Used Car That Has Been In A Collision

[Hillel Wachs]

If a car appears to be in good condition why is it of concern that it was in a collision? (in terms of buying)

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[Lorrin Barth]

It will be worth less because it won’t be as good of a car.

Let’s take a simple case: a front fender is dented and replaced. This is a simple bolt on affair. Well, the paint won’t be exactly the same and maybe fade to a different color. The rust proofing on the inside that would have been there from the factory probably won’t be reapplied and the fender may be subject to rusting out.

In more serious accidents the dimensions of the body can be changed and the wheels, if not carefully repaired, can be dislocated leading to handling problems. Also, there are often parts that initially appeared okay but then fail later due to unseen damage.

Most cars if around long enough will suffer some body damage. That makes a noncollision car a prize.

[george gonzalez]

Because in most cars there is no frame anymore, and it’s hard to straighten the sheet metal parts back to be perfectly straight. So the hood and doors are not going to fit real well and they may drift over time to fit even less well. It may be impossible to align the steering to run straight and not wear out the tires. The quality of the repair work varies a whole lot. Often the parts you can’t see don’t get primed or painted or under coated. Parts like the radiator, AC, engine mounts, wiring, and battery can fail after a while due to unseen crash stress and damage. So the car better be an excellent deal, at least 25% off, to make up for future hassles.

[Dilan Gilluly]

The vehicle I’m driving now has been in a collision. The issue is that the tires wear unevenly, and have to be rotated more often. Also I’ve noticed that it pulls to the right a little, and I do have it aligned occasionally.

[Jonathan Stiver]

It can be hit or miss for the reasons listed above. I generally shy away from previous salvage cars but I love to buy collision vehicles from the insurance auction so I can assess & repair myself and maximize savings. It can be risky but the payoff can be pretty high. My uncle got a ’13 Escape w/ 4200 miles for my aunt in a light front end wreck for about $10k total investment… About 1/3 MSRP. Is the body panel alignment and paint match perfect? Hell no not even close but riding down the road no one will likely ever notice and it mechanically is as good as the day it left the factory. Different strokes for different folks…

[Matthew]

around my area in a nearby city there is a dealership that actually fixed totaled cars and sells them as salvage titles for substantially less cost for example a 06 Venture with 60k miles was on sale there several months back for like 4900 it depends on the damage of the car and the force and type of collision it was in. If its missing a bumper cover but has no structural damage than id say its a OK car that is if you are in a state that don’t require inspection to get it registered. Laws state cars need bumpers they don’t state that it needs the bumper cover also what matters is electrical you don’t want a car that has blown fuses

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