Carfax report showed "Airbag Deployed." Opinion on still buying?

[ATFPat]

Just looking for a few opinions but I recently found an 03 SB cobra within a few hour drive. I contacted the seller which seemed pretty cool to talk to and it sounded like he gave as much information about the cobra. During the conversation, he let me know that the previous owner told him that the cobra was involved in an accident years ago when he first purchased it.

Anyways, I was going to look at it this week with the intent of purchasing it granted everything works out. It does need some TLC but sounds like everything mechanical is good. Running the carfax though shows that the car was involved in an accident with he front end which also resulted in airbag deployment. It shows up within a few months of the car being brand new back in 2003.

My question is how many would be turned off? I think whats keeping me still interested is that it happened right from the start of it's life on the street. My only turn off is that, that it has the accident/airbag deployment on the carfax.

 

[EB85]

The problem being that could mean he rolled into something just right and it triggered it, the car blasted a pot hole or he rear ended a truck at 45. There's not a whole lot you can do, AFAIK. It sounds like it's a private sale, am I correct? See if you can get the car on a lift and look at the suspension, rad support, frame rails, rail extensions, that kinda stuff. Since it happened over a decade ago I dunno how much you'll be able to see.

Off topic: I'm about 10-15mins from you so if you see a satin silver convertible, that's me.

 

[ColorMatched]

If the price is right and the car is straight, WGAF honestly. The expectation here should be that the value will be dimished, both upon purchase and re-sale. Get it up in the air and take a good look, take it for a ride and see how it does.

 

[Noreast]

What they said^^ If it checks out id buy it and drive the hell out of it enjoying every minute !

 

[04Cobra03]

If the car drives fine without wearing the tires bad after all these years then its prob fine. The big concern is if you try to sell it later, will people haggle you down on the price.

 

[Black2010]

I wouldn't worry about it as long as the price is right and it was repaired right.

I bought my car with a clean auto check and advertised as never being wrecked (bought via a dealer). A couple years later I pulled the free carfax and it shows it was in some type of accident. Still no clue what it fully says as I don't want to pay for a carfax for a car I already own. I was a bit pissed because I paid a prem for the car and it wasn't what was advertised and I wasn't sure why the autocheck was clean when I bought it.

That all said, I couldn't tell where the accident had happened. I had a friend come check it out whom has been an insurance adjuster for nearly a decade and he had a hard time finding the area. He ultimately found it after pulling some of the seals and finding a couple of non-factory spot welds.

I say all this just to let you know that even if it was in an accident it could still be a great car. Ours is solid and drives great. I just wish I would have paid a couple grand less for the car now.

 

[Dan04COBRA]

Don't sweat it. If it was when it was only a few months old and it's still on the road today - I'd say the car was okay. Sometimes all it takes is an ugly pothole