AWD with no badge?

Thank you for all the replies. I am taking the car to have it inspected by a mechanic tomorrow and see if they can spot any problems. I (and my husband) have looked this car over from top to bottom, inside and out, and can't spot any evidence of a paint job or any other damage (other than the AWD emblem being missing). If anything has been repainted they must have done a very excellent job, as there are no traces of imperfection that I can find. I am just super confused at this point.
 
Thank you for all the replies. I am taking the car to have it inspected by a mechanic tomorrow and see if they can spot any problems. I (and my husband) have looked this car over from top to bottom, inside and out, and can't spot any evidence of a paint job or any other damage (other than the AWD emblem being missing). If anything has been repainted they must have done a very excellent job, as there are no traces of imperfection that I can find. I am just super confused at this point.
I understand buying a used car is a compromise of many things, and finding a used vehicle you really like sometimes is hard. Without knowing the purchased price and the mileage of the CX-5, people here may have a hard time to suggest too much about the vehicle. But judging by the Carfax report, the damage happened on 11/25/2019 in California is moderate to severe, and it includes undercarriage damage. These two things would make me stop considering this vehicle even if it’s super cheap. The repair job can’t be too perfect from a few pictures you’ve shown: the rear wiper is parked too low and out of the glass area which may scratch the paint.
 
I understand buying a used car is a compromise of many things, and finding a used vehicle you really like sometimes is hard. Without knowing the purchased price and the mileage of the CX-5, people here may have a hard time to suggest too much about the vehicle. But judging by the Carfax report, the damage happened on 11/25/2019 in California is moderate to severe, and it includes undercarriage damage. These two things would make me stop considering this vehicle even if it’s super cheap. The repair job can’t be too perfect from a few pictures you’ve shown: the rear wiper is parked too low and out of the glass area which may scratch the paint.
Great observation. That's also not the right size wiper blade.
 
Interesting, I have never had any vehicle with a back wiper so I did not notice until you mentioned it.

The car is a 2015 a Grand Touring with 50k miles on it and was $16,998. This is cheaper than similar CX-5s I've seen for sale in my area.
 
Interesting, I have never had any vehicle with a back wiper so I did not notice until you mentioned it.

The car is a 2015 a Grand Touring with 50k miles on it and was $16,998. This is cheaper than similar CX-5s I've seen for sale in my area.
Different market has different price. But based on friend’s info from California, car price in California usually is lower than in Texas. And the car price is low during this pandemic. A friend just sold her 2016 CX-5 GT FWD with Tech Package (LED lighting etc.) in perfect condition with 45K miles for $12K to CarMax. Be patient to find a better CX-5 without having any prior accident if possible.
 
I am struggling with whether I should go ahead with the inspection or just return the car. I've literally been looking for like 6 months for this exact model, color, features, and price. Plus I've heard that carfax reports aren't always totally accurate; my friend knows someone whose own car had an accident on the report that never even happened, so I'm torn. Also I already sold my old car.

If the airbags didn't deploy, how bad could an accident really be anyway? Maybe the driver just ran over something big on the freeway or something. Ugh I don't know what to do.
 
Last edited:
Kinda sucks. What kind of use do you intend for the vehicle? Plan to keep it a long time? Just putt around town or lots of long distance?
 
Yes, Jen, I would take it back. I know it sucks, but trust us, if there some small problem next year, no matter how small, you'll be kicking yourself. And CarMax shouldn't have bought and re-sold it. That, and the fact that I couldn't bear to live with knowing that CarMax did that to me. Trust me, they knew when they bought the car from the previous owner.

Where do you live, let us help you look for a car
 
Last edited:
If the airbags didn't deploy, how bad could an accident really be anyway? Maybe the driver just ran over something big on the freeway or something. Ugh I don't know what to do.
The car could of been creamed while parked. Maybe the impact pushed the car into other objects. That damage is in so many areas, it took a lot of force. BTW, airbags only deploy if the system senses a passenger/driver.
 
My use for the car would mostly be the daily commute, occasional road trips of several hours each direction maybe a few times per year, occasional mountain driving and possibly towing a super light pop up trailer.

Kinda sucks. What kind of use do you intend for the vehicle? Plan to keep it a long time? Just putt around town or lots of long distance?
 
 
Thanks for the response St1ngy. That is a good point about the airbags. I am getting opinions from this forum as well as family members who are much more knowledgeable about cars than I am and so far opinions as to what I should do are pretty split! My prior car was in a couple of accidents and was still a good car for many years.

I'm in northern California (Sacramento area) and purchased the car in Santa Rosa.



The car could of been creamed while parked. Maybe the impact pushed the car into other objects. That damage is in so many areas, it took a lot of force. BTW, airbags only deploy if the system senses a passenger/driver.
 
Buying a car that has an accident history isn't the issue. I think the consensus is you paid too much for this car. Major damage was not fully disclosed. I'd go back and demand at least $2000 off or return it. Their shady business practice is the issue.
I'm surprised this car wasn't totaled. Look closely at the title.
 
Thanks for the response St1ngy. That is a good point about the airbags. I am getting opinions from this forum as well as family members who are much more knowledgeable about cars than I am and so far opinions as to what I should do are pretty split! My prior car was in a couple of accidents and was still a good car for many years.

I'm in northern California (Sacramento area) and purchased the car in Santa Rosa.
If you’re willing to get something different than CX-5, here’s a 2017 Toyota RAV4 LE AWD with 41,803 miles for $17,990, of course it’s negotiable. The owner is UC Berkeley Haas graduate, and it’s a good place to get a used car with 4.9 customer satisfactory rating in Bay Area. They’re located in Fremont and when I got my 2018 Toyota Yaris iA from him, there’s a buyer from Sacramento competing the same car. Not trying to advertise but it’s my good personal experience.


Due to the pandemic it’s a good time to get a new vehicle for excellent price. Any chance to consider a new red 2020 CX-5?
 
If the airbags didn't deploy, how bad could an accident really be anyway? Maybe the driver just ran over something big on the freeway or something. Ugh I don't know what to do.

FWIW, my first 2019 CX-5 GTR was rear ended & totaled while I was stopped at a traffic signal. I got pushed into the vehicle in front of me and my airbags never deployed. Obviously the rear of my vehicle took the brunt of the damage & the impact between the front of my vehicle & the one I got pushed into was not enough to deploy the airbags.

On a positive note, my son & I both walked away with bumps & bruises but no major injuries. I was impressed enough to replace the vehicle with it's clone.
 
Let's look at it another way. If you're going to have the car for a while, do you really want a car that somebody else smashed up? If you are determined to keep the car, I would agree with demanding $2,000 off. Even though CarMax has a one-price policy , Trust me, they've already made more than $2,000 on the car, and their only other option is taking it back and reselling it again
 
I make a lot of decisions this way. Which would I regret more? In this case, the options are either continuing to look for a car, or getting this one and have something go wrong with it. There's no wrong answer and it's completely subjective. Ask yourself which position you would regret more a year from now
 
In my opinion, return it...there will be others for you to find.

For the price CARMAX charges, it should be an above average example.
 
Back