Bought a crashed car...help

stek1980

Hi,

I was just looking for some advice on my situation. I bought a car 3 weeks ago, it broke down after a week so it was covered by warranty, back driving it again n asked for an independent garage to take a quick look at it, he came back n told me that d car looks like it has been crashed before n fixed up. Now to say I'm not happy is an understatement. The car was checked when buying on cartell.ie n that came up fine. Was just wondering does anyone know we're I may stand on this issue???

meathstevie

It all depends on the nature of the damage and the quality of the repair in my opinion. If you're talking strictly cosmetic damage like dented panels and cracked bumpers that have been replaced with quality parts and proper spray jobs I wouldn't be overly worried. It's a different story if just about the only original bit left is the chassis number.

I take it you bought from a dealer since there's some cover in which case I would be worried about the vendor's honesty to say the least.

bazz26

Just because cartell did not report it was previously crashed doesn't mean it wasn't and should not be taken as gospel. All the likes of cartell report can do is check a database if there is a record of the crash and repair with insurance companies. There is still a high probability that a car can be crashed and repaired but no record of it with the insurance company because the owner got it repaired cheaper elsewhere themselves. Also some insurance companies here do not share this data with car history check companies. Really you should have got an independent garage to inspect the car prior to purchase rather than afterwards.

If there is any recourse here it would be with the dealer who sold you the car, they are obliged to tell if it was crashed if asked. Proving this may be difficult however. What sort of crash repair are talking about here? Have you approached the dealer about it? Is the car experiencing any problems attributed to the crash repair? You really need to be armed with facts rather than just opinion.

slimjimmc

Car history sites can only go by what is reported. Not all damage goes through insurance, so it's possible the damage is just minor. Get a body shop to give you a professional report on it so you have facts as to what was done.

mickdw

I would take the mechanics word with a pinch of salt. Without exception, I find that they love to point out repairs to people that didn't buy off them. They are never so quick to point out accident damage on cars sold by themselves.

Yes you should get it independently checked to see if there was any major damage but other than that, there is possibly nothing to worry about.

screamer

I'm no expert, but I think you have to ask them specifically if the car was ever crashed, and they have to tell you, otherwise, you've a warranty for as long as they specified or as far as the gate. I know that I looked at a laguna years ago, was keenly priced, brought my da along and the money to buy it, asked the sales guy if the car had been crashed "not that he knew of", when my da looked at it, the lines between the bonnet and side wing were much wider one side than the other, on further inspection, it was clear that it had had work done, so we left it there. Second hand car buying can be a mine field.

JohnBoy26

mickdw wrote: »

I would take the mechanics word with a pinch of salt. Without exception, I find that they love to point out repairs to people that didn't buy off them. They are never so quick to point out accident damage on cars sold by themselves.

Yes you should get it independently checked to see if there was any major damage but other than that, there is possibly nothing to worry about.

Your making an assumption that the mechanic is also a car salesman.

To be fair if the car has really been crashed and the mechanic found signs of this, then he is right to pass on this info to the owner.

mickdw

Yes I was (perhaps wrongly) making that assumption and yes he was right to pass it on if it has issues but the examples I was referring to were cases where they might spot a panel or 2 repainted and they will make a big deal out of pointing it out and always condemning the work too of course even though worse comes out of their own shop.