How risky is buying used?

[Fordified1]

I’ve never been sorry for buying a used vehicle. But I’m pretty good at spotting an abused one. That being said, your 2024 Bronco hopefully had better quality control than that ‘22 along with a few interior refinements. I ordered a ‘24 (my very first new vehicle) because I had faith that Ford was getting better at building them.
Also be aware that there are a batch of 2.7 V6’s built that are subject to dropping exhaust valves which will destroy the engine. That has since been cured with the newer ones but I would keep that in mind. The 2.3 is pretty much bullet proof all years.

Sponsored

 

[Glade Runner]

Not risky at all…

 

[Dialtone]

Not risky at all…

That has long term meme written all over it.

 

[Bschurr]

CAVEAT EMPTOR

Anyone who buys a used vehicle of any kind - car, boat, motorcycle, plane etc. should get a PPI (Pre Purchase Inspection) performed by a reputable company with a written report and photos.

 

[TXBronco1313]

I’d be very careful buying used. A buddy of mine bought a used 22 wild track couple months ago with a clean title (no accidents, etc..) a week after he bought it he started noticing a rattle when closing the passenger door. We finally decided to take the panel apart. Long and behold there was tiny shards of glass. We started looking some more and found bunch of tiny scratches in the trim around the passenger side and found tiny pieces of glass under the seats. We believe that person had his window broken not long before trading his car and like I said the carfax was squeaky clean. Obviously this is not going to be the case for every used car/Bronco but moral of the story is you never know what the previous owner did

 

[fritobandito]

Thank you for all of this. I have not bought a car in a good bit and have never bought an off-road capable one. I am still interested in it so am going to take this advice and look at it. It is in another city not far from me so I don't know any places there.

If I do a pre-purchase inspection- would I do that at the dealership it is at or take it to another one? It is not at a Ford dealership.

Thanks again!

 

[Hdscreens]

With Ford quality it’s risky even buying new.

 

[Bschurr]

Thank you for all of this. I have not bought a car in a good bit and have never bought an off-road capable one. I am still interested in it so am going to take this advice and look at it. It is in another city not far from me so I don't know any places there.

If I do a pre-purchase inspection- would I do that at the dealership it is at or take it to another one? It is not at a Ford dealership.

Thanks again!

NEVER ALLOW THE SELLING DEALER PERFORM A PPI! It’s a conflict of interest and this would be a huge red flag & I would walk away immediately.

 

[Blackcat]

I'm not concerned about off roading.

I'm concerned with stupid lights that are poorly wired, bolt-ons, cheap suspension modifications, engine "performance" modifications, etc.

1000% agree on this. Wranglers and Broncos are toys that folks love modding and then returning to 'stock' when they trade/sell used. I'd have a really hard time buying a used Bronco or Wrangler knowing this.

 

[Jhopkinson]

I grew up in the car business, my father had a dealership. I have purchased many used cars but I can tell you I always feel most comfortable purchasing from the original owner. You can pretty quickly get the feel of who your dealing with and what your getting just by asking the right questions. I rarely purchase used from a new car dealership but that would be my only exception if not from the original owner. I never buy from used car dealers and rarely from 2nd or 3rd owners. Just my two cents.

 

[Jazer]

Like any used car. You can generally tell if it's been off road as there will likely be evidence of scraping here or there underneath. Particularly if it was abused off road. The good thing about the Bronco is most people do not off-road, and MANY people bought one because it was the new shiny thing, only to find it really wasn't for them and sell fairly early. I think this is probably the case for A LOT of the used Broncos on the market.

 

[NatureMan]

With Ford quality it’s risky even buying new.

 

[wjtinfwb]

I think it's pretty apparent if a Bronco or Jeep has been treated poorly. Excess mud in wheel wells, and nooks and crannies, dinged up skid plates and low hanging items like shock mounts. Certainly, all damage can be hidden and CarFax doesn't catch everything, but I've bought lots of used vehicles, some mundane and some performance oriented and haven't been burnt yet. I'm getting ready to sell my '23 BB Sasquatch. It's never been off road, has been garaged from day one and only has 8k miles, under the hood and underneath are basically pristine. Again, mud, rust lots of sand, etc. are some red flags. Take your time, don't fall in love with anything and spend a few bucks on the CarFax if its not provided. And if a 4dr soft top Sas V6 is what you're looking for, let me know!

 

[BlueWaffle]

NEVER ALLOW THE SELLING DEALER PERFORM A PPI! It’s a conflict of interest and this would be a huge red flag & I would walk away immediately.

If an 'internal investigation' is good enough for the police, it's good enough for a used vehicle



Back tha blue!

 

[rayhil67]

A lot of good info on here, there is nothing wrong with buying used. I'm 57 years old and my22 is the FIRST brand new vehicle I've ever bought. I can say "I've never bought a lemon" but.. my dad, his brother and a cousin all had there own auto shops, so I have always been in good hands when buying. Also the money you save by buying used you could always extend the warrantee and afford to do some upgrades if needed. The 3 wranglers I've owned , 2 of them already had lift kits on them, so I know they were off-roaded (at least one would think) and you can usually tell just how bad they were "treated" by dents and scars on the body and underneath.

Sponsored