would you buy a car that has an accident on it's report? - United Bimmer Community

**jms** · 01-04-2006, 05:47 PM

Would you buy a car with an accident on the carfax report?
Lets presume for the moment that this was the kind of car you wanted (and no I'm not soliciting for any buyer or seller this is purely hypothetical and for scientific research)

Let's say a '99 328i Convertible with say 80k miles well maintained mechanically sound and perfectly repaired from an accident. The asking price is close to average retail.

additional details: non-salvage title, and specific damage is replaced a bumber, hood, front quarter panel, headlight assembly, foglight, and assorted parts. a $6500 accident

**Hoppy** · 01-04-2006, 05:55 PM

accident as in, replaced a bumper or accident as in salvage title? assuming the worst and going with heavy discount

**voca** · 01-04-2006, 06:05 PM

for a daily driver, I wouldn't buy anything without a clear title. if it was just a minor accident, maintaining a clear title, I would expect a decent discount.

my car has been in accidents. only parking lot speed accidents, and just as easy as a fender/bumper replacement. there's nothing on it's carfax though..

**jms** · 01-04-2006, 06:13 PM

non-salvage title, and specific damage is replaced a bumber, hood, front quarter panel, headlight assembly, foglight, and assorted parts. a $6500 accident.

**jms** · 01-04-2006, 06:14 PM

bear in mind it is repaired perfectly and had it not been disclosed you never would have known.

**voca** · 01-04-2006, 06:17 PM

I don't think you will have too big of a problem, then. considering it's driving srtaight.

**jms** · 01-04-2006, 06:21 PM

suspension was not affected by the accident.

**jybute** · 01-04-2006, 07:11 PM

my wife actually tipped her vehicle onto its side just over 3 years ago,around 10k in dmg. the insurance company didnt write it off because a major part of the claim was the engine replacement wich didnt occur until after the body work and mechanical were finished. because the body shop was to lazy to drop the pan to check if the bearings spun. the thing actually ran for ten minutes until a guy dorve buy and climmed in and turned it off for her. we still have the van, and with the used engine that they put in the van to replace the f'd one, wich had pretty much the same mileage you couldnt even tell there was ever anything wrong with it. and carfax doesnt show anything reported on the VIN.
so if the car is good mechanically, i dont see the problem. unless they did a less than perfect job repairing it.

Storamin · 01-04-2006, 09:16 PM

the car i bought was hit in a very slow rear impact at a stopsign. i knew it had been repainted because the spare tire holder was slightly painted. i knew who repaired it (greater pittsburgh auto) and knew their reputation. i checked everything out on it and it seemed just as good as if not better than from the factory.

i didn't ask for any discount because it was the car for me. the rest of it was perfect.

would i buy one that had an R-title? not as a DD, but maybe as a project for a huge discount.

witeshark · 01-04-2006, 10:40 PM

I think I'd go for it in the case of a perfect repair

**Dudesky** · 01-05-2006, 05:19 AM

Nothing wrong with having an accident repaired. If it's done right, and the car runs good, no problem. You can try to factor it in to the price, but sometimes it doesn't matter. Sometimes the car comes out better than before the accident. Unless the car is rare or a collector's item, I wouldn't sweat it too much. For instance, I'd rather buy a car that has had the radiator replaced due to an accident, than a car that had never been wrecked but still has the old radiator.

**c1apton** · 01-05-2006, 06:25 AM

I barely trust Carfax, because not all accidents are documented. Some people pay a body shop to fix stuff to avoid notifying their insurance companies. Plus if the car was a factory demo or a "recycled" - that would never show up on Carfax either. Recycled = a "lemon law" car that's been returned, fixed and resold. (Almost all mfgrs do this practice including BMW- I know because I used to have to deal with lemon law clients) Most are usually paint problems or buyers' remorse and they are shipped back to factory or inspected /repaired at factory expense and shipped to another part of the country. This is just one of the "whore house" realities of the auto business.
Your best bet - inspect, inspect and have inspected.