Would you buy a car knowing it was in an accident?

[fisher83]

I would absolutely buy a car that was in an accident if the price was right and the vehicle was not frame damaged. A friend of mine recently picked up a salvage title 2009 Nissan Versa with 60k for $5900 that way. He got to see the car before the repairs were complete. The vehicle had been side swiped but the body shop did an excellent job repairing the car and he got an excellent buy on the car that way. Carfax only reports what is reported to them so many people buy cars that have been in accidents anyway, they just don't know it. I even bough a car once that the AutoCheck report said was a lemon law car. I never checked the report before buying the car because I only paid $3k for the vehicle so I didn't feel that an extensive vehicle history check was really necessary. I checked the report as part of a training exercise for a car dealership I worked for a couple years later. It was actually one of the best cars I have ever owned.

 

[The Critic]

If it is just skin damage and the paint quality appears good, then I would have no issues buying it with a reasonable adjustment in price.

 

[ls1mike]

What a reasonable price adjustment if the car is repaired to new specs if it is just sheetmetal? What about a repainted car that is factory or better?

 

[eljefino]

Yes and they came out fine. Workaday American commuter cars. One, a cutlass ciera lasted four years, got it when it was eight years old. Was in (seller claims) one of those highway fog fifty car pileups, busting front and rear clips but nothing in the middle. Old enough to total.

Done a couple saturn s series, very modular cars. Front subframe tweaked or just rusted out. Subframe has engineered-in weak spots that give first, so the actual space frame of the car doesn't suffer. New subframe bolts right in, car is aligned perfect, etc.

A BMW though has more profit motive to bring back from the dead. More than a couple thousand bucks and a guy in his garage fixing something up to drive to work. Kinda scary, as this attracts "the pros" eg the hacks.

 

[rjundi]

My wife had minor body work to her Legacy, bent panel along rear fender.

It now is rusting. The shop is going to fix it but it appeared after two years. The paint otherwise looks perfect.

 

[SS1970chrysler]

I drive an R-titled car to work every day right now.

 

[Artem]

My 98 Camry was involved in 3 front end collisions:

Although the frame is bent from the first accident, the car drives straight, no noises and no other issues. From the outside, you can't tell it was ever involved in 3 collisions. No excessive cracks anywhere, everything is straight and the paint matches (it's white though, so it's easy to match).

My point is, if everything was done properly, I wouldn't hesitate to buy a car that was fixed.

An expert will be able to look over the car and see anything that wasn't done properly. If you're buying a car more then $20,000 I think its a good idea to spend a few hundred for a proper inspection. If a problem is found, you can walk away with money well spent (compared to expenses and headaches later down the road).

If no issues are found and the car gets a clean bill of health, you can sleep easier at night knowing everything was repaired properly and that the air bags will deploy during the next collision...

 

[Propflux01]

Usually if it is being offered from a dealer, and a warrenty is in effect, the damage was prolly not that big of a deal. Look it over, crawl underneath, ask queations about it. If they are not trying to hide anything, go for it. Chances are if they were, it would go straight to auction. Last thing a dealer wants is a comeback on a car.

 

[OceanRuns]

I would and have. My first car was a 90s Tercel which had low miles and a salvage title. Drove that thing for 6 years and then my brother got some use out of it.

Bought a Del Sol which the girl who previously owned it had a front end collision. It was the color I wanted (rare color), had working AC (not all do), and reasonable miles. Repair looked fine (to me). Title wasn't salvaged. It's parked outside now and I've enjoyed four years of fun with it.

 

[salv]

No worries. Buy it if it suits you and your budget, and if there is paperwork for what has been done and where.
Make sure that you hit the owner or dealer at least $7-10k under fair trade value because it was in an accident.
If the seller tries to get book value, laugh and walk away.

 

[Doog]

I would pass.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: ls1mike
What a reasonable price adjustment if the car is repaired to new specs if it is just sheetmetal? What about a repainted car that is factory or better?


If it was just bumpers, it wouldn't be a big deal.

If an entire side of the car had to be resprayed due to vandalism, I'd want 1-2k off. As others have mentioned, there's serious concern about the quality of the respray.

 

[SteveSRT8]

If you don't know the shop involved then you don't know how well it was painted.

Many times a rebuilt or repaired car can be as good as new. But we all know what happens when corners get cut.

I have bought several cars with salvage titles but I knew the shop that rebuilt them.

 

[dishdude]

The issue I see is that this is a late model BMW, which is not cheap nor rare. I would find one that wasn't wrecked. Even if this one was repaired correctly, it's just one more thing the owner has to deal with when he goes to sell/trade.

If this is at a dealer, they won't discount it down enough to make it worth it. They'll wait for the next sucker to wander onto the lot.

 

[SLCraig]

I don't even look at the past history on my cars. If they look/run/drive fine, I don't care at all what has happened to them before. No point in worrying about something that is not an issue.

Now if there is obvious problems, its an obvious pass.

 

[zzyzzx]

What's the asking price?
What's the asking price relative to other non wrecked BMW's?
Are wreck pics or invoice from body shop available?

 

[Win]

No.

 

[Jocephus]

Nope. I don't buy used cars either.

I have a brother who is a dealer and buys alot of cars at auction, etc.

After I watched an auctioneer put 75w90 gear oil in the crankcase to keep an auction vehicle engine from shaking I walked out.

 

[NHHEMI]

As long as there was no frame damage and it appeared to have been repaired properly maybe. However, any frame damage at all and I wouldn't touch it.

of course I don't buy used vehicles so my opinion doesn't mean much.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Would entirely depend on the particular vehicle & how it was repaired.