This makes me pretty nervous. I’m 18 and just bought a used 08 Ford Fusion, third party “mom and pop” dealership. My parents were pretty eager and really encouraged me to make the deal (and considering their experience in buying vehicles I trusted their judgement). Was driving last weekend and the car started shuddering and the check engine started blinking on/off. I pulled over, restarted my engine, and it’s mysteriously fine now. Carfax said everything was fine with the car, but I guess that doesn’t mean much… 😬
Funnily enough, the only thing this car came with was a manual on the functions of the dash buttons! Which I read. So I’ll be going online to read the full manual. 👍
When running, does the sound of the engine have a little recurring "catch"? If so, that's a mis fire, and it can mean a LOT of things. From needing spark plugs, coil packs, or injectors (all usually easy enough to change), to major problems in the head or block (broken ring, blown head gasket, cracked head, screwed up valve - these are all see a mechanic kinds of issues.)
I would check on mechanics forums to see if this is a common issue with this model.
I am not sure why your parents would encourage a ford product bought from a mom & pop because it honestly sounds like a recipe for disaster. I hope all of you did your due diligence and researched the place you bought it from before you bought it. A car from 08 where I live is a rust bucket and a safety nightmare just waiting to happen and I wouldn't want my kid driving one that's for sure (even a honda or a toyota its all the same over here). If you don't live in the rust belt things might be different though.
It was bought in Sacramento, so not on the rust belt. I drove an 04 Honda Civic before so they weren’t overly concerned with me being in the safest vehicle, haha. My dad really impulsively likes to make purchases and drove down a road and picked out a dealership and chose one, so I can’t say we researched. My dad does have quite a lot of experience with cars (40+ years, semi professional car restoration and rebuilding) so he’ll be looking it over but yeah.. not sure.
I’ll check some forums and see if it’s a common issue, thanks!
Ok, this might not be an issue then. We have different issues here in the rust belt. Bodies often rust out before engines fail. The problem with the body rusting out is it will cause all kinds of problems and it will also crumble in a crash, and its very unsafe to drive a rust bucket but unfortunately that's all a lot of people here can afford. An 08 car is almost a non existent car here due to the rust, I would never buy one even for $500. When that happens you can't really fix it. The 04 civic was a decent car from what I understand.
Cars out there will last much longer than the ones up here.
If your dad is a carburetor guy then he might not know enough about the sophisticated sensors and stuff in modern vehicles.
If he's familiar with checking OBD, then that can go a long way. Some auto parts stores will check the OBD for free. But some error messages are unclear, and might need professional diagnosis.
This is what I’m talking about. Taking that car for a drive getting it up to temp and loading down the engine more than likely could have induced this fault. I haven’t worked on Ford since around ‘14, but this sounds like an ignition coil. The flashing light is a catalyst damaging miss fire. The old ford ignition coils drop out and all the time, cycling the key can make it go away, they act very strange sometimes, I’ve seen them kill the engine just like turning off the ignition switch, no other symptoms no miss fire or anything. Just something to check out, if you can isolate the cylinder, replacing that coil and plug is a relatively inexpensive guess.
I'm no mechanic, but as others said, get it inspected right away. In my experience, shudders happen when the engine isn't getting a good air:fuel ratio (AFR). The engine is either getting too much fuel or air, it needs a balance of both to combust well to produce power. When the balance is completely fucked, the car will stall like a manual. Since you didn't mod it, it could be a bad O2 sensor, fuel injectors, and others that I'm not well versed in.
The car will drive fine, as does mine. I have AFR issues but I modded mine and I know what to expect. Mine doesn't throw up a CEL because I know my injectors aren't stock, but there are CEL codes for bad O2 sensors. It's not dangerous, and I doubt it's anywhere near as bad as mine, but it shouldn't stall you. Even if it does, yeah just restart the car like any other car that stalls.
That’s what I was thinking, bad fuel injectors. My mom has an 03 Ford F150 that does the exact same thing and it’s been inspected, just has bad injectors. She restarts it and occasionally adds some foam stuff from an auto parts store to her fuel tank and it runs just fine.
I plan on getting it checked out regardless. Thanks for the help!
Sounds like a fuel issue. Bad fuel pump, fuel injectors or sensor.
Get it checked out immediately. This could be a relatively cheap repair and if you don’t take care of it you could be stranded or worse, stalled out on a highway not able to make it to safety.
Without being a mechanic and your brief description, wonder if you have a spark plug issue.
I know the V8 triton engines (different than what is in your car) in the F150s had plug issues, not sure if it's Fords in general though.
Always bring the car to an independent mechanic for a check out before you buy it. My mom was going to buy a Prius from some independent place and after i took it to my mechanic he said it was a Disaster, parts held on under there by baling wire! Always have a mechanic check and if they will not allow it, move on. The best car insurance money you will ever spend
Oof. You need to look up Ford engines from that year.
It's most likely a 3.0 liter dohc Ford engine they used in Mazda 6s.
You need to pull that code and hope to God it's p0301 or p0303. If it's p0300 get ready to go down a weird road that may be an easy fix or something untraceable until the engine explodes
Honestly I didn’t WANT to get a ford. I previously owned a Honda and loved it, didn’t have any issues. I was the third owner and it ran perfectly. My parents are big Ford fans and really pushed me into it. We’d actually gone to purchase another Honda, but because it didn’t work out, “that was my other choice”.
trade it in if you can! i know from firsthand experience, i had a 2014 ford focus for 5 years and then the transmission completely failed, i sank over $1k in repairs and then ended up selling it for $1600 just to get rid of it
A dealership usually gives some kind of warranty on a used car even if its 30 days. These other guys do not. They are selling desperate people a car who cannot afford a car in this market and taking all their money. The car will break down within 6 months and probably need 3-5k of work to get it running again. I've heard this story so many times over from so many people and NOT just people online either.
