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The original was posted on /r/tifu by /u/ChocolateBirdie2020 on 2026-05-31 12:38:44+00:00.

Okay so this happened over the past month but the full picture only came together this week and I needed to tell someone because my roommate is tired of hearing about it

I'm 27, recently relocated to Phoenix from Columbus for a new job, public transit here is basically a joke so I needed wheels fast. Guy from my gym, Derek, was offloading his 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Asked $8,700, said it ran great, just needs a little TLC. I'd seen him drive it around, looked fine to me. Paid the man. Did not ask a single question beyond does the AC work.

(It did. That is the only thing that still works correctly.)

No VIN check. No mechanic inspection. Didn't even google the model year for known issues, which, as I would later find out, was a catastrophic oversight because the 2013 Grand Cherokee has a whole fan club of people on forums documenting exactly what goes wrong with it.

Car was fine for about 11 days. Then one morning I start it up and there's this low grinding noise coming from the front end every time I turn the wheel. I figure maybe it just needs power steering fluid or something. Top it up, noise doesn't go away. Take it to a shop on and the guy puts it on the lift.

Both front wheel bearings are shot. Like, genuinely dangerous to drive. He also notices the rear differential is leaking pretty badly and while he's under there points out that the transfer case has seen better days too. Then he asks when I last had the timing chain looked at. I say I don't know, I just bought it. He goes quiet for a second and says the timing chain tensioner is showing wear and on this engine that's not something you ignore unless you enjoy being stranded.

At this point I'm just staring at the ceiling of the waiting room. He asks if I ran the VIN before buying. I did not. He pulls it up on the spot using a tool turns the monitor toward me and there it is: a flood damage report from 2020, a salvage title that had been washed, and two prior owners I didn't know about. The whole history, just sitting there, free for anyone who bothered to look.

Flood damage. I bought a flood car. In the desert. I live in the desert and I bought a flood car.

Total repair estimate came to $5,800 and that's before touching the timing chain which the mechanic strongly suggested I not ignore. Derek's phone has been going to voicemail since Tuesday.

I've since learned that a washed salvage title is unfortunately not always illegal depending on the state and how it was disclosed, so my lawyer options are murky at best. For now the Jeep sits in my complex parking lot, slowly leaking differential fluid onto the asphalt, judging me.

run the VIN. seriously just run the VIN. it takes four minutes.

TL;DR paid $8,700 for a 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee from a gym acquaintance without checking anything. Both front wheel bearings shot, rear differential leaking, transfer case worn, timing chain tensioner failing. mechanic ran the VIN on the spot and found flood damage, a washed salvage title, and two undisclosed prior owners. Repair estimate is $5,800+. Derek is not answering his phone.