Would anyone ever consider buying a vehicle with an accident history?

[h777]

Wanted to get everyone's opinion on buying an LX or LC with an accident history from a carfax. I see they definitely have the best pricing.

Also, anybody that has purchased their vehicle that had an accident and if they would do it again. I would be curious how resale might be affected by selling a vehicle with accident history.

My thinking is that if you can find one that is a great price, low mileage, parking lot hit, and you plan to keep it forever, then perhaps you might consider it. I suppose, that is why I am asking for everyone's opinion on how they see it. How many times have we all said we are going to keep this vehicle forever, and we end up selling it in few years, .

I suppose, there is also accidents involving high speed collisions and low speed too. So, not sure if one might consider a low speed collision (under 10mph) such as parking lot or freeway during traffic when making their purchasing decision.

 

[04UZJ100]

Nope - run away. Unless you can speak to original owner and see pictures, I wouldn’t think twice about it.

 

[Taco2Cruiser]

I second, and completely agree with what @04UZJ100 said

 

[Sandroad]

Finally, an easy question on Mud. I third what @04UZJ100 said for your first question. As to your other question....resale value for when you sell. Accident history not only reduces the value, but also reduces the number of folks who would even consider it. And, don't under any circumstances take a salesperson's or third party's word for the extent of damage. For vehicles with accident history, let someone else be drawn in by the low price.

 

[Rigger]

Something older and inexpensive, yes. One of these 200’s, a firm no.

 

[afgman786]

Guess I'm an outlier... I've bought many vehicles with accident history. Just depends on the extent of the accident. My current 200 had been in 3 accidents before I purchased it. But I also had a 3rd party mechanic that someone I knew trusted since the 200 was 3000miles away from me before purchasing.
My daily had also been in an accident before I purchased it. Took advantage of the lower price and saw structurally it was sound.

 

[M1911]

I own a 200 with an accident history. I had an accident last fall.

 

[04UZJ100]

The problem is Carfax doesn’t go into any detail. It’s far too easy for something to be over or under reported.

 

[BAY2MTN]

Wanted to get everyone's opinion on buying an LX or LC with an accident history from a carfax. I see they definitely have the best pricing.

Also, anybody that has purchased their vehicle that had an accident and if they would do it again. I would be curious how resale might be affected by selling a vehicle with accident history.

My thinking is that if you can find one that is a great price, low mileage, parking lot hit, and you plan to keep it forever, then perhaps you might consider it. I suppose, that is why I am asking for everyone's opinion on how they see it. How many times have we all said we are going to keep this vehicle forever, and we end up selling it in few years, .

I suppose, there is also accidents involving high speed collisions and low speed too. So, not sure if one might consider a low speed collision (under 10mph) such as parking lot or freeway during traffic when making their purchasing decision.

For the parking lot scenario, I’d have no issues. My LC has its bumper repainted due to this very situation prior to my ownership. Insurance was not involved though, so it did not show up on the Carfax. The only evidence was a slightly different paint tone; practically unnoticeable. If airbags had deployed, and insurance involved, I would have walked.

if everything is documented thoroughly, the damage is surface, and is reflected in the price, I’d go for it. Everyone’s threshold is different and so is every accident. In my case, I was planning on replacing the rear bumper at some point, but still haven’t done it.

 

[grinchy]

not every event is in the paperwork. lots of minor and some major accidents are unreported. it's case by case, so if you can't get information on the case, they probably treat it as a major issue. when shopping in the 10 year old car market, looking at a $20k or $22k car, i'm not sure it is possible to eliminate all cars with accidents, that is a lot of miles and road time, there will be imperfections on the service history, accident history, etc.
In a newer 2018+ where depreciation curve is already very steep, hell no. it would have to be perfect to get my $.

 

[fro20fow]

Accidents/damage are just like anything else. Facts and circumstances matter. I’d want to know extent of damage and what was replaced. Pretty straight forward. Just part of knowing a vehicles history like where it has been, who has owned it, and how it has been maintained.

 

[linuxgod]

I would be much more concerned with a vehicle being sold after a *recent* accident than one which had a blemish from 5 or 10 years ago. In that case I'd suspect either (a) the owner dumped the vehicle because of problems after the repair, or (b) the accident was so bad the owner bought a new vehicle while waiting for the repair and then sold it.

On a newer LC (let's say 2013+) an accident on the carfax is potentially a $3-5k hit on the resale value. It will definitely affect trade-in value back to a dealer.