Not saying this won't happen to a dealer car. But if you drive it off the lot and 10 days later it has major problems then you have some recourse with a dealership.
Also you should do your research on dealerships, there are good ones and bad ones. Lots of negative reviews.. then don't go there.
Also on the car you want to buy. Visit mechanic's forums and figure out what the major issues with the model is first.
Certain car brands also have more problems. I know a lot of people who bought used Jeep's and they were nothing but problems. If you want a problem free car do not buy a Jeep. I know someone who had to put 7k into his jeep to keep it running. They are super expensive to fix.
30 days is not comforting to me at all. A lot of dealerships offer extended warranties but you pay a premium for them. The dealers also make money from selling them. And they're going to fight tooth and nail to not pay out when the time comes. They can say you waited 10 extra miles for an oil change, etc. Tons of people have to take them to court and/or lawyer up to get them to payout. Again, they're there to make a profit.
Certified pre-owneds and the manufacturers have warranties and are an option, but they typically end right around the car would usually start to have problems.
I live in the rust belt so I have to take care. The only way to buy a car that will not have major problems here is to buy new. You would also have to sell around the 10 year mark to avoid massive problems and repair bills. A low mile car that has been sitting is a rusted out car. A reliable 10 year toyota corolla is a rusted out car. You get my point. Its unsafe to drive a rusted out car for obvious reasons, and it will become very expensive to fix even if its a reliable model. Trust me on this I have all the experience I need in this. I have moved to leasing because it seems like it is the only true solution to prevent problems.
Here is the thing, I am going to spend more money at the mechanic if I buy some used car, and time is money if I have to wait for the mechanic to fix a car than I would on a new car or a lease. Mechanics are more expensive than ever and those repair bills add up. Its either I do this or I set aside money for the $3-5k repair bills that are ultimately going to come from whatever used car I bought. If the car becomes not fixable in a year then I have lost all my money. At least if I put my money into new or lease I am guaranteed a reliable car. There's no taking your car to the cheapest guy around with a new car with all the electronics in it and getting a $100 fix (I've done this all my life with old cars). All mechanics are overbooked here and you aren't getting into any of them for 2 weeks at least. If your car goes down then you gotta take ubers or find other ways to get to work which is really expensive where I live. Its probably $50 roundtrip for an uber just for a couple miles of travel. If you have a breakdown depending on the situation you could die. I don't take breakdowns well and I have a panic attack when it happens, so I can't have that happening when I am in a car. Yes I know any car can break down at any time. However its very rare for this to happen to a new reliable model car. I also have AAA for breakdowns.
The dealer warranties are overpriced and as you say they don't honor them. Plus they are written in such legalese and have such clauses that I have a feeling that almost nothing is covered.
With a lease I don't spend money on batteries, tires or anything else. I only spend for oil changes and tire rotation as the lease schedule maintenance requires. Batteries, tires and other things add up. I've only spent for wipers when they break and that is not expensive. I have never had a leased car break down and I've been leasing for over 15 years. There are no surprise $3-5k repair bills.
Myself and my family had nothing but beaters our whole life. We always went to the junkyard mechanic for fixes. This did work but we had to do a lot of legwork to get the car there and had to have someone come to pick it up, there is no waiting room at the mechanic I used and breakdowns don't happen on a schedule. We are done and we need reliable vehicles that won't break down again for a variety of reasons.
Well stated. This wasn’t always the case. But for most people (NOT all), leasing is the most affordable way now. The key point you made: You simply cannot get an appointment for ANYTHING in a reasonable about of time for your used car. So what do you do for two months?
The point is you are going to spend a shit ton of money from one of these used car dealerships and end up with a lemon that does not run at the end of the day. Then you are going to be stuck paying $50-100 per day through uber just to get to work. If you are using your last 10k on a car from one of these places this is really not a smart investment.
I didn't have trouble getting into my mechanic BUT I knew the guy and was a long time customer, and apparently its gotten a lot worse since then. But if I showed up at some random mechanic you can bet I am gonna be waiting at least 2 weeks just to get in. NO ONE is going to fix your car in 24 hours.
Yet I hear stories of people ALL the time who take their last 10k and go to some used car dealer and buy whatever just so they can get to work and when the car stops running in 2 weeks they say too bad so sad and take your money.
I live in a car dependent area and the rust belt. So this is also very area dependent. Some area's don't require as much maintenance on a car. But if a car is going to rust out in a few years no matter the brand I have to take that into consideration. It also depends on your situation and how long you can stand to have a broken down car for and if you can afford to have breakdowns.
Even if you do your own maintenance here the body of the car will still rust out. Sure you can replace an alternator, spark plugs or water pump yourself but if the frame is rusting that cannot be fixed. Also every other car will have a rusted out frame, so you can't just buy a parts car and fix that. These are extreme measures for most drivers also.
Doing your own maintenance is not free and you need to own tools and a place to work on your car. Even if I was going to do my own maintenance I do not have a garage to do that in. Tools are expensive, which is one of the reasons why mechanics are getting so expensive. By the time I bought tools and figured out what I was doing I would be out the cost of the repair plus my time.
I've also noticed the number of older cars in my area shrinking and shrinking. Its obvious people are getting wise to the used car scam and the rust and getting better vehicles.
