ATT ToddZ & Fellow Tracers 09 Adrenalin Purchase Questions/Help

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Mylimyles

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Whats up Guys n Gals it's been a while But I pray all is well with everyone.



My 02 will most likely be written off this week and I am looking at an 09 Adrenalin. However is does need some TLC which I am willing to give. What bothers me the most is the mileage 103,410 vs the year, yep you read it right. However according to carfax it had one owner, non smoker and has had the oil dropped accordingly, no accidents, water damage and all that good stuff. It drives well and shifts properly to me, I do plan to take a mechanic with me to test drive it as well. The paint is in good condition, no cracks, peels or fades.



PICS IN MY LIBRARY TO MANY TO POST



However, these are some things that I found wrong:



Rear seat 60 section has a cut in the leather, 40 section will not fold down

Needs 2 rear tires

Driver side black trim (where the door meets the Passenger door) has scratches

Tonneau cover rear lock will not open & cover is missing

The 2 small storage compartment apper to be in operable

The black trim on the tailgate is unsecured (may be missing some clips or something)

Appears to have the third brake light water issue (no biggie)

2 rear screws in the bed appears to be rusting (may be run off from tools or something)



Now the asking price? $19,489, I do plan to haggle and I will be paying cash.



WHAT WOULD PAY FOR THIS VEHICLE???????????????



I have never ever purchased a used vehicle before.

YOUR INPUT AND HONESTY IS GREATLY APPRECIATED
 
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Thanks I know I darn sho won't be paying the asking price further research shows they are askin $1,200-$1,389 over what they should be asking. But the issues I've named will cost about $1,200 or better just for parts + labor for the things I don't want to tackle myself.



Thanks for the input.
 
I would research the true market value, in your area. Plug in the condition issues. So the TMV will come back with a price.

Then I would research the cost of repairs needed. Take that from the TMV. What ever it comes to. Haggle that price down some more.

Provided the mechanical condition meets the TMV. After your mechanic or check it out service you use can verify it is sound. My credit union has a service. That will go over a vehicle for $80.

IMO, even if it didnt have the things you know. I think they are asking $5k too much.
 
They sound overly proud of it. Why didn't they get those "little things" fixed before putting it up for sale? My guess is they will not haggle very much at all. I would not fall in love with this thing.



Personally, I would not get a trac without the V8. Once you have the V8, you will never want to have the 6-cylinder. Especially in an Adrenalin, the smaller engine just seems silly to me.



 
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My gut feeling is this isn't one you would want to keep long term. I agree with Eddie, about 5k too much plus repairs. Good luck with whatever decision you make, Jim
 
Thanks guys, the asking price is not what I will be paying and I do have my haggling game on. I'm on point with you guys when I saw it, I said about $15,000, but I was more like $15,000 out the door. Oh yeah they did say they would repair what I wanted and add the tires for the rear, but if i can get my old ones back thats better they were Like new, a year and a half old.



Ok I used Edmunds.com to do the TMV and boy we all were right on point, even though it's from a used lot I am still considering them to be a private seller so the magic number is $15,197, LABELING THE VEHICLE AS CLEAN. They took off $1,480 for the mileage.



LABELING IT ADVERAGE, $12,599; -$1,480 for the mileage & -$2,594 for the condition.







So we'll see once I find out how much I'm getting for the 02, if I will still be considering this one.



Thanks again, your input is still welcomed
 
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You mentioned 2009 Adrenalin. If this vehicle has all wheel drive option, then you need to be careful on just replacing the two rear tires. With AWD, all tires have to have the same wear or that will throw off the system. You are not supposed to replace just 2 tires with an AWD system unless the other two are new or fairly new. Measure the tire depth to make sure all are equally worn.

 
Thanks for the info but it's RWD. I'm not even sure if I will be doing this still trying to find one close by that has better mileage. But no luck. I can't do the site unseen thing, I just can't.



Thanks again.
 
