Buying car with previous accident?

poker--addict · 15-01-2011 3:47am #1

Hi all,

Sorry I am sure this has been done to death.
Private sales:

I have seen a car I really like look of, and plan test drive in a few days.
I ran a check on it and it had an accident previously. Significant frontal damage. I have name of the owner at time of accident and am trying to track down a phone number for him-which i will ring if test drive is ok. From which i hope he will tell me the extent of damage at time.
I havent spoke to seller YET about this(i believe he may have fixed it).

If i speak to previous owner and get a succesful mechanic check(AA or similar) should it be ok or should I just forget about it now? As I guess there is no come back on a private sale. Gutted when I seen it had a crash-looks well.

andyseadog · 15-01-2011 5:47am

find out exactly to what extent the damage was done.

if its been repaired to a high standard, then theres no reason to be too put off, receipts for repairs would be nice to see too.

R.O.R · 15-01-2011 6:50am

Is it something especially rare, or is it a lot cheaper than other cars of the same type?

If it's been repaired to a high standard, the only thing that would put me off is what happens when I go to sell it on. If you've found out it's damaged, you'll have the same problem when you come to sell it.

Rather than just getting a mechanic to check the car over, might be worth trying to find somewhere with a mechanic and body shop to check it. Mechanic can give you the info on the oily bits and the bodyshop can confirm the repairs were done to the right standard.

gk5000 · 15-01-2011 9:44am

Even with a good repair, its worth 15-30% less than an equivalent straight car; imho, so factor this in.
And crap paint jobs and undersealing/undercoating will take a year or so to show up.

poker--addict · 15-01-2011 11:00am

it is slightly cheaper then other cars of similar type, so reckon it falls into the 15%-20% lower, when fixed it has obviously got upgraded bumper parts etc so when you say rare i guess there is not too many like it.

poker--addict · 18-01-2011 8:50pm

Had a look at the car.. drove well and was immaculate.
Seller was not willing to come down enough for me to warrant the gamble.
Seller also "didnt know" about the accident, possibly true but did not add up. Left it alone...probably 100% but will hold off this time.

Back to drawing board:o

Buying car with previous accident?

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