Buying Used Car That Had Prior Frame Damage Repaired??
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The support structure of a unibody is still often called/considered a "frame", although maybe technically it is a "structure". The repair process of straightening bent structural elements still applies.
Quote:
Originally Posted by K12144
Why did one place manage to magically find major damage that somehow another place did not? (A place that had an interest in purchasing the car...)
Now, CarFax is only going to have info that was reported to it, so if this damage is there and they don't know about it, it implies that the car was repaired at a shop not scrupulous enough to report it, and it makes me wonder that there were no police reports for a crash apparently that bad, and why an insurance company didn't have a report of a bad accident? (As far as I know CarFax pulls its info from all of those places. Seems weird and fishy that a bad crash wasn't on the radar of any of them.)
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Carfax gets information from the sources you mentioned, but not ALL of them, and there is no requirement to report it. Many body shops don't report to Carfax (it's bad for business to fix a customer's car and then immediately lower its value by reporting it to Carfax). Many insurance companies only report to Carfax if a vehicle is totaled or something. Police reports are a significant source of Carfax information but sometimes they take quite a while to get there, and an accident doesn't always guarantee a police report (in my location they don't create a report unless there is an injury or the cop can guess damage to be over $2000 - and they won't see or no about "frame" damage.
As to the original post, you don't necessarily need to "run away" from "frame" damage, but it is the safest bet. In some cases, frame damage can be repaired fairly well. In other cases, when it isn't, the car may be fine for its life, but there is a risk that it will have other issues down the road, or that the car's structure is no longer able to deal with certain kinds of impact as it was designed. It may drive ok, but the energy from a crash isn't absorbed where designed and therefore it is less safe. You probably have no way of knowing, so again, safest bet is to avoid, but at the right, cheap price, it may suit someone's needs.
The support structure of a unibody is still often called/considered a "frame", although maybe technically it is a "structure". The repair process of straightening bent structural elements still applies.
Carfax gets information from the sources you mentioned, but not ALL of them, and there is no requirement to report it. Many body shops don't report to Carfax (it's bad for business to fix a customer's car and then immediately lower its value by reporting it to Carfax). Many insurance companies only report to Carfax if a vehicle is totaled or something. Police reports are a significant source of Carfax information but sometimes they take quite a while to get there, and an accident doesn't always guarantee a police report (in my location they don't create a report unless there is an injury or the cop can guess damage to be over $2000 - and they won't see or no about "frame" damage.
As to the original post, you don't necessarily need to "run away" from "frame" damage, but it is the safest bet. In some cases, frame damage can be repaired fairly well. In other cases, when it isn't, the car may be fine for its life, but there is a risk that it will have other issues down the road, or that the car's structure is no longer able to deal with certain kinds of impact as it was designed. It may drive ok, but the energy from a crash isn't absorbed where designed and therefore it is less safe. You probably have no way of knowing, so again, safest bet is to avoid, but at the right, cheap price, it may suit someone's needs.
But a unibody is completely different than a regular body on frame vehicle. A unibody is all one structure then everything is attached to including the body panels. A body on frame vehicle the cab is made on a separate line , were the interior and instrument panel is installed away from the frame on a different line. The body on frame vehicle is we’re the the frame is made and the powertrain are installed including the steering wheel and front suspension and rear suspension. The seats are put in on the main line after the frame and body and bed are put together. I worked at Chrysler Dodge truck plant, and Chrysler K Car plant.
But a unibody is completely different than a regular body on frame vehicle. A unibody is all one structure then everything is attached to including the body panels. A body on frame vehicle the cab is made on a separate line , were the interior and instrument panel is installed away from the frame on a different line. The body on frame vehicle is we’re the the frame is made and the powertrain are installed including the steering wheel and front suspension and rear suspension. The seats are put in on the main line after the frame and body and bed are put together. I worked at Chrysler Dodge truck plant, and Chrysler K Car plant.
All of that is true, and a good explanation that I don't think anyone disagrees with.
