Thoughts on purchasing a vehicle that's been in an accident - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

gildo · 12-02-2016, 02:48 PM

Looking to upgrade to a bit of a newer vehicle but reluctant to spend too much with the economic times we are in and having a young family.

Looked online at a variety of places throughout Calgary and area and found near my work a place called Diamond Auto Group. On 42nd avenue off of Blackfoot, so I walked their during lunch. Seemed like okay guys, and have some decent deals for example an almost new Ford with low km which would probably be close to $40,000 elsewhere going for $24,0000 range. There has to be catch I thought and there was, it had been in an accident. Diamond Auto fixes and then sells.

Any thoughts on this from experience would be greatly appreciated. Also anyone used Diamond Auto Group? There is minimal reviews on them online, reluctant to use any non dealers as they are not a big name dealer such as Ford, Dodge, Toyota etc.

Hockeyguy15 · 12-02-2016, 02:49 PM

When you say it was in an accident, was it a write off?

Flacker · 12-02-2016, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hockeyguy15

When you say it was in an accident, was it a write off?

Exactly, was the title ever deemed SALVAGE. If so, I wouldn't recommend looking any further.

GGG · 12-02-2016, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gildo

Looking to upgrade to a bit of a newer vehicle but reluctant to spend too much with the economic times we are in and having a young family.

Looked online at a variety of places throughout Calgary and area and found near my work a place called Diamond Auto Group. On 42nd avenue off of Blackfoot, so I walked their during lunch. Seemed like okay guys, and have some decent deals for example an almost new Ford with low km which would probably be close to $40,000 elsewhere going for $24,0000 range. There has to be catch I thought and there was, it had been in an accident. Diamond Auto fixes and then sells.

Any thoughts on this from experience would be greatly appreciated. Also anyone used Diamond Auto Group? There is minimal reviews on them online, reluctant to use any non dealers as they are not a big name dealer such as Ford, Dodge, Toyota etc.

If it's too good to be true ......

cam_wmh · 12-02-2016, 02:55 PM

Ask for photos of before repair and after with full detail.

CorsiHockeyLeague · 12-02-2016, 02:58 PM

A previous accident isn't necessarily a big deal if the car has a subsequent history - that is, if it had an accident at 30,000 km, got repaired, and then put another 20,000 km after being fixed, and everything seems fine, it shouldn't be as big a concern.

It sounds like this was just repaired, so I agree with cam_wmh, I'd want full details of everything they had to do. I don't think I'd take the chance, though, all in all, unless it was just body damage.

gildo · 12-02-2016, 03:10 PM

Thanks everyone, they also showed me a Toyota that was "just hit from behind" very minor according to them. It had only 6,000km on it and was a 2016 going for almost half of what Henninger would sell for. I got a little suspicious.

Ryan Coke · 12-02-2016, 03:14 PM

I wouldn't completely dismiss it IF there was lots of details on the work and everything. I bought an SUV several years ago that was a great vehicle and good price which had been hit several years earlier. It had all the work orders and details on the repair. I bought it and had no problems for several years until I sold it.

In many cases, the money you save may well be worth it...you could get much more car than you normally would at that price because most people do stay away. Just be careful.

rain_e · 12-02-2016, 03:18 PM

Did you look at the carproof to see how much the damage actually was an history?

Hevishot · 12-02-2016, 03:29 PM

If they repair and sell them ask to see their shop. Ask to see their frame specs because if it had frame damage and they repaired and passed the vehicle they need to actually be able to provide them. Ask to see photos before repair,during repair and completed prior to re assembly. They are supposed to have those when they take the vehicle to be re certified. Ask if they used oem or certifed aftermarket parts or used parts ask where the vehicle was painted/worked on if it was not repaired on site.if they cannot provide you with proper documentation to and all they show you is a mechanics hoist run away.

Matt Reeeeead · 12-02-2016, 03:33 PM

My opinion, with cars, you get what you pay for.

You'll get a manageable deal upfront, but there are no guarantees with a vehicle like that. You'll likely pay for much of the difference over time even if it isn't in your lease pmt.

If you proceed, I'd make sure you have a trusted car guy look at it and assess the likely risks.

mrkajz44 · 12-02-2016, 03:37 PM

I echo most of the comments here. Make sure you know exactly what the extent of the damage was and how it was repaired to ensure you are making an informed decision. I wouldn't just walk away from it because the price is low, so it must mean it was a bad accident and therefore not worth you time. There is a big stigma for people purchasing cars that were previously in an accident, rational or not. It's possible they fixed some damage that wasn't too major, but have had a hard time moving it and just want to get rid of it.

Gather as much info as you can, and you'll likely have a good gut feeling if its the right decision to buy it or not.

Fuzz · 12-02-2016, 05:29 PM

Be aware resale may be a bit of a PITA too. Depends how long you want to keep it.

jayswin · 12-02-2016, 05:35 PM

Honestly, the biggest concern I'd have before even getting into the details of the specific vehicle is the lack of reviews online of the company.

A very standard operating procedure for small, questionable dealerships that sell junk is to go as long as they can with a company name until there are too many major negative reviews, then they bail and open up again with a new name.

Table 5 · 12-02-2016, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jayswin

A very standard operating procedure for small, questionable dealerships that sell junk is to go as long as they can with a company name until there are too many major negative reviews, then they bail and open up again with a new name.

