It is always advisable to be careful when you are purchasing a second-hand car especially from private sellers, the reason is some seller will exclude some information regarding the history of the car especially repairs and changed parts after an accident, they aim to make their car attractive and sell it to the highest bidder, so if you are not vigilant enough you will take home a lemon for a car. It is therefore imperative to learn some tricks that ensure you spot some telltale signs of a past accident, learning what to look for when buying a used car can save you a lot because you do not have to always hire a mechanic to do checkup for your every time you spot a used car that interest you. You need to have in mind that a car with good service history is not proof of a car-free accident, for this reason here are some car parts you can use to determine if the car had accidents or not in the past.
The first thing you need to do is to assess the paint of the used car you are about to buy, paint can be a good indicator of a car that has been in an accident and was repainted if you get a used car with a shiny and polished paint you need to be careful about it, although not all used cars are repainted because of an accident it is always good to be extra careful, check door jambs, at the edges of the windows, on taillights and headlights, in these areas you are likely to get some over-spray, repainting a car cannot meet the factory painting standards and therefore you will find some over-spray mostly in these areas if you find a paint especially on door jambs that do not rhyme with car’s body perhaps it’s time you start asking questions or take a hike.
It is always good to pay attention to replaced parts of a used car, while it is normal to replace used parts because of wear and tears some parts are only changed after an accident, such parts are bumpers, door, grills among others, carefully scrutinize whether these parts rhyme with the rest of the car body and if not seek answers from the owner or look for a more reliable used cars.
The other way you can tell a used car had an accident is by studying the panel gaps, a car that had been in an accident will have the presence of an uncommon gap between the panel and the body, although wear and tear could be the reason for this be careful about it. Those are some signs of a car that has been in an accident.