Would you buy the car you like if it had 2 Accidents?

[freshprince1]

Found the car I want to buy. I have the cash on hand. I test drove it, got it inspected. All came out great. Settled on a price. Came home, did a CarProof report, found out that there have been two accidents on the vehicle, one for $9000, the other for $10,000. Both were fixed through insurance at registered shops/dealerships. The pre-purchase inspection couldn't even tell there had been any accidents.


So do you buy it or not?

[Cos]

How much are you getting off, how rare is the car.

Off the top of my head no, but your answer may change that.

[A790]

I wouldn't, but that's just me. $19,000 in repair work? Unless it's a Ferrari that's more than just minor bodywork. I'd pass.

[Redlyne_mr2]

No, unless the price was literally 1/2 of the going price for one that hadn't been in an accident. It will be a tough car to sell in the future.

[Shogged]

there are soooo many cars on the market at any given time its always worth waiting until the perfect car for you comes your way.

If a 2 accident vehicle at a good price is the one you want then go for it, but just remember that a rebuilt car will have poor resale value. So you should be getting a deal on it now and if you're planning to drive it till it dies then you're in great shape. If you ever plan on reselling this vehicle, consider that the depreciation is going to be way higher than a similar vehicle with a clean history.

[freshprince1]

Originally posted by Cos
How much are you getting off, how rare is the car.

Off the top of my head no, but your answer may change that.

It's a Mazda 3 GT. It does not have a rebuilt title, just had two accident claims.

[Cos]

then hell no. those are a dime a dozen and $19,000 of work on that car is a brand new one!

[hampstor]

A lot of people are very wary of vehicles that have been damaged and repaired. For me, I don't really care so long as :

1) It's been properly repaired
2) the price has been adjusted accordingly

9k and 10k in repairs from 2 seperate accidents ? It doesn't take much to rack up 10k in damage on a vehicle.

I would say somewhere around 33% of market value of a similar car is what you should be paying.

I've owned a lot of vehicles that have been repaired from collisions, or even written off and repaired. So long as it's done right, i don't see the problem with owning one. The tricky part is when you have to sell it - because of people's perception of it, you will be seeing ~25-33% less than market value for it.

Recently, I was looking at picking up a 2005 mazda tribute that had been written off. It had only 70k on it but had $12k in damage. They originally wanted $2k for the car as is but later jacked it up when they found out my family has an autobody shop.

[G-ZUS]

Originally posted by hampstor
A lot of people are very wary of vehicles that have been damaged and repaired. For me, I don't really care so long as :

1) It's been properly repaired
2) the price has been adjusted accordingly

9k and 10k in repairs from 2 seperate accidents ? It doesn't take much to rack up 10k in damage on a vehicle.

I would say somewhere around 33% of market value of a similar car is what you should be paying.

I've owned a lot of vehicles that have been repaired from collisions, or even written off and repaired. So long as it's done right, i don't see the problem with owning one. The tricky part is when you have to sell it - because of people's perception of it, you will be seeing ~25-33% less than market value for it.

Recently, I was looking at picking up a 2005 mazda tribute that had been written off. It had only 70k on it but had $12k in damage. They originally wanted $2k for the car as is but later jacked it up when they found out my family has an autobody shop.

Salvage cars to go through a body and mechanical inspection to be put back on the road.

[sneek]

Not that I have anything wrong with repaired cars but your chances of ever being able to resell it for anywhere close to what you bought it for is low. A Mazda 3GT isn't really that expensive of a car to start with, so unless it us ultra cheap I'd avoid it. Also 10K +9K in damage seems like a lot for a Mazda 3. Although all autobody repairs are expensive now a days a total of 19000 worth of repairs is a ton. Keep in mind that nothing is ever the same when you repair it, no matter how good it is there is always that little thing that is off.

[Sentry]

Unless it's an AMAZING car for a HELL OF a price, heck no I wouldn't touch that shit with a ten foot pole.

It's not even a MS3.

[canuckcarguy]

Are you sure the insurance claim is for accident damage? Sometimes those quotes on carproof are for other things. And are there 2 separate incidents, or 2 quotes on the same incident? Sometimes carproof shows estimates as well as actual charges.

If it happened fairly soon after the car was sold, it's pretty easy to see how you could get a $10K claim on the car.

I'd use the carproof to grind a better deal, but it really wouldn't dissuade me, especially if, as you say, a pre-purchase inspection shows no evidence of any damage.

A friend of mine once had his car written off because it was stolen, driven about 2 km, and then abandoned. The pricks that stole the car decided to vandalize it, and so they slashed the seats and cut up the dash. The repair estimate was over $10,000 for replacement parts, the car was worth about $12K, and the insurance company decided it wasn't worth fixing. They ultimately paid him the $12K, then let him buy the car back for about $1500. He bought a used interior for about $1800, and was back on the road. Of course, he had to get a "write-off" inspection, and his title shows as rebuilt, but it's not like his car is a safety concern for anybody...

[Vanner]

Yeah, if any car - after checked out by CarProof for anything hidden damage or accidents. My rule is that if it had a real serious accident (like write-off) or had been repaired from "salvage" title into inspected-passed car on road back.

Well, I would walk away! For 2 reasons - greater loss of value, and that car will NEVER be 100% prefect in mechanical and unibody design like the original design. I've seen and heard horrible stories.

You have no way of knowing how well or lousy this repair job by someone in a shop somewhere - hmm?

A Madza 3 GT? They're a dime a dozen... you can do better that that... keep searching.

[freshprince1]

Thanks for everyone's opinion. Most people were of the same opinion I was - and that was keep looking for another one as there are plenty out there.

To clarify, the CarProof lists two seperate "accident claims". One in December of 2007 and one in March of 2009. So I'm certain there have been two accidents. The price we came to was a good deal, but not enough to compensate the risk involved with purchasing this car. As nice as it is, and as tired as I am of car shopping, I think I'm going to move on.

Thanks again Beyonders.

[scat19]

Good move man, I would have done the same.

[toastgremlin]

The right move. I'm surprised it wasn't totalled out the second time - don't they factor in the depreciation from the first accident when they're figuring out whether to repair or write it off?

[Dumbass17]

glad to hear you didn't get it man.

a car with two accidents will never seem quite 'right'..IMO

[nixrx8]

Originally posted by hampstor
A lot of people are very wary of vehicles that have been damaged and repaired. For me, I don't really care so long as :

1) It's been properly repaired
2) the price has been adjusted accordingly

9k and 10k in repairs from 2 seperate accidents ? It doesn't take much to rack up 10k in damage on a vehicle.

I would say somewhere around 33% of market value of a similar car is what you should be paying.

I've owned a lot of vehicles that have been repaired from collisions, or even written off and repaired. So long as it's done right, i don't see the problem with owning one. The tricky part is when you have to sell it - because of people's perception of it, you will be seeing ~25-33% less than market value for it.

Recently, I was looking at picking up a 2005 mazda tribute that had been written off. It had only 70k on it but had $12k in damage. They originally wanted $2k for the car as is but later jacked it up when they found out my family has an autobody shop.

This ^

If it drives good and checks out and priced right I wouldn't hesitate!

[Tomaz]

I wouldn't be too scared about it. If there was enough documentation and service records, it would be enough to keep my peice of mind.

I own a 2009 Mazda 3 and i hurt her running over a curb. when it was all said and done, my insurance company forked out $16,000. It doesn't take much.

[hash]

so i'm looking at a car right now that has an accident claim on it for $0 on carproof. any possibly explainations for this? it is from before the current seller owning it so he doesnt know