Been looking for quite some time to find a spec that is relatively specific and finally found it...only to find that there was an accident recorded on the carfax . It's not a salvage or rebuilt title or anything, but it's a CA car and has "Police accident reports are required in California when the estimated damage exceeds $1,000. The date of this particular accident was not reported to CARFAX, but it likely occurred between May 2018 and July 2019," on the Carfax report. When I asked the dealer (a MB flagship dealer) about the specifics, he said it was a minor accident where they repaired the rear bumper and that was it. I asked him if he had the repair reports and he said that he did not (which makes me wonder how he knew it was just rear bumper repair). The car appears to be in fantastic shape and is very clean, but I am out of state and trying to do this remotely. If it wasn't for this accident on the report it would on it's way to my garage tonight, but I just don't know how to handle this. They haven't made a significant discount on the sales price, but in order to ease my concerns, they said they could arrange True360 to come in and do a report at a cost of $200 to me. What would you do in this situation?

 

If you’re not comfortable you’re not comfortable. Trust your gut. There are always other cars to be found.

 

That and go get a PPI from another shop. Yea, it's some money out of your pocket. But if it's a car you're really enjoying and thinking about purchasing, then it's just a little bit of insurance.

Example, my car had it's front and rear bumpers repainted. Scratches and rock chips, no accident. But it's still a repaint. This did not take a way it's CPO eligibility, or it's "clean Carfax". Was I concerned, just a little. I went and got a PPI done, it already had a true 360 report and it all came back okay. I love love love the car.

 

Spend your time before you spend your money. Personally, I wouldn't buy a used car unless I could see it first hand. This is even more important when buying high end cars.

You don't provide much in the way of specifics but if you're making a significant cash outlay more reason to be careful.

Good luck.

 

That dealer or more specifically that sales person does not know what kind of accident or how it was repaired, he is simply minimizing it to make a sell.
So you would need a good inspection to get an idea of what was repainted and if it was repaired properly.

 

Dealer purchased at auction, history not verifiable. Your remote. The risk factors are to probable and high.

 

Totally agree with seeing a used car before buying. Without exception, and now counting 10 cars I was sure to buy, did I go see them and end up finding issues not considered "important" to report by sellers, be they private or franchise dealers. Things like sun baked damage of trim, out dated tires, interior trim pieces damaged, never smoked in but cigarette lighter is worn out, dry fluid reservoirs not to mention codes or driving impressions . In every case "Yes sir this a clean car no blemishes or issues". Maybe I am picky but if I will look at the car every day in my garage and have to convince myself to ignore flaws I would be remorseful. I would also want True360 if damage was reported. Just my experiences. Maybe price can be negotiated as a "feel better" goal. I tried that a couple times and found everyone is very proud of their car and will wait for less picky/knowledgeable buyers. Tough buyer market.

 

I would look closely in that area, get a second opinion if necessary, and if it looks good, just use it as a bargaining chip. As long as it's a quality repair and you can't notice, no big deal.

 

Assuming you can get a professional check on the damage area and it appears to be done correctly it should be ok assuming you want the car as a driver, but if you think you will flip the car in >3-4 years maybe move on another example. But if you think you will keep the car indefinitely and drive it passed 100k miles it doesn't really matter assuming the repairs were done properly.

 

I'd go PPI just for piece of mind, you may "waste" $200 but you're avoiding a bigger financial headache. If the price is right with the factored in Carfax, then go for it, like yourself, there will be many considering the purchase should you come to sell it in the future. Minor accident history is the only level I may consider, usually means a single panel replacement and repaint.

 

It’s a very personal thing. I won’t own a car that has had damage to the unibody, no matter how minor. A friend backed into my 328xd damaging the rear quarter panel and I just couldn’t get over it. The fix was fine by the standards of most people, but I could see how the radius of a door jam edge wasn’t perfect. That meant it was filler. Filler in my year old BMW. The car was dead to me after that.

That may sound absurd, but that’s how I felt. Mind you, I’m hardly precious with my cars. I drive the crap out of them on the track and despite PPF have had some scars from the process. But that’s the car doing what it’s supposed to do.

Damage to doors, hood, fenders and other removable parts might be OK if they were replaced, not just repaired. I probably wouldn’t hesitate to buy a car that had replaced or repainted bumpers, providing there’s no structural damage to metal and the repair didn’t paint over surrounding metal to blend the color. Blasphemy.

Yeah, I’m weird about these things.

 

Nothing is forgivable.

 

Accident car is a deal breaker for many. There have been many cars that have been repaired that continue to have problems. Multiple transmission etc. The price would have to warrant the risk you take so that if you have issues, you could turn and resell quickly. It would be a hard pass for me. Unless you have all the documentation that shows the damage. If it was minor then maybe but why? Why take on the risk in this current overpriced market? You would be paying more for a damaged and repaired car today than a great example from last year. If things keep heading in the direction we are, there will be lots of used car deals without damage and repair in the next months. Best to you.

 

I will tell you this , when you try to sell this it WILL be an issue. Many Porsche owners are discriminating when they see any accident on record.

 

to answer your question directly......yes, a minor accident is very "forgivable" imho.

but first you need to confirm and obtain proof/documentation that it was in fact a "minor accident". if this is accomplished, the next step is price. what ever you pay should reflect an accident being on the cars records. compared to a *like unit* with no accident history, you should in fact pay less. diminished value is a proven fact in the marketplace. insurance companies paying DV claims proves it. how much less is where it gets dicey because people are very different on what they are willing to accept when buying a 911. some won't even consider a car with a blemished history while others are willing to disregard an accident if it's been repaired properly/completely. speculating that most of us are somewhere in the middle (at least i do).

without proof the accident was minor, i think you're rolling the dice.

best of luck to you