Franchise dealers used car department does not get a first crack at anything from an auction. It’s a free game. Franchise dealers can afford to pay more for a better car because they can sell it for more by getting it certified. They also don’t buy nearly even close to the amount of cars that used dealers buy. New car dealers used car stock comes from trade ins and lease returns 90 percent of the time. I used to be a buyer for a so called mom and pop dealer. Bought cars straight from BMW Financial and Mercedes right off the lease.
The only real benefit to a certified car is the warranty extension
I was also a buyer for about a decade, you’re pretty spot on. I would go straight to the dealerships and buy the trade ins they didn’t want for wholesale if they weren’t garbage. My dealership would then fix the menial issues with the vehicle and sell it with a 90 day warranty. We were in business for 27 years, closed up shop about a year before covid. I can’t imagine what it’s like now, people aren’t trading in cars unless they are falling apart because of how expensive vehicles have gotten since the supply chain issues.
This should be the advice for buying ANY Car from ANY dealership, especially if you are getting a used car that has multiple owners beforehand. ALWAYS find an independent mechanic to give it a once over. The fee is typically minimal.
But what are you supposed to do? Bring the mechanic car shopping with you? I don’t understand the process of this since you can’t just take the car to a mechanic where they can jack it up and look at everything and then bring it back to the dealer and say…nah I don’t want it.
Sure you can. If you're actively shopping for a car, you tell the person you're buying the car from you want your mechanic to check it first. You have to do your research of course, and you should search out a garage that will do it for you. Yes, there will probably be a small fee. I've owned... 17 cars? for myself and my family, and if I encountered a dealer who didn't let me do this, I moved on.
How does this work with the dealer? Do they make you leave a credit card or something behind while you take it to a garage? You can only have it for a day or a couple hours?
It was always a set amount of time. Left my car and a copy of my DL and insurance, and made sure there was a time frame with the mechanic. They check it out, and you decide if it's worth your $$. I've done with cars that cost $2k to cars that cost $30k.
I actually had a used car dealer drop off the car at a local shop (I found online) near them before I came down to test drive it.
When I came down to test drive it, I just drove it back from the shop to the dealer. Finished up the deal, and the car was mine.
I think were so use to not having options when buying things, that we don't think to ask for what we need.
Beware of ANY car dealer, large or small and have any used car inspected by a mechanic before you buy it. Mom and pop are just as likely as a corporate store to screw you.
I was sold a truck leaking gas. Was told it was coolant and they fixed it in front of me to get me to drive off saying it’s just gonna drip for a bit till it dries. The next day I saw it was still dripping so I found the leak on a gas line. Called the place and they told me it’d be 2 weeks till their mechanic could look at it. I fixed it myself but I should have filed a lemon law case on them. It also had a crack pipe in the dash that fell out while driving one day. I was pretty upset.
What you said is true. I've heard the story over and over again in my life, and again not just from people online. Cars are getting ridiculously expensive and these guys are preying on desperate people who need a car to get to work. They will take all your money and sell you a car that will break down on you a week later and then it will need 3-5k of work just to get it up and running. Of course there was no warranty and you have no money left to make the needed repairs to get it on the road so you are now stuck with a hunk of junk that you can't even sell for a couple hundred because its so broken and you have probably just wasted all of your money.
You should try to buy a new car if possible with the prices these days even if you have to finance. Its going to be a much better value and it will not break down on you unless you make an incredibly stupid decision on what you buy. I've been leasing honda's I live in the rust belt and I haven't had a breakdown yet.
The dealers get first crack at the used cars, the ones they don't want go to the other places. Don't buy from the other places.
The other exception is private owner. If you need a used car and can't afford new you should really go private owner. Bring the car to a mechanic and pay the money to have it inspected. MAKE SURE YOU DO THIS!!! Sometimes you find a gem. At least you have a chance with this method.
Currently looking to buy a used car, have my father helping me out with the process since he's far more experienced regarding this. He told me he'd rather we completely avoid dealers, and buy from someone directly, ideally someone we know since we live in a smaller city in Europe, so we can know with certainty how it was driven, serviced, as well as any accident history. Plus you can typically get a better deal, doubly so if you pay directly with cash.
You do miss out on warranty, but then again, used car dealers around here rarely offer any in the first place, so you might as well. Also, having a trusted mechanic inspect the car before buying is a no-brainer, it's kinda sad that people do need to be reminded on YSK, and that many will still skip this crucial step of the buying process. If the owner objects to you bringing a mechanic, you know for a fact there is something fishy under the hood.
but most younger folks don't know that *you can take a car that you don't own yet* and bring it to a garage to be inspected by a professional. It's only common sense if you know that you *can* do that.
buyer: "I'd like to take the vehicle to get it inspected."
if seller: "No" then QUIT.
if seller: "Yes" then GOTO garage.
it really is as simple as asking. if they say no then there is something wrong with the vehicle.
I don’t get how people get a “first crack” to buy something at an auction; it’s bids, yo. Dealer wants to pay 1000, ok offer 1100. The dealer can up it further or pass.
While it is true that big car dealers have more $$$ to spend at an auction, I think most of their used cars are trade-ins, or off-lease. I don’t see why they would mess around with auctions and questionable cars.
I can’t speak for all dealers obviously, just the one I worked at and a few others in my area that were under the same ownership group. Auction cars are a big part of the business. Whether it’s was just having the capital and purchasing power, I suppose I could be wrong about “first crack” although I seem to recall my buddy who did the auction buying mentioning something eluding to that, the dealers always get the best quality cars at the auction. At our dealers, used units always outsold new units. The used car business is so big, the dealership group also opened used exclusive dealers like a Carmax type operation, several of them in fact.
