Would you buy a car that you knew had been in a collision?
Discussion
I think I've found a vehicle that I want to buy but it has been brought to my attention by the selling dealer that it has been a collision and then repaired. The vehicle has only had two owners and the accident happened over 3 years ago with the original owner and they kept it until last year. I know that the repair was to the rear left corner and the cost of repair about 2000 pounds. I can't see any issues with the repair but I notice that the previous owner only had the car for a few months. The selling dealer hasn't hidden anything from me but don't know anything about the nature of the collision because they took the car in trade from the second, not the first owner. The car is otherwise in excellent condition with relatively low mileage and drives very well. Should I walk away or go ahead with the purchase?
£2000 worth of damage doesn't really take much doing these days, sounds like a huge amount but isnt really.
I would want the car checking properly and it to be significantly cheaper to consider it but I woudltn rule it out if its been done well.
If you already had a car that got damaged, then repaired you probably wouldn't worry too much about it after a week or two of getting it back, I damage one of ours a few years back, took the corner off and it was fine, still is.
I would want the car checking properly and it to be significantly cheaper to consider it but I woudltn rule it out if its been done well.
If you already had a car that got damaged, then repaired you probably wouldn't worry too much about it after a week or two of getting it back, I damage one of ours a few years back, took the corner off and it was fine, still is.
So it wasn't a write off? (i.e. HPI check doesn't mention it?)
Most cars over a few years old have had paint IMO (and even some new ones!) so if it's been repaired well enough that I/future buyer wouldn't notice it I'd probably not be too worried. (would depend on how much I was spending tho')
Most cars over a few years old have had paint IMO (and even some new ones!) so if it's been repaired well enough that I/future buyer wouldn't notice it I'd probably not be too worried. (would depend on how much I was spending tho')
Edited by danp on Friday 30th January 17:36
Apparently about 8 years ago my current shed was sideswiped by a lorry and had 2 new doors and a wing one one side, presumably when it was worth a bit more money than it is now!
Can just about see a shallow dent on the middle pillar with both doors open, and all 3 new panels are a slightly different shade of green to the rest of the car...
Doesn't bother me one bit tbh, was only a £300 car though!
Can just about see a shallow dent on the middle pillar with both doors open, and all 3 new panels are a slightly different shade of green to the rest of the car...
Doesn't bother me one bit tbh, was only a £300 car though!
J4CKO said:
£2000 worth of damage doesn't really take much doing these days, sounds like a huge amount but isnt really.
I would want the car checking properly and it to be significantly cheaper to consider it but I woudltn rule it out if its been done well.
If you already had a car that got damaged, then repaired you probably wouldn't worry too much about it after a week or two of getting it back, I damage one of ours a few years back, took the corner off and it was fine, still is.
To be fair, someone drove into the back of my 6 month old Polo a few years ago and the damage looked fairly superficial but cost more to repair than I was expecting. Kept the car for another 2 years after the repair and it didn't give me any issues nor look like it had been repaired. The car is worth significantly more than 2000 pounds, so I expect Cat D?I would want the car checking properly and it to be significantly cheaper to consider it but I woudltn rule it out if its been done well.
If you already had a car that got damaged, then repaired you probably wouldn't worry too much about it after a week or two of getting it back, I damage one of ours a few years back, took the corner off and it was fine, still is.
ADEuk said:
CAT C or D?
CAT C I'd walk, D wouldn't bother me as the dealer hasn't tried to hide anything, but I would expect a significant price drop
A vehicle has to be classed as a total loss (write off) for it to get a CAT C or D marker. My understanding from the OP is that this car has just had some damage and been repaired, presumably by the insurance co as its £2k worth of damage. So wont be shown on HPI as it's not a recorded total loss.CAT C I'd walk, D wouldn't bother me as the dealer hasn't tried to hide anything, but I would expect a significant price drop
Plenty of brand new cars sustain £2k worth of panel damage on the way to the dealers, they are repaired and sold as new. So if the repair has been done well I don't see it as a problem.
As per most people on here, it depends on the quality of the repair. Take Rowan Atkinsons F1 for example, have a feeling being crashed twice won't make such a massive difference to the price of that. Why? Because it's been repaired properly.
Fair enough different kind of car to the norm, but hopefully you can see what I'm getting at.
Fair enough different kind of car to the norm, but hopefully you can see what I'm getting at.
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