Should I buy a car that had the whole bumper replaced?

Munster46

Hi all,
I’m looking at buying a Toyota Yaris from a dealer and he informed me that the back bumper on the car had been replaced due to an accident. The price for the car is good and I was set on buying it. I don’t know much about cars tbh. Should this be a dealer breaker when buying the car? TIA

LollipopJimmy

Munster46 wrote: »

Hi all,
I’m looking at buying a Toyota Yaris from a dealer and he informed me that the back bumper on the car had been replaced due to an accident. The price for the car is good and I was set on buying it. I don’t know much about cars tbh. Should this be a dealer breaker when buying the car? TIA

Better than buying a car with half a bumper replaced.

On a serious note, if it was just the bumper that was damaged then it doesn't matter a damn, however I would have a pre purchase inspection done on this car. If it checks out and the price is right then great

FintanMcluskey

For me no. Not at all. But do a check using cartell etc.

What year? Does it have spare tyre in boot?

colm_mcm

It’s good that they’re upfront about it, but at the same time they could just be covering their arse for when you find out it had a large smack.

Now if it’s a 6 month old car that had a scrape then it’s relevant and acceptable, but I’d be very thorough in finding out the extent and quality of the repair.

Can you post a link to the ad?

Irishphotodesk

Munster46 wrote: »

Hi all,
I’m looking at buying a Toyota Yaris from a dealer and he informed me that the back bumper on the car had been replaced due to an accident. The price for the car is good and I was set on buying it. I don’t know much about cars tbh. Should this be a dealer breaker when buying the car? TIA

Bumper replaced generally means it has been in an accident, which might also mean there is other damage, a proper inspection inside the boot and underneath the vehicle to search for weld points, fractures/cracks or other signs.

It’s possible that the bumper was replaced because the owner wanted it as good as factory fresh and insurance was paying for it, but it’s equally likely that the impact was bigger than just a substantial scratch.

As others have said.... get a pre purchase inspection done by a reliable mechanic who knows how to recognise vehicles that have been repaired.

If you do purchase, wear well.

bazz26

Is it being sold by a main/reputable dealer? Is it a UK import by chance and have you done a history check on it?

Two things to make from it:

1. The dealer is being genuinely honest about the history of the car and doesn't want any ambiguity with you about it.
2. The car is an import and like many that come into the country, they are Cat S/N write offs bought cheap through UK auctions and then dealers spin a yarn here telling you they only had a bumper replaced as a preempt to you discovering this on a history check.

Unfortunately there are more dealers that fall under no 2 than no 1.

Munster46

bazz26 wrote: »

Is it being sold by a main/reputable dealer? Is it a UK import by chance and have you done a history check on it?

Two things to make from it:

1. The dealer is being genuinely honest about the history of the car and doesn't want any ambiguity with you about it.
2. The car is an import and like many that come into the country, they are Cat S/N write offs bought cheap through UK auctions and then dealers spin a yarn here telling you they only had a bumper replaced as a preempt to you discovering this on a history check.

Unfortunately there are more dealers that fall under no 2 than no 1.

Thanks for this. The car was imported from the U.K. Followed up on this and advised him I was going to get the history checked and he came clean and said it’s a category N write off. He then sent the history report and this showed a category D write off. Think I dodged a bullet. Cheers again.

bazz26

Category D or N as it is known as now, is the lowest form of insurance write off in the UK so it could well be that it was just a bumper that was replaced. However you would want to see photos of the damage at the time of the crash to prove it as it's too easy for rogues to tell you what you want to hear. The car also needs to be priced accordingly as these cars are being snapped up by sellers over here cheap from UK auctions and will be worth less again when you go to try and sell/trade it on.

punisher5112

Wouldn't bother me if done correctly, brilliant that they're up front too.

colm_mcm

punisher5112 wrote: »

Wouldn't bother me if done correctly, brilliant that they're up front too.

They just left out that it was a write off.

That’s more than a bumper replacement.

punisher5112

colm_mcm wrote: »

They just left out that it was a write off.

That’s more than a bumper replacement.

Woops missed that part, sorry...

Thought cat D was only light damage.

I've had a few in that.

mickdw

It was always going to be the case that there was a write off history when he started declaring damage.
It would want to be a very cheap car to be cat d for a cracked bumper.
The classifications have changed slightly. Cat N is now the lessor of the write off categories and it refers to non structural damage so a properly repaired cat n really shouldnt be a problem but will always be worth less regardless.

extra-ordinary_

You'd wonder why the dealer mentioned the bumper at all seeing as he held back initially on the write-off history. OP...had you specifically asked him if it had ever been crashed?

bazz26

Most folk do a history check these days so the dealer was probably trying to soften the surprise of the buyer/not put them off by pre-explaining it as "only" being a bumper replaced. For some perspective though, a replaced bumper could be classed as a Cat D/N insurance write off in the UK and write off sounds a lot worse than it is in such cases but without proof of the damage a more substantial Cat D/N repair can be fobbed off just been a replaced bumper.

extra-ordinary_

bazz26 wrote: »

Most folk do a history check these days so the dealer was probably trying to soften the surprise of the buyer/not put them off by pre-explaining it as "only" being a bumper replaced. For some perspective though, a replaced bumper could be classed as a Cat D/N insurance write off in the UK and write off sounds a lot worse than it is in such cases but without proof of the damage a more substantial Cat D/N repair can be fobbed off just been a replaced bumper.

Yes, but no matter how substantial the Cat N damage was, the Insurance assessor did not judge that the structural integrity of the car was compromised so in reality nothing major (although could still cost a fortune to put straight). Although against this is the fact that the assessors can get it wrong too.
The thing with the OP is that they may move on to another dealer that has a non-import Irish car that has actually been through the mill and repaired and nobody knows.

bazz26

Oh I know, half the cars in Ireland are probably Cat D write offs, but unless you can see proof then it's hard to just go on a dealer's word who at the end of the day is trying to sell it.

mickdw

People need to learn that if car dealers are declaring damage, its going to be something thats recorded and traceable.
A local dealer guy here has been known to say - I got it in with a small tap on the wing. Real meaning is Frontal impact cat D.

That said, on cheap stuff, a cat d could be practically no damage.

punisher5112

It's amazing how .uch damaged repaired are out there....

A lot of cars I've come across or bought have had some sort of tip....

i57dwun4yb1pt8

id walk from this dealer if it were me

Atlantic Dawn

punisher5112 wrote: »

It's amazing how .uch damaged repaired are out there....

A lot of cars I've come across or bought have had some sort of tip....

It goes with the market, people willing to spend thousands on a car but unwilling to spend €25 on a history check facilitate it.