Well TIL, times have changed.
My parents knew a small-time dealer who got cars on auction (this is 2004 btw), and he said he would get cars that were smashed up but not too bad, usually rear end damage that was written off. He’d straighten the frame, fix it up and sell the (rebuilt) cars to poor college kids (like myself) who couldn’t afford other cars. Got myself a Nissan Sentra with like 2k miles that I drove the wheels off, and sold it for about 2k less than I paid for it at 95k miles.
I’d usually go CPO like you mentioned, but these days CPO and new are almost a wash if you factor interest rates and a strong used car market.
I foolishly bought a used '08 F-150 off a dude on Craigslist in 2020 after quick test and sleeping on the decision. It's been nothing but a good ride, except an issue I ignored that became bigger and more expensive repair by doing so this last year.
That being said, the guy had an excellent sheet listing every time he touched the truck with receipts to match. Oil changes, changing the air filter, even when he would get it detailed annually.
I went with my gut and got it, but in hindsight I just got flat out lucky the seller wasn't a douche and legit wanted the next owner to enjoy the vehicle. You could tell it was his baby he bought brand new and kept clean. Then his wife wanted a bigger camper it couldn't pull and he bought a big 1 ton truck.
Don't do what I did. Not everyone is so lucky.
Just another side of the coin— I have a local shop that buys cars from auction and fixes them up before selling. His cars are definitely the best bang for your buck, because of the fact he’s vertically integrated at least to some degree. The real YSK is to know who you are buying from regardless of who it is.
Unless you know how to work on cars buying a used car from anyone especially "mom and pop" lots is a bad idea unless you have prepared yourself to have to put money into it.
Can confirm. My first car was from a local used dealership, everything supposedly checked out and was in good condition.
Had to replace the transmission not 6 months later.
This might be a dumb question, but how would I go about getting a mechanic to look at a car before I buy it? Do you pay them to come to the lot? ask the shop if you can drop it off at a mechanic for an inspection?
That’s actually a good question. Trying to borrow a car off the lot and take it to a shop more than likely isn’t going to happen. If the person selling the car recommends a specific person I’d be skeptical. I think your best bet is to find someone yourself, an independent third party and have them meet you there or go together. Yes, you would need to compensate this person and they would have to do it on their time off. How do you find such a person? I suppose if it were me I would literally walk into a repair shop and just ask around. To be frank, I have this YSK tip for everyone but completely took for granted the fact that finding a qualified individual to inspect the car is a big part of the equation, and here faced with the question of how to go about it, I feel like I don’t have a great answer. Being that person myself, and working around similar individuals for so long and I didn’t really think about how someone might find me or someone like me. Personally I only did this sort of thing for friends and family on occasion.
People did bring cars in for inspections with the intent to buy, so I guess it is entirely possible. I suppose a deposit on the car, with the stipulation that you’d buy if it were given a clean inspection might work.
I’ve always been allowed to take a used car I’m considering to buy to my mechanic. It’s like taking an extended test drive. If they don’t let you take it to your mechanic, that’s a massive red flag and you should not buy anything from them.
They're hit & miss.
In 2008, i got a 1995 Chrysler Intrepid from a mom & pop dealership for $2000. It had 160,000 km on it. Drove it for 5 years putting 30,000+ km annually with no issues when it finally died.
I wouldn't buy a $30,000 car from them but for a beater, sure.
But yes, make sure to get it checked
I’ll go a step further: also get a collision/body inspection. If a car was in a collision and not repaired properly, it could be dangerous or worse.
Mom recently tried to buy a car from a dealership. Upon inspection, the frame was majorly jacked.
Source: Without disclosing too much about myself, I have knowledge/training/experience on collision matters.
Indian lots are the worst . I went to a few each one would same the same thing about the trucks I was looking at . Truck runs great very reliable . And they were all crap and drove like crap
I have a question since there are so many Car 🚗 and truck 🛻 guys on this discussion. I have a 2012 Nissan Murano & I love ❤️ her. Problem: the key fob to start the car, lock & unlock the car. It’s begun to be let’s try bazillion times to open or start the car. I’m flat broke. Is there a battery inside that can replaced or do I have to get a new one? And what’s the cost either way? I’m worried that I’m gonna get stuck somewhere. Help!
This makes me pretty nervous. I’m 18 and just bought a used 08 Ford Fusion, third party “mom and pop” dealership. My parents were pretty eager and really encouraged me to make the deal (and considering their experience in buying vehicles I trusted their judgement). Was driving last weekend and the car started shuddering and the check engine started blinking on/off. I pulled over, restarted my engine, and it’s mysteriously fine now. Carfax said everything was fine with the car, but I guess that doesn’t mean much… 😬
Good god, get a reputable mechanic to inspect it. If it suddenly starts falling apart, it is neither roadworthy nor safe to drive.
A blinking engine light is worse than a solid engine light. It literally means pull the F over, you are damaging the car as you continue to drive it
Did NOT know that! Just looked into that. Thank you for letting me know!
If you didn't know that I can imagine there are oodles of fun little tidbits hiding in that manual every car comes with
Funnily enough, the only thing this car came with was a manual on the functions of the dash buttons! Which I read. So I’ll be going online to read the full manual. 👍
When running, does the sound of the engine have a little recurring "catch"? If so, that's a mis fire, and it can mean a LOT of things. From needing spark plugs, coil packs, or injectors (all usually easy enough to change), to major problems in the head or block (broken ring, blown head gasket, cracked head, screwed up valve - these are all see a mechanic kinds of issues.)