On an older LC in particular, ultimately getting a good PPI is more valuable than a claim free carfax IMO, since a poorly maintained vehicle with issues will likely cost you more than a well-maintained vehicle that was repaired.

Keep in mind carfax only reports accidents in which it receives info. If there wasn't a police report and/or an insurance claim then it may very well not be captured. Also note in some cases you can search the VIN online (or possibly even in carfax) and find info related to the police report, which will let you possibly gather more data about the accident.

 

[rscoleman]

Depend on type of accident, amount of damage done, who did repair, and how good repair is. I would have trusted mechanic and body shop person look it over and then make my decision. Things I would definitely avoid would be if frame had to go on straitening rack. If Axle and or Arms or suspension anchor points were damaged and had to be replaced or repaired. Dent in door, rear end bump or front end left right or center bump with mostly sheet metal bending or plastic breaking I could see buying that.

 

[NMNORSSE]

I think talking to the owner about the accident and seeing pictures plus the repair bills makes a big difference. So, you might not be able to buy damaged from a dealer because they typically don't have that info.

With the VIN you could track down the owner and see if they're willing to talk to you, but the dealer who got the car at an auction probably won't help. The body shop and the owner's insurance carrier probably has the pics and bills if the owner doesn't.

Edit: what carfax reports as "moderate damage" might be very mild or an absolute deal breaker. For me if it has had a hard impact with or without frame damage I don't want it because there is often damage to seals/bearings and resulting leaks or parts failing because of leaks or hard hit bearings. However, replacing crush zone parts from a mild accident and no leaks plus dealer service is a different story.

To put that a different way, leaks and no carfax might mean a collision repaired with cash instead of insurance.

 

[stonepa]

If you are buying a used car always assume it has been in a terrible accident. Check it out best you can. Just because nothing shows up on Carfax proves nothing - it could have been an out of pocket repair. No insurance claim, no Carfax. I once bought a certified Porsche 911 Turbo with a clean Carfax only to discover that it had been in a rear end collision during a track day. Impossible even for the Porsche mechanic to tell until he had removed a bunch of parts for an engine performance upgrade. Then it was obvious.

 

[MikeVpdx503]

I bought a 2013 with 50K miles a few years ago. Car fax indicated minor accident a few months after purchase as new, no frame or structure damage. Car only changed hands once before I bought it. I felt comfortable there were no long term issues as they would have shown by 50K miles or had a slew of owner transfers. 2 years and 25K miles later, not one issue except a slight difference in paint color on rear bumper. I’d guess my rig is in better structural shape than some on here that see much more technical off road abuse

 

[Markuson]

Wanted to get everyone's opinion on buying an LX or LC with an accident history from a carfax. I see they definitely have the best pricing.

Also, anybody that has purchased their vehicle that had an accident and if they would do it again. I would be curious how resale might be affected by selling a vehicle with accident history.

My thinking is that if you can find one that is a great price, low mileage, parking lot hit, and you plan to keep it forever, then perhaps you might consider it. I suppose, that is why I am asking for everyone's opinion on how they see it. How many times have we all said we are going to keep this vehicle forever, and we end up selling it in few years, .

I suppose, there is also accidents involving high speed collisions and low speed too. So, not sure if one might consider a low speed collision (under 10mph) such as parking lot or freeway during traffic when making their purchasing decision.

Don’’t do it.

My sense (which may be wrong) is that minor bumps in parking lots don’t usually get reported to carfax, so it’s more likely a significant accident. Anyone?

 

[speyrod]

Interesting comments, I too search for a no accident LX and I found one. I now have a parking lot scrape in the bumper. I have considered claimingas my deductible is $250. The rear estimate for the bumper and paint was $1,700. After the estimate I color sanded and buffed. I could pocket the $$$ and keep the bumper and hide with a silver dollar sized sticker or partially fund a real bumper.

but I have the pics and estimate for the oe bumper. Too me I check body panel VIN stickers. Different VIN I am looking at a different vehicle.

 

[PDoyle]

Your insurance agent may be able to look up accident history with the vin.

 

[bigredmachine]

depends on the extent of the damage and the quality of the repair. I purchased my old legacy with one accident reported, it had been hit in the rear and the car was fine from the time that I bought it to the time that I sold it. if your unable to get any sort of accident report or even a body shop estimate from when it was repaired, make a low ball offer and have someone check the car over before purchase