Bought a Ford Focus with a 'minor' dent that turned into a $2,000 nightmare

Saw this 2014 Focus at a dealer lot in Austin for $4k. Had a dent on the rear quarter panel, figured it was just cosmetic. Got it home and realized the dent was hiding a cracked taillight housing that let water into the trunk. Then the water shorted out the wiring for the reverse lights and eventually fried the backup camera module. Took it to a shop and they quoted me $2,200 to fix everything including the dent. So now I'm sitting here wondering if I should just part it out and take the loss or sink more cash into a car that's barely worth $5k fixed. Anyone else fallen for a dent that was way deeper than it looked?

2 comments

2 Comments

blakem1315h ago

Dang, that water damage is a killer. For $4k I would have probably rolled the dice too but that crack let in way more than you expected. Could you maybe just fix the taillight and wiring yourself, skip the dent, and at least have a working car for way less than $2k?

lily_singh215h ago

Hold on, are you sure that backup camera module is completely fried? Sometimes those just get a short from moisture and they dry out after a few days, then they work fine. I would NOT touch the dent at all for now, that's just cosmetic and you can live with it. Fixing the taillight seal and the wiring yourself with a $30 part kit from AutoZone is SO much cheaper than a shop. Worst case you waste thirty bucks, best case you save over two thousand. Just my two cents from fighting with my own electrical gremlins.