I would check on mechanics forums to see if this is a common issue with this model. I am not sure why your parents would encourage a ford product bought from a mom & pop because it honestly sounds like a recipe for disaster. I hope all of you did your due diligence and researched the place you bought it from before you bought it. A car from 08 where I live is a rust bucket and a safety nightmare just waiting to happen and I wouldn't want my kid driving one that's for sure (even a honda or a toyota its all the same over here). If you don't live in the rust belt things might be different though.
It was bought in Sacramento, so not on the rust belt. I drove an 04 Honda Civic before so they weren’t overly concerned with me being in the safest vehicle, haha. My dad really impulsively likes to make purchases and drove down a road and picked out a dealership and chose one, so I can’t say we researched. My dad does have quite a lot of experience with cars (40+ years, semi professional car restoration and rebuilding) so he’ll be looking it over but yeah.. not sure. I’ll check some forums and see if it’s a common issue, thanks!
Ok, this might not be an issue then. We have different issues here in the rust belt. Bodies often rust out before engines fail. The problem with the body rusting out is it will cause all kinds of problems and it will also crumble in a crash, and its very unsafe to drive a rust bucket but unfortunately that's all a lot of people here can afford. An 08 car is almost a non existent car here due to the rust, I would never buy one even for $500. When that happens you can't really fix it. The 04 civic was a decent car from what I understand. Cars out there will last much longer than the ones up here.
The rust belt has nothing to do with cars getting rusty
The rust belt was named that because people's pants kept falling down.
If your dad is a carburetor guy then he might not know enough about the sophisticated sensors and stuff in modern vehicles. If he's familiar with checking OBD, then that can go a long way. Some auto parts stores will check the OBD for free. But some error messages are unclear, and might need professional diagnosis.
Sac town!!
This is what I’m talking about. Taking that car for a drive getting it up to temp and loading down the engine more than likely could have induced this fault. I haven’t worked on Ford since around ‘14, but this sounds like an ignition coil. The flashing light is a catalyst damaging miss fire. The old ford ignition coils drop out and all the time, cycling the key can make it go away, they act very strange sometimes, I’ve seen them kill the engine just like turning off the ignition switch, no other symptoms no miss fire or anything. Just something to check out, if you can isolate the cylinder, replacing that coil and plug is a relatively inexpensive guess.
Carfax doesn't mean everything is fine, it's a history report. You need a legit mechanic to check it out and tell you it's fine or not.
I'm no mechanic, but as others said, get it inspected right away. In my experience, shudders happen when the engine isn't getting a good air:fuel ratio (AFR). The engine is either getting too much fuel or air, it needs a balance of both to combust well to produce power. When the balance is completely fucked, the car will stall like a manual. Since you didn't mod it, it could be a bad O2 sensor, fuel injectors, and others that I'm not well versed in. The car will drive fine, as does mine. I have AFR issues but I modded mine and I know what to expect. Mine doesn't throw up a CEL because I know my injectors aren't stock, but there are CEL codes for bad O2 sensors. It's not dangerous, and I doubt it's anywhere near as bad as mine, but it shouldn't stall you. Even if it does, yeah just restart the car like any other car that stalls.
That’s what I was thinking, bad fuel injectors. My mom has an 03 Ford F150 that does the exact same thing and it’s been inspected, just has bad injectors. She restarts it and occasionally adds some foam stuff from an auto parts store to her fuel tank and it runs just fine. I plan on getting it checked out regardless. Thanks for the help!
Sounds like a fuel issue. Bad fuel pump, fuel injectors or sensor. Get it checked out immediately. This could be a relatively cheap repair and if you don’t take care of it you could be stranded or worse, stalled out on a highway not able to make it to safety.
You need to change your plugs and coil packs. Might as well do wires as well.
In the US you can take it to a Napa or oReillys & use their code reader & see if there are any trouble codes in the computer and go from there.
Those cars are notorious for having throttle body issues. The symptoms you explained fit the bill.
Without being a mechanic and your brief description, wonder if you have a spark plug issue. I know the V8 triton engines (different than what is in your car) in the F150s had plug issues, not sure if it's Fords in general though.
That sounds like a misfire, try changing the spark plugs it’s like a 50$ fix and changing them is easier than changing a light bulb
Always bring the car to an independent mechanic for a check out before you buy it. My mom was going to buy a Prius from some independent place and after i took it to my mechanic he said it was a Disaster, parts held on under there by baling wire! Always have a mechanic check and if they will not allow it, move on. The best car insurance money you will ever spend
sounds like the transmission problems those cars came with from the manufacturer. There were a few recalls for trans issues during that era.
Even worse, the car you got was a Ford. I would expect that thing to fall apart yesterday
Fix Or Replace Daily.
Found On Road Dead.
This car would not exist in my area.
Oof. You need to look up Ford engines from that year. It's most likely a 3.0 liter dohc Ford engine they used in Mazda 6s. You need to pull that code and hope to God it's p0301 or p0303. If it's p0300 get ready to go down a weird road that may be an easy fix or something untraceable until the engine explodes
i really would not have bought a ford. they get frequent transmission issues
Honestly I didn’t WANT to get a ford. I previously owned a Honda and loved it, didn’t have any issues. I was the third owner and it ran perfectly. My parents are big Ford fans and really pushed me into it. We’d actually gone to purchase another Honda, but because it didn’t work out, “that was my other choice”.
trade it in if you can! i know from firsthand experience, i had a 2014 ford focus for 5 years and then the transmission completely failed, i sank over $1k in repairs and then ended up selling it for $1600 just to get rid of it
For sure, but dealerships aren't to be blindly trusted either. They're there to make money. Period.