The OP said "frame damage" someone else jumped in saying "its unibody". All I am saying--for the purposes of this discussion/thread and the OP -- it isn't really relevant because damage to the frame and damage to the unibody structure is often all called "Frame damage"and both have similar impacts on if the OP should buy or not buy the car. Whether it's a body on frame or unibody, the support structure is damaged, with the severity and quality of repair unknown. No reason to get "technical" and start correcting the OP here who is simply asking if they should buy the vehicle or not.
All of that is true, and a good explanation that I don't think anyone disagrees with.
The OP said "frame damage" someone else jumped in saying "its unibody". All I am saying--for the purposes of this discussion/thread and the OP -- it isn't really relevant because damage to the frame and damage to the unibody structure is often all called "Frame damage"and both have similar impacts on if the OP should buy or not buy the car. Whether it's a body on frame or unibody, the support structure is damaged, with the severity and quality of repair unknown. No reason to get "technical" and start correcting the OP here who is simply asking if they should buy the vehicle or not.
Ok but i would not have a problem with a regular frame repair, compared to a unibody.
I've bought two cars that had frame damage. Both were/are fine. The caveat?
They are both Mercedes cars, one was an E class, the other, an S class. Very sturdy, solid cars to begin with. The repairs were also done by a Mercedes dealership, not some random repair place for cheap.
I also know quite a lot about cars. I test drove them both extensively to determine there were no issues with alignment, got them up on a lift for a PPI, etc, and both checked out.
If you're curious, you can usually see if there has been frame damage repair... The machine vise that clamps down on the frame rails to pull it always leaves marks on the metal, or scrapes off some of the undercoating that the frame shops almost never go back and touch up. Just get the car up on a lift and look at the frame to see if it's marked up.
you can buy it but if you needed to repair the frame jimmyzkustomz.com is the guy for you. He repaired my car and I couldn't even guess that it was mine.
Hello! I would like opinions on buying this car or not.
My roommate is moving back to Japan at the end of the month & offered to sell me his car for the value a dealership will pay. Sweet!
It's a 2012 Honda Civic LX Sedan with 95k miles. 3 previous owners, kind of rare for a car this age (i think it was a rental).
A CarFax history came back clean- no accidents, clean title. Kelly blue book gave a trade in range of $4800-5900 for 'good condition'.
But today, he took it to two places for estimates: CarMax and the Japanese-owned car dealership where he first bought it (and a dealership that his company regularly uses).
The Japanese dealership offered him $6000, which is what he will sell for.
But CarMax offered $4500, deeming it 'poor condition'.
CarMax discovered the following that came up nowhere on CarFax's report:
-Frame damage that had prior repair
-Driver quarter prior repair
-Driver fender not original
-3 doors prior paintjobs
-Passenger quarter needs current repair
(In addition, Roomie notes that something is wrong with the inside of the trunk & there's a few small knicks in the windshield. Also he has no service records for the car, and the dealership had supposedly no history on the owner before him, nor did CarFax-2 years of blank.)
None of these issues were picked up or noted by the Japanese dealership that's offering him $6000.
Local listings of similar cars from private & dealership sales for the same car in 'good condition' are around $7000-9000'ish. It now doesn't sound as good of a deal as the $4500-5k I was expecting, and that's what I was expecting as 'good condition' but IDK.
If anyone could help advise me, I would appreciate it.
Also, I don't know how a car that had frame damage has a 'clean' / non-salvaged title, or what that would mean for the DMV, getting insurance coverage, safety of the vehicle (and the ability to resell it later).
FYI I know almost nothing about cars & my friend/relatives who do are not close to help look at this for me. I've driven the car and it doesn't seem to have any issues.
Thank you so much for anyone who want to help me out here w/ advice <3
Three owners in 8 years...most likely first owner wrecked it sold it then it passed on cause the unibody is most likely tweaked. Too many things hit. He has no records.....means he never serviced it. The dealer that offered the high price most likely did it cause they are gonna sell him something else. This thing is a pile of trash. Roomie is just trying to unload a piece of junk on you. Let him sell it t9 that dealer. I bet when they get down to brass tacks they aren’t gonna give him 6k.
Walk away. There are way better cars you can buy for 4-6k.
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