Determining if a car has been wrecked/repainted

If its the hood your looking at and all of the OE stickers and labels from the factory are there under the hood ...

Our RAV4 needed a new hood due to an unrepairable dent on the front edge. The reputable shop painted the OEM hood and replaced all of the OEM stickers and labels. They removed the bumper cover so they could paint around the fender edge instead of taping it when they blended into the fenders. I still found some overspray because I looked for it.

Our deal was strictly cosmetic and it showed on Carfax. Have you talked to the dealer with what you found and said you really want to know what happened?
 
It's common for the leading edge of the hood to chip due to being in the slipstream. This car could have just been very well cared for!
 
Our RAV4 needed a new hood due to an unrepairable dent on the front edge. The reputable shop painted the OEM hood and replaced all of the OEM stickers and labels. They removed the bumper cover so they could paint around the fender edge instead of taping it when they blended into the fenders. I still found some overspray because I looked for it.

All except the VIN sticker.

The 02 Xterra has VIN stickers visible on the doors, hood, fenders, hatch. The 18 Titan doesn't have any visible VIN tickers on any body panels. The RAV is gone but the only stickers that I remember on it were the profit center VIN etch stickers the dealer tried to soak us for when we bought it. Are these stickers an OEM thing or a dealership thing?
 
Repaint does not mean accident. it just means further investigation required.
Yep. When I was a teen I had a 1978 toyota pickup. I was stopped at a light and a cop chasing a bad guy caught him and body slammed him on my hood. The hood on that era toyota was very thin and was completely flattened and smashed down onto the engine.
 
Our RAV4 needed a new hood due to an unrepairable dent on the front edge. The reputable shop painted the OEM hood and replaced all of the OEM stickers and labels. They removed the bumper cover so they could paint around the fender edge instead of taping it when they blended into the fenders. I still found some overspray because I looked for it.

Our deal was strictly cosmetic and it showed on Carfax. Have you talked to the dealer with what you found and said you really want to know what happened?

Yes, reputable shops do include OEM replacement stickers and labels, a few of the top tier Insurance Co's will include them with their estimates.

Some Insurance Co's need a little guidance at times with there Estimate writing skills and need to be asked to "include" said OE stickers for new replacement hood or often core supports have a couple small coolant and refrigerant labels, "Any Vin # Stickers" Not happening.

Dealers normally file CARFAX on any much more than a dent repair, they might even file that. Other than that, its usually just when an Insurance Co pays to have body work or even refinish work done.
 
Accidents don’t deem a car as lesser value. My car was swiped in a parking lot and the rear door and quarter panel were painted. I own a body shop so it was repaired by me, you wouldn’t be able to tell other than a paint thickness gauge.
That said, I went to trade the car and the dealer tried to steal it from me because it had a “dirty” car fax. Absolutely no structural damage. I sold it privately, with full disclosure of everything and got what I was asking.
 
Accidents don’t deem a car as lesser value. My car was swiped in a parking lot and the rear door and quarter panel were painted. I own a body shop so it was repaired by me, you wouldn’t be able to tell other than a paint thickness gauge.
That said, I went to trade the car and the dealer tried to steal it from me because it had a “dirty” car fax. Absolutely no structural damage. I sold it privately, with full disclosure of everything and got what I was asking.
How did it get a dirty Carfax when you did it yourself??
 
Dealers normally file CARFAX on any much more than a dent repair, they might even file that. Other than that, its usually just when an Insurance Co pays to have body work or even refinish work done.
The tire shop that does my state inspections reports routine maintenance to carfax. I can only imagine carfax pays them a miniscule amount of money for the privilege. I bet dealers get a similar spiff.
 
To the OP, did you buy through Carmax? Their reconditioning process allows them to respray up to three body panels when they consider purchasing and then reconditioning a car. our used gs350 is as you described on the hood and front bumper. I have no issue with this, it looks better than it otherwise would at 80k miles.
 
The tire shop that does my state inspections reports routine maintenance to carfax. I can only imagine carfax pays them a miniscule amount of money for the privilege. I bet dealers get a similar spiff.

Interesting...There should be No pay, or compensation for reporting. State inspections? That might fall under a different category, but still don't you find that a little ridicules? Oil changes? New tires? This thread is going way off track, but then I seem to be a thread derailleur not intentionally.

Every panel on my car has a Honda decal with a barcode on it.


Honda began hiding some Vin tag's like the fenders, ft rr bumpers in the early 2000's, but I have been retired for many years. The part Vin tags are solely for car theft on all vehicle that have them. They are on parts to identify the vehicle they are from. They help keep car thief's and salvage yards from selling stolen parts. Some salvage yards engage in what is called buying Vin #'s from salvage auctions. Law enforcement has become more wise about documenting the damage or loss and pictures on totaled vehicles because the newer higher theft vehicles normally go to the state police for inspection when they are rebuilt and re registered. As any thing with a demand even the small Vin stickers can and are counterfeited. The state police commonly will look up the police report when inspecting a newer salvage vehicle with different Vin #'s on it, they require receipts from how you acquired the parts ect.

On another side note, if "Any" salvage yard has any part in their yard without a vin sticker that is supposed to have a vin sticker its the same as if the salvage yard owner has a stolen part in his possession.

For any other person than a registered salvage yard, like most of us here, law enforcement will just ask where you acquired the part from and confiscate it from you, or remove it from the vehicle. The part becomes theirs no matter what the circumstances.
 
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