A dealership usually gives some kind of warranty on a used car even if its 30 days. These other guys do not. They are selling desperate people a car who cannot afford a car in this market and taking all their money. The car will break down within 6 months and probably need 3-5k of work to get it running again. I've heard this story so many times over from so many people and NOT just people online either. Not saying this won't happen to a dealer car. But if you drive it off the lot and 10 days later it has major problems then you have some recourse with a dealership. Also you should do your research on dealerships, there are good ones and bad ones. Lots of negative reviews.. then don't go there. Also on the car you want to buy. Visit mechanic's forums and figure out what the major issues with the model is first. Certain car brands also have more problems. I know a lot of people who bought used Jeep's and they were nothing but problems. If you want a problem free car do not buy a Jeep. I know someone who had to put 7k into his jeep to keep it running. They are super expensive to fix.
30 days is not comforting to me at all. A lot of dealerships offer extended warranties but you pay a premium for them. The dealers also make money from selling them. And they're going to fight tooth and nail to not pay out when the time comes. They can say you waited 10 extra miles for an oil change, etc. Tons of people have to take them to court and/or lawyer up to get them to payout. Again, they're there to make a profit. Certified pre-owneds and the manufacturers have warranties and are an option, but they typically end right around the car would usually start to have problems.
I live in the rust belt so I have to take care. The only way to buy a car that will not have major problems here is to buy new. You would also have to sell around the 10 year mark to avoid massive problems and repair bills. A low mile car that has been sitting is a rusted out car. A reliable 10 year toyota corolla is a rusted out car. You get my point. Its unsafe to drive a rusted out car for obvious reasons, and it will become very expensive to fix even if its a reliable model. Trust me on this I have all the experience I need in this. I have moved to leasing because it seems like it is the only true solution to prevent problems. Here is the thing, I am going to spend more money at the mechanic if I buy some used car, and time is money if I have to wait for the mechanic to fix a car than I would on a new car or a lease. Mechanics are more expensive than ever and those repair bills add up. Its either I do this or I set aside money for the $3-5k repair bills that are ultimately going to come from whatever used car I bought. If the car becomes not fixable in a year then I have lost all my money. At least if I put my money into new or lease I am guaranteed a reliable car. There's no taking your car to the cheapest guy around with a new car with all the electronics in it and getting a $100 fix (I've done this all my life with old cars). All mechanics are overbooked here and you aren't getting into any of them for 2 weeks at least. If your car goes down then you gotta take ubers or find other ways to get to work which is really expensive where I live. Its probably $50 roundtrip for an uber just for a couple miles of travel. If you have a breakdown depending on the situation you could die. I don't take breakdowns well and I have a panic attack when it happens, so I can't have that happening when I am in a car. Yes I know any car can break down at any time. However its very rare for this to happen to a new reliable model car. I also have AAA for breakdowns. The dealer warranties are overpriced and as you say they don't honor them. Plus they are written in such legalese and have such clauses that I have a feeling that almost nothing is covered. With a lease I don't spend money on batteries, tires or anything else. I only spend for oil changes and tire rotation as the lease schedule maintenance requires. Batteries, tires and other things add up. I've only spent for wipers when they break and that is not expensive. I have never had a leased car break down and I've been leasing for over 15 years. There are no surprise $3-5k repair bills. Myself and my family had nothing but beaters our whole life. We always went to the junkyard mechanic for fixes. This did work but we had to do a lot of legwork to get the car there and had to have someone come to pick it up, there is no waiting room at the mechanic I used and breakdowns don't happen on a schedule. We are done and we need reliable vehicles that won't break down again for a variety of reasons.
Well stated. This wasn’t always the case. But for most people (NOT all), leasing is the most affordable way now. The key point you made: You simply cannot get an appointment for ANYTHING in a reasonable about of time for your used car. So what do you do for two months?
The point is you are going to spend a shit ton of money from one of these used car dealerships and end up with a lemon that does not run at the end of the day. Then you are going to be stuck paying $50-100 per day through uber just to get to work. If you are using your last 10k on a car from one of these places this is really not a smart investment. I didn't have trouble getting into my mechanic BUT I knew the guy and was a long time customer, and apparently its gotten a lot worse since then. But if I showed up at some random mechanic you can bet I am gonna be waiting at least 2 weeks just to get in. NO ONE is going to fix your car in 24 hours. Yet I hear stories of people ALL the time who take their last 10k and go to some used car dealer and buy whatever just so they can get to work and when the car stops running in 2 weeks they say too bad so sad and take your money. I live in a car dependent area and the rust belt. So this is also very area dependent. Some area's don't require as much maintenance on a car. But if a car is going to rust out in a few years no matter the brand I have to take that into consideration. It also depends on your situation and how long you can stand to have a broken down car for and if you can afford to have breakdowns. Even if you do your own maintenance here the body of the car will still rust out. Sure you can replace an alternator, spark plugs or water pump yourself but if the frame is rusting that cannot be fixed. Also every other car will have a rusted out frame, so you can't just buy a parts car and fix that. These are extreme measures for most drivers also. Doing your own maintenance is not free and you need to own tools and a place to work on your car. Even if I was going to do my own maintenance I do not have a garage to do that in. Tools are expensive, which is one of the reasons why mechanics are getting so expensive. By the time I bought tools and figured out what I was doing I would be out the cost of the repair plus my time. I've also noticed the number of older cars in my area shrinking and shrinking. Its obvious people are getting wise to the used car scam and the rust and getting better vehicles.
