Buying a previously crashed car? Need advice.

[dkmlam]

There is an private autobody technician out near Chesteremere who sells damaged cars that are "refurbished". They were most likely in serious accidents and need to be repaired. I test drove one of his cars and it drove smoothly, but I don't know what I should be concerned about?

He told me he had to replace the front and back bumpers, the side skirts, and one of the side panels near the headlight (as well as the headlight itself). He told me there was no damage to the frame... His refurbishing job wasn't the best of quality; it was quite evident that some of the parts were not reinstalled too well (for example, the bumper was not totally intact on one end, with a small gap of about 0.5 cm, you can also see the glue).

I don't know too much about cars and would really appreciate some comments!

[ReflexFX]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWEdlUT17PI&e

watch it.

[ercchry]

GLUE???!!!! who the hell glues things on cars??!!

haha.. get vin number... run it.... offer him half of the market value that the car would be worth if it was mint.... and GLUE!!!????

[dkmlam]

lol well i don't know if it was glue? It looked kind of like clay... you know? Something similar to a moldable putty.

[dkmlam]

I'm planning to run the VIN soon. Anyone know of a mechanic that can check out the extent of initial damage (from the original accident) and see if it is safe to drive?

[G-ZUS]

Originally posted by dkmlam
lol well i don't know if it was glue? It looked kind of like clay... you know? Something similar to a moldable putty.

Bondo

[Team_Mclaren]

i`d NEVER buy a car that`s been written off. If you cant afford the real deal that has not been fucked, buy something else

[FullMetal]

ask for before and after pics

[FullMetal]

Originally posted by ReflexFX
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWEdlUT17PI&e

watch it.

sorry to tell ya, but this vid shows that the cars frame was repaired... it also helps to know how the car was hit and where the car got hit from... some cars get ritten off cuz the way the damage looks even tho if the frame is 100% not touched

[FiveFreshFish]

Originally posted by Team_Mclaren
i`d NEVER buy a car that`s been written off. If you cant afford the real deal that has not been fucked, buy something else

+1

So many choices. Why buy wrecked?

[tom_9109]

They were written off for a reason. Save yourself the headache.

[bourge73]

definately bondo, easy to mold and hide damage with that shit. Seems like a real rush job to flip and dump, and remember if you ever want to sell that car again in the future there is a very select few that will buy the car off you account the previous damage. Not worth it IMO.