Unseen damage in used car

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Tomioka

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I had my 02 Silverado for 5 years since buying it in 2012 for $5,000. Didn't mind the damage to the rear bumper and general wear damage as long there is no major leaks and funny noises. It did have an aftermarket chrome billet grille but behind that grille hid a totally different story when I decided to change it back to a stock grille.

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It appeared the truck had minor front end damage bending the ATF cooler, bending and nicking the condenser, and cracking the right side headlight mount. Bumper and frame was not tweaked like if it was in a collision so it probably was an object that went through the grille. With a sharp crease in the condenser luckily it didn't break and spew out it's refrigerant. I was able to scan the junkyard to replace the damaged parts except the condenser where I will replace with brand new components. The A/C still blows ice cold though so that's still a huge plus.
 
You bought a very used truck if it was only $5k 5 years ago. What are we looking at in the pics? A few bent fins?
 
Aftermarket grilles can sometimes be a red flag indication of just what you found.

Thanks for the reminder.
 
Originally Posted By: dishdude
You bought a very used truck if it was only $5k 5 years ago. What are we looking at in the pics? A few bent fins?


I didn't take pics of the bent center support and the crooked ATF cooler since I've replaced them before taking this pic. Still overall condition is good compared to the other trucks I was looking at that time (crack smoking tacoma owners and overpriced nissan hardbodies)
 
My step mom wrecked her car and the bumper smoothed in the condenser and bent it in pretty bad. My dad put a new bumper on it and left the condenser, A/C worked fine.
 
It has not leaked in the five years since you bought the truck? What's the issue or are we just whining?
 
Considering how expensive trucks are (especially now that gas prices are low), you really didn't get that bad of a deal. I would leave the original condenser on, with my luck somebody would hit me & break the new one, or I would catch a rock on the interstate with it.
 
Just about any vehicle more than a couple years old will have a few bent fins. Late May into June we have June bugs that are a very hard bodied beetle that can do its share of damage. Near suicide to drive a motorcycle without helmet.
Most vehicles will have some bent fins. If vehicle had a smart owner they will put up a simple piece of screen to catch the bugs. So easy then to pull the screen and clean or just toss and replace.
Your truck probably had a 4 footed encounter.
My 99 Ford has a near perfect radiator.
 
If it was my vehicle. I wouldn't fix it. You can't see it unless you look for it, it still functions and most aftermarket ones are far worse than a factory bent one.
 
That is just from a used truck.
As long as you have cold air, it's fine.
I've seen that bad or worse new out of the box.
 
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