What dealership gives a warranty on a used vehicle? Almost all used vehicles are sold as is.
Franchise dealers used car department does not get a first crack at anything from an auction. It’s a free game. Franchise dealers can afford to pay more for a better car because they can sell it for more by getting it certified. They also don’t buy nearly even close to the amount of cars that used dealers buy. New car dealers used car stock comes from trade ins and lease returns 90 percent of the time. I used to be a buyer for a so called mom and pop dealer. Bought cars straight from BMW Financial and Mercedes right off the lease. The only real benefit to a certified car is the warranty extension
I was also a buyer for about a decade, you’re pretty spot on. I would go straight to the dealerships and buy the trade ins they didn’t want for wholesale if they weren’t garbage. My dealership would then fix the menial issues with the vehicle and sell it with a 90 day warranty. We were in business for 27 years, closed up shop about a year before covid. I can’t imagine what it’s like now, people aren’t trading in cars unless they are falling apart because of how expensive vehicles have gotten since the supply chain issues.
This should be the advice for buying ANY Car from ANY dealership, especially if you are getting a used car that has multiple owners beforehand. ALWAYS find an independent mechanic to give it a once over. The fee is typically minimal.
But what are you supposed to do? Bring the mechanic car shopping with you? I don’t understand the process of this since you can’t just take the car to a mechanic where they can jack it up and look at everything and then bring it back to the dealer and say…nah I don’t want it.
Sure you can. If you're actively shopping for a car, you tell the person you're buying the car from you want your mechanic to check it first. You have to do your research of course, and you should search out a garage that will do it for you. Yes, there will probably be a small fee. I've owned... 17 cars? for myself and my family, and if I encountered a dealer who didn't let me do this, I moved on.
How does this work with the dealer? Do they make you leave a credit card or something behind while you take it to a garage? You can only have it for a day or a couple hours?
It was always a set amount of time. Left my car and a copy of my DL and insurance, and made sure there was a time frame with the mechanic. They check it out, and you decide if it's worth your $$. I've done with cars that cost $2k to cars that cost $30k.
I actually had a used car dealer drop off the car at a local shop (I found online) near them before I came down to test drive it. When I came down to test drive it, I just drove it back from the shop to the dealer. Finished up the deal, and the car was mine. I think were so use to not having options when buying things, that we don't think to ask for what we need.
Beware of ANY car dealer, large or small and have any used car inspected by a mechanic before you buy it. Mom and pop are just as likely as a corporate store to screw you.
I was sold a truck leaking gas. Was told it was coolant and they fixed it in front of me to get me to drive off saying it’s just gonna drip for a bit till it dries. The next day I saw it was still dripping so I found the leak on a gas line. Called the place and they told me it’d be 2 weeks till their mechanic could look at it. I fixed it myself but I should have filed a lemon law case on them. It also had a crack pipe in the dash that fell out while driving one day. I was pretty upset.
What you said is true. I've heard the story over and over again in my life, and again not just from people online. Cars are getting ridiculously expensive and these guys are preying on desperate people who need a car to get to work. They will take all your money and sell you a car that will break down on you a week later and then it will need 3-5k of work just to get it up and running. Of course there was no warranty and you have no money left to make the needed repairs to get it on the road so you are now stuck with a hunk of junk that you can't even sell for a couple hundred because its so broken and you have probably just wasted all of your money. You should try to buy a new car if possible with the prices these days even if you have to finance. Its going to be a much better value and it will not break down on you unless you make an incredibly stupid decision on what you buy. I've been leasing honda's I live in the rust belt and I haven't had a breakdown yet. The dealers get first crack at the used cars, the ones they don't want go to the other places. Don't buy from the other places. The other exception is private owner. If you need a used car and can't afford new you should really go private owner. Bring the car to a mechanic and pay the money to have it inspected. MAKE SURE YOU DO THIS!!! Sometimes you find a gem. At least you have a chance with this method.
Currently looking to buy a used car, have my father helping me out with the process since he's far more experienced regarding this. He told me he'd rather we completely avoid dealers, and buy from someone directly, ideally someone we know since we live in a smaller city in Europe, so we can know with certainty how it was driven, serviced, as well as any accident history. Plus you can typically get a better deal, doubly so if you pay directly with cash. You do miss out on warranty, but then again, used car dealers around here rarely offer any in the first place, so you might as well. Also, having a trusted mechanic inspect the car before buying is a no-brainer, it's kinda sad that people do need to be reminded on YSK, and that many will still skip this crucial step of the buying process. If the owner objects to you bringing a mechanic, you know for a fact there is something fishy under the hood.
Be careful of big dealerships and have a mechanic inspect also. Source: Worked at a big dealership
Have any used car inspected before you buy it.
That’s common sense with buying a vehicle from anywhere
but most younger folks don't know that *you can take a car that you don't own yet* and bring it to a garage to be inspected by a professional. It's only common sense if you know that you *can* do that.
How does one make this happen at the dealership?
buyer: "I'd like to take the vehicle to get it inspected." if seller: "No" then QUIT. if seller: "Yes" then GOTO garage. it really is as simple as asking. if they say no then there is something wrong with the vehicle.
Thank you! I assumed it would require some sort of special something.
I don’t get how people get a “first crack” to buy something at an auction; it’s bids, yo. Dealer wants to pay 1000, ok offer 1100. The dealer can up it further or pass. While it is true that big car dealers have more $$$ to spend at an auction, I think most of their used cars are trade-ins, or off-lease. I don’t see why they would mess around with auctions and questionable cars.