Here's one that's probably going to be doing that soon.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgar...rges-1.3875684

Table 5 · 12-02-2016, 05:59 PM

One thing to keep in mind is that it's not always just the smaller used car lots selling cars like this. Even the big franchise dealers will often sell cars with accident history. I'm in the market for a car right now, and I'm quite surprised how many times I look at a Carproof of even a CPO car, and it too has significant accident history. And the problem is that it's hard to get the details of what that damage is...you have no idea if that $5k is from some sort of hail damage, or collision.

Personally, I think you're better off staying away from this potentially huge headache. If you're really set on it, at least get a 3rd-party inspection before buying something like this.

pylon · 12-02-2016, 06:54 PM

Just ask to see the Carproof. It will disclose the whole thing value, area of impact. If they "Can't find it." or "We'll get it to you when you pick it up" etc etc..... run, don't walk away. We have a Carproof on hand for everything, good or bad, we have them linkable in our trader ads... etc. My guys are instructed to review the Carproof before they even drive a car with a customer. It's that big of a deal with AMVIC.

The rule with corner lots and pot lots, is if the car is there, it's there for a reason, especially if it's a late model vehicle. Our typical rule of thumb, is if the Carproof claims exceed $5000, we send it to auction. On high luxury models sometimes you have to be a little more liberal, as just a taillight or headlight can run you 2 grand a side, and the body shops will gouge the hell out of insurance companies. Also If it is hail, you have to do it case by case, as they are fixed using PDR (paintless dent removal) and usually have no structural damage and are perfectly safe cars. A lot of people will happily take a $2-3000 discount if it's been repaired, as some of these hail guys are frikking wizards, and you'd never be able to tell it from a non-repaired car.

Bottom line. If the carproof isn't available for immediate viewing, and they won't show it to you in the Carproof online portal, on a computer, something is off. As it would be very easy to photoshop a Carproof report and print a paper copy to hand out. If in doubt, just pay the $35 to run the VIN yourself through Carproof. It's amazes me, how many people will commit to a $30,000 used car, and roll the dice over what amounts to a couple Domino's pizzas.

The bottom line is, dealers have no option but to sell some cars that have previous damage. It's a fact of life. You can't tell people you trade is worth zero, because it had a $2500 accident. However, the customer has to be 100% in the loop of what they are getting into.

Lastly, never agree to do a credit application until you've driven and decided on the car. Too many of these junk dealers will ram-fire your application to 10 banks in the hopes of getting a hit, before even one institution even decisions it.

gildo · 12-02-2016, 07:26 PM

Thanks everyone for the feedback & advice. I think this every time I post a thread (I don't post a lot but when I need some tips I know exactly where to come). Always honest, up front & both sides of the coin. It is great for us to have an open real forum like this where you're not always judged for asking silly questions but rather like friends people jump in to give you helpful tips.

CorsiHockeyLeague · 12-02-2016, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pylon

Our typical rule of thumb, is if the Carproof claims exceed $5000, we send it to auction.

This is interesting. Let's say you had a fairly recent car, say a 2013 Accord or equivalent with 100,000 km on it. When it was brand new, at 8,000 km, the driver rear-ended someone and did around $10k in damage to the car. The car was repaired at the dealership and there's no other history, and you can't tell anything's wrong to look at it. You'd send that car to auction?

pylon · 12-02-2016, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

This is interesting. Let's say you had a fairly recent car, say a 2013 Accord or equivalent with 100,000 km on it. When it was brand new, at 8,000 km, the driver rear-ended someone and did around $10k in damage to the car. The car was repaired at the dealership and there's no other history, and you can't tell anything's wrong to look at it. You'd send that car to auction?

Yep. Not worth all the hassle and explaining.

And then that car ends up on a good credit/bad credit/no credit lot.

Another pro-tip

Any big dealer can work with bad credit. And usually better than the guys that try and pretend and claim they specialize in it. When I was in finance, I could get credit challenged clients approved on brand new cars, or premium used cars with no sketchy history at way better rates through regular commercial banks. Not the 'finance companies' they use.

Those types of lots can only get garbage, predatory lenders who are equally sketchy to deal with them, so the predatory rates are more a device of the fact no bank wants to finance their cars, than the people who have the bad credit. Where they were approving loans at 29.9% for high risk buyers. I could usually pull it off at 12-15%. It isn't ideal. But it was a heck of a lot better. There was the odd case where it was what it was and it was the only option. But a ton of people who have better options, are told they don't by those types of lots because they don't have a lending agreement with an actual bank.

Then again I never marked up my subprime rates. I always went with the lowest approved rate. My goal was to always put the customer in the position to get them out as soon as I could and get them in a better car, than a one and done. With the pot lots, they know half their clients are gonna hate the car within 3 months, and realize they were taken for a ride. So they try and cash in on the only shot they'll get.

Not every big franchise dealer is perfect, but the stakes for them are so much higher than some lone wolf fly by night lot. They aren't gonna risk a franchise worth tens of millions of dollars, over an piled up ex-rental Dodge Dart shipped out of the US that was used as a mall security car.

I'll add. With 25% down, almost any captive lender. Ie: Toyota credit, Honda Finance, VW Credit etc.... will approve any type of credit at a reasonable rate. Regardless of credit situation. The big no-no's though, are repo's and outstanding collections. As long as those aren't in play, they'll over look A LOT as long as you debt service. So instead of being impatient and jumping in on a 60g ride. Save up 5-6 grand and buy a reasonable $20k car. After you're in for a year or so with a good payment history, They'll usually take you on anything you want in the future.