At first glance, the car looks great. The finish is shiny, the wheels are polished and the interior smells fresh.
But something’s not quite right when you get behind the wheel; the car makes strange noises, rattles when starting up and trembles when you hit the brakes. After checking with a dealership, you make a discovery: you’ve bought an accident-damaged car – and knew nothing about it.
Concealed accident damage refers to cases when known or repaired damage from a previous accident is kept secret from a car buyer. If this damage isn’t detected by buyers themselves, it will usually come to light in a used car inspection, which many repair shops, testing organisations or automobile clubs offer.
“Even so, every sign of accident damage won’t always be revealed, which means that you can never be 100-per-cent sure,” says the ADAC automobile club.
It recommends getting a car looked at by an expert before making a purchase. “They can help laymen detect at least the most serious damage."
Auto Club Europa (ACE), another major automobile club, advises savvy amateurs to hunt down damage on their own. With a lacquer density tester, for example, they can find out whether a section of the car’s body has been spackled or repainted.
“This is usually a good indicator that the car has been in an accident," says an ACE official. If you do not trust this kind of method, have the vehicle undergo a used car assessment, which offers added security.
“Another option is to show the service record to a mechanic and ask about any known defects or accidents.”
Other tiny clues can be gleaned from the screws holding together body parts at the crash-prone front and rear of the car: have they been unscrewed at some point, or are the screws still perfectly covered in the car’s original spray-paint?
More seasoned and knowledgeable drivers will also be able to identify non-uniform gaps between panels, a common sign of a prang. For the complete novice, however, conducting a close inspection of a car is quite difficult.
“At the test drive, someone who is reasonably familiar with cars should certainly be there," says the ACE spokesman – or you should consult a specialist workshop or another expert.
It can be particularly problematic if the hidden damage is discovered only after the purchase, especially if a private buyer purchased the vehicle from a private seller and the contract of sale excluded all warranties for defects.
It’s always safer to buy a car from an entrepreneur or a dealer, since in many countries this provides the buyer with a specific period of liability for defects
ACE legal official Hannes Krämer advises drivers who find such damage to immediately confront the seller.
“If traces of the accident damage have been concealed, it is possible to dispute the purchase contract or, if necessary, reduce the purchase price," he says. This, however, will most certainly require negotiation skills.
