When you're looking for a used car to buy, the last thing you want is to end up with a vehicle that's been in a major accident before. There are many people out there making a living by selling "salvage" cars, ones that were in accidents and have been repaired, and most will make that fact perfectly clear when selling the vehicles. However, there are other sellers, dealership and private party alike, that will pass off the previously crashed cars as "accident-free" in an effort to avoid having to discount the price accordingly. You need to be a smart shopper and carefully look for signs that the vehicle has been in a major accident before, and it's highly recommended that you have a professionally trained mechanic take a look at a used car before you buy it. Here are some tips to help you determine whether or not that used car has been in an accident before:
1) Vehicle history report - The first and most obvious step you should take is to obtain a vehicle history report. A report like this will cost you anywhere from $25 to $75 dollars, and is provided by companies such as Carfax. The report should contain information such as the following; past owners, insurance information, and any reported accidents. While in theory this should be a foolproof way of identifying previous accidents, there are reasons why the information could be incomplete, such as accidents that were never reported, and long delays before the information has been updated.
2) Uneven paint and lines - Make sure you're able to look at the car from multiple angles and under enough light. Crouch down along the side of the car and look all the way down the length of the car. If there is a discrepancy in how the paint looks on various panels, then it's likely that it's been in a wreck and has been repainted. Look for "orange peel" texture, or inconsistent texture in the paint throughout the car. Also, take a look to make sure the trim and panels line up symmetrically down the side of the car, as variations are a dead giveaway for having had body work performed. .
3) Gaps in the panels - A great way to tell if a car has had body work done is to check the spacing between body panels. Sometimes you can tell simply by looking at the spacing whether or not it looks too wide or too narrow, but this takes a little bit of experience, and someone who isn't preoccupied with cars is likely to miss it. However, what everyone can do is compare one side of a car to the other. For instance; if the gap between the door and rear quarter-panel is wider on the passenger's side of the car than on the driver-side of the car, then it's a bit suspicious. Compare one side of the car to the other, and make sure all of the panels match up evenly.
4) Repainting - Very often, you can tell whether or not a car has been repainted simply by looking at the edges of a car's doors, or body panels. Another great place to check is under the hood of the car. Take a look in the engine compartment and look around where the paint ends. Very likely, if a car has been in a major accident and has been repainted, you will see evidence of this in the engine compartment via the overlap of the new paint and the original paint. You can perform the same type of examination in the trunk of the car, as well as by looking inside door jams, and anywhere else that the paint does not face the exterior of the vehicle.
5) Filler sports and clamp marks - When examining the car, run your hands along the body and try to feel for bumps and other irregularities on the surface of the panels, and the bumper and fenders. Uneven areas, or bumps may be indicative of filler that has been used to fill in and repair damaged areas. Also, use your eyes and hands to look for clamp marks around the frame of the car. If you are able to identify clamp marks, this is a MAJOR red flag as any car that has been on a frame machine has sustained damage serious enough that it required extensive body repairs.
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