Mark in Baltimore

How many times have you bought a used car only to find out, other than how useless Carfax can be, that your new purchase that has "never been hit", has actually been repainted? Do you know what clamp marks are? Do you know where a fender is welded to the body and how to look for the welds? Have you ever seen a paint gauge meter in action? If you want to become a better car buyer, please make the time to come out to the Chesapeake Region PCA's next tech session.

Along with tech chair John Patterson, I will be leading this fun session on Saturday April 18 from 9:00am-12:00pm. Over the years, I've picked up lots of helpful hints and learned quite a bit, sometimes the hard way, about what to look for when buying a used vehicle. I've also had numerous friends ask me to come along with them to look at a potential purchase and have saved some of them from making a costly mistake.

I really look forward to passing along some of the knowledge that I've learned in order to help people become better car buyers.

~Mark Lee

Date: Saturday, April 18

Time: 9:00 AM -12:00 PM

Place: 2238A Rock Spring Road
Forest Hill, MD 21050

http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...050_1107573147

Cost: Free to attend.

RSVP: Please RSVP to John Patterson - tech@pcachs.org

Info: Are you sure that the car you’re thinking of buying hasn’t been hit? Do you know about the secret places to check for a fender replacement? Do you know what clamp marks are? If you answered “no” to any of these questions, this tech session might be perfect for you. Mark Lee and Tech Chair John Patterson will show you what to look for and where to look for possible damage. This tech session could save you a pile of money and keep you from climbing a mountain of headaches!

Please RSVP to tech@pcachs.org so we have an accurate head count for refreshments!"

Thank you!!!

http://pcachs.org/tech/tech_used_car.html

Andre Hedrick

FANTASTIC!

It would be great if somebody YT 'd the event and posted the PPT and such for everyone not in your PCA region to learn.

Mark in Baltimore

Thanks, Andre. It will be fun to reveal some of the "secrets".

Marine Blue

For those that can't make this event, find a good body shop and pay them to teach you what to look for. Or if you have a friend in the industry ask them to teach you for free!

Once you know what you're looking for it is very easy to spot bodywork unless it was done by an **** body shop and an owner willing to foot the bill.

Nicole

First thing I do is run my fingers around the wheel wells. If there is any inconsistency in the rough underbody coating (the stuff they put on before the paint), that's a sign of possible repaint. Another test is the glos test. If the reflections are more even on one body panel versus the other, that may be a sign. And, of course, if there is any eve-so-slight difference in color...

My car had its bumpers, hood, and right front fender repainted in its previous life. But I could not find any evidence of other body damage when I bought it.

Marine Blue

Nicole those are very good tips and usually will help discover 98% of the bodywork done to a car. The difference in color isn't always visible from a distance and certainly more difficult on solid colors.

On a metallic paint if you get up close to the paint you can actually see the difference in the way the metallic flake lays down in the paint and you can see the different size of the flake. Poorly fitting trim and body panels is another quick way to discover previous paintwork although many cars left the factory with imperfections (tolerances weren't as tight until more recently) so don't get dismayed if its the only finding.

Mark in Baltimore

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