection so I will provide you guys with an update as soon as I get any.

I agree with what you guys are saying. If the vehicle was involved in an accident of any kind and have had repairs done to it, I would most likely walk away from the deal because my wife is already on the fence about the denim blue color so this would for sure kill it.

But if there are no accident or body repairs detected and it really was just a hood latch/pin issue, I don't see any downside with correcting that and save several thousands because that is how much lower this vehicle is priced compared to others with comparable options (advanced package, HK audio, blond interior, heated front seats).
 
#25 ·
But if there are no accident or body repairs detected and it really was just a hood latch/pin issue, I don't see any downside with correcting that and save several thousands because that is how much lower this vehicle is priced compared to others with comparable options (advanced package, HK audio, blond interior, heated front seats).
I would be shocked if this were the case. The market is not perfectly efficient but efficient enough that there's a very good reason why this car is a deal. I get it, we're all looking for value but if all it needed was a clip or two someone would have done that already, just saying.
 
#26 ·
On another subject, I really do not want 19 inch wheels because of the worse ride comfort and incompatibility with snow chains for the occasional need to go over passes for skiing. How big of a pain is it to purchase a car that comes with 19 inch wheel and then find someone to trade me their 18 inch wheels or get the dealership to swap it with another used car on the lot for me? Or is this silly and I should only look at vehicles that come with the 18 inch wheels in the first place? The reason I ask is about half of the vehicles I want comes with the upgraded wheels, although they do look good :)
 
#28 ·
If the dealer had another similar S60 on the lot but with 18's I would imagine they'd swap them for you.
 
#32 ·
Final update: I decided to pass on the vehicle after doing more research into the whole used rental topic. Ultimately I want to keep the vehicle long term and a rental without a CPO with a misaligned hood and warning light on the dash are just too many risks to take on for a remote purchase. I have until the summer to look for a vehicle so I’ll keep searching. Thank you everyone for your insight and advice, really appreciate it!
 
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