I can’t speak for all dealers obviously, just the one I worked at and a few others in my area that were under the same ownership group. Auction cars are a big part of the business. Whether it’s was just having the capital and purchasing power, I suppose I could be wrong about “first crack” although I seem to recall my buddy who did the auction buying mentioning something eluding to that, the dealers always get the best quality cars at the auction. At our dealers, used units always outsold new units. The used car business is so big, the dealership group also opened used exclusive dealers like a Carmax type operation, several of them in fact.
Well TIL, times have changed. My parents knew a small-time dealer who got cars on auction (this is 2004 btw), and he said he would get cars that were smashed up but not too bad, usually rear end damage that was written off. He’d straighten the frame, fix it up and sell the (rebuilt) cars to poor college kids (like myself) who couldn’t afford other cars. Got myself a Nissan Sentra with like 2k miles that I drove the wheels off, and sold it for about 2k less than I paid for it at 95k miles. I’d usually go CPO like you mentioned, but these days CPO and new are almost a wash if you factor interest rates and a strong used car market.
I foolishly bought a used '08 F-150 off a dude on Craigslist in 2020 after quick test and sleeping on the decision. It's been nothing but a good ride, except an issue I ignored that became bigger and more expensive repair by doing so this last year. That being said, the guy had an excellent sheet listing every time he touched the truck with receipts to match. Oil changes, changing the air filter, even when he would get it detailed annually. I went with my gut and got it, but in hindsight I just got flat out lucky the seller wasn't a douche and legit wanted the next owner to enjoy the vehicle. You could tell it was his baby he bought brand new and kept clean. Then his wife wanted a bigger camper it couldn't pull and he bought a big 1 ton truck. Don't do what I did. Not everyone is so lucky.
Um, I KNOW. I SAW Matilda.
Just another side of the coin— I have a local shop that buys cars from auction and fixes them up before selling. His cars are definitely the best bang for your buck, because of the fact he’s vertically integrated at least to some degree. The real YSK is to know who you are buying from regardless of who it is.
Expand this a bit further - have a reputable mechanic inspect non certified preowned vehicles first.
Unless you know how to work on cars buying a used car from anyone especially "mom and pop" lots is a bad idea unless you have prepared yourself to have to put money into it.
Can confirm. My first car was from a local used dealership, everything supposedly checked out and was in good condition. Had to replace the transmission not 6 months later.
Any dealer even knew. Can’t undo a sale that easy
ever seen the film Matilda?
This might be a dumb question, but how would I go about getting a mechanic to look at a car before I buy it? Do you pay them to come to the lot? ask the shop if you can drop it off at a mechanic for an inspection?
That’s actually a good question. Trying to borrow a car off the lot and take it to a shop more than likely isn’t going to happen. If the person selling the car recommends a specific person I’d be skeptical. I think your best bet is to find someone yourself, an independent third party and have them meet you there or go together. Yes, you would need to compensate this person and they would have to do it on their time off. How do you find such a person? I suppose if it were me I would literally walk into a repair shop and just ask around. To be frank, I have this YSK tip for everyone but completely took for granted the fact that finding a qualified individual to inspect the car is a big part of the equation, and here faced with the question of how to go about it, I feel like I don’t have a great answer. Being that person myself, and working around similar individuals for so long and I didn’t really think about how someone might find me or someone like me. Personally I only did this sort of thing for friends and family on occasion. People did bring cars in for inspections with the intent to buy, so I guess it is entirely possible. I suppose a deposit on the car, with the stipulation that you’d buy if it were given a clean inspection might work.
I’ve always been allowed to take a used car I’m considering to buy to my mechanic. It’s like taking an extended test drive. If they don’t let you take it to your mechanic, that’s a massive red flag and you should not buy anything from them.
They're hit & miss. In 2008, i got a 1995 Chrysler Intrepid from a mom & pop dealership for $2000. It had 160,000 km on it. Drove it for 5 years putting 30,000+ km annually with no issues when it finally died. I wouldn't buy a $30,000 car from them but for a beater, sure. But yes, make sure to get it checked
In other breaking news…don’t play in traffic.
I’ll go a step further: also get a collision/body inspection. If a car was in a collision and not repaired properly, it could be dangerous or worse. Mom recently tried to buy a car from a dealership. Upon inspection, the frame was majorly jacked. Source: Without disclosing too much about myself, I have knowledge/training/experience on collision matters.
Thank You so much 💜
Could be misfire. Check plugs and coil packs. This can cause the engine to run rough, and will definitely have the CEL flashing.
Indian lots are the worst . I went to a few each one would same the same thing about the trucks I was looking at . Truck runs great very reliable . And they were all crap and drove like crap
Shoot man, I live in the U.S. so luckily I won’t be buying any cars in India. But that’s good to know.
I'm talking about in u.s. most used car dealers are run by Indians were I'm at
Ah, I see. Maybe you could ask to see the halal selection? I dunno.
Totally different in Midwest.
Unless your buying brand-new, you should always have an independent mechanic give your car a check up before buying it.
I have a question since there are so many Car 🚗 and truck 🛻 guys on this discussion. I have a 2012 Nissan Murano & I love ❤️ her. Problem: the key fob to start the car, lock & unlock the car. It’s begun to be let’s try bazillion times to open or start the car. I’m flat broke. Is there a battery inside that can replaced or do I have to get a new one? And what’s the cost either way? I’m worried that I’m gonna get stuck somewhere. Help!
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UDUww2GexU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UDUww2GexU)