Someone mentioned it's a V6? Is that true? That price tag really sounds high for an '09 V6 RWD even if it is an Adrenalin. You mentioned "water issue with 3rd brake light. no big issue" Is this Adrenalin carpeted or rubber mat? Mine has the rubber mat with foam sound proofing. (I did not want carpet). My 3rd brake light leaked and the padding under the mat was soaked for ages before I discovered it when installing a spoiler with another 3 brake light. Just thought I'd mention that. If you have to replace it, DO NOT order anything aftermarket which is made in China. But the FoMoCo lights only. May still be made in China but it will be made to a more exact and proper fit. That was another mistake I made. The aftermarket light leaked like a sieve. As for the black trim, it's not the clips. The trim has plastic "prongs" (for lack of a better word) the snap into the clips. Everyone of those broke away. I suspect people slam the tailgate hard and cause these tabs to break. I bought a new one from Ford and I don't let anyone close that damned tailgate but me! :) ONE MORE THING! I don't know what state you live in, but if it is a norther state or a mountainous area where a lot of salt is put down in the winter, you rocker panels will rust out. These SportTrac are noted for it due to a poor design in the drain holes. They get easily clogged and will hold salt and salt water. I know.........it cost me over four thousand dollars to replace both of my rockers. (I had it done right with full rocker replacement). Good luck! Even with known issues, I still LOVE my SportTrac. I DO have the 4.6 V8 and wouldn't trade it for anything.
 
Regarding the third brake light - yes they do leak, even the OEM ones. The photos below show the solution for me. The weatherseal strip is readily available at HD and Lowe's, etc. EDPM is highly resistant to weathering/sunlight although being completely out of sunlight should not even make weathering an issue. The weatherseal compresses so the slight raising of the light is unnoticeable. Self-stick so installation is very easy. Put the connection at the bottom.
 

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Thanks Robert! I WILL purchase this today! The PIA issue is getting the padding dried out. My ST came with the rubber mat vs carpet. I actually like that better because it's easier to keep clean. The down side is, if that light leaks, you don't know it BECAUSE of the rubber mat insulating your feet or hands from discovering it. Drying is not easy and it's time consuming. Been there. You need blowers and you have to "lift" the rubber mat and padding up. First you must pull up all the step plates. In the front I slid the seat back and gently pulled as much rubber mat and pad as I could and folded it back from the front toward the east (you'll have to "weight it down" to keep it from flipping back toward the front. The rear: I didn't want to remove the entire seat. If you remove the front bolts, the seat will flip up and the legs fold in. You can then secure the seat up and out of the way. Since the seat hasn't been totally removed, there are the rear seat brackets that need to be dealt with. I did that by using a carpet razor knife and slit a seam all the way across and around the brackets. Given the location, this cut is not noticeable and when laid back down was hardly visible at all. This was I was able to pull the mat and pad up from read to front (again, using weight to keep it back). To reach under the front seats, I used a leaf blower which has the "narrow" attachment at the tip. This allowed the blower to be shoved under the mat toward the front and the reverse can be accomplished from the front of the seats. I used fans to keep the air circulating. This literally took me days to accomplish but I did. I guess one could pull ALL the seats out and totally removed the mat and pad which would make drying simpler but I wasn't up to the task as I'm 74 and cannot lift much because of back issues. Sadly, I installed the after-market light with the gasket they sent and after several soaking rains, it's leaked again. It's Winter and I can't put my ST in the garage for any extended period. However, I WILL install that weather stripping soon on a "balmy" Winter day. I'll simply wait until Spring and warmer weather to dry out the padding. Thanks for your weather stripping advice. Wish I'd thought of that earlier.
 
Robert, did replacing or resealing the 3rd brake light stop that leak? I first noticed water in that tray also. Before I bought mine, I looked at another just like it but higher mileage. It was right after a Summer rain storm and I found the tray full of water and the headliner showed some staining.
 
Hello Emory, I noticed the tray being filled, did a little research and replaced the light (replaced in 2020 - it was the original factory light installed in 2010; the replacement light was Chinese as I recall). Noticed water in the tray again after a rain. Installed the weatherstrip seal - no further issues. I am confident that the fix is permanent and has the advantage of using no sticky sealers. Just make sure you follow the contour of the light's weatherstripping as shown and put the joint at the bottom.
 
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