How do you know if a used car has been in a serious accident?

For many reasons such as low cost, low depreciation, quick transactions,... used cars are always sought after by many customers. However, for those with little experience, they may buy a car that has been in an accident without knowing it, and only realize it after a period of use is it too late.

Talking to reporters, Mr. Pham Tat Thang - owner of TT Auto garage (Thanh Xuan, Hanoi) said that it is normal for an old car that has been used for many years to be dented and need to be "repaired". However, if it is a car that has been in a serious accident, affecting the load-bearing structure, it should not be purchased.

"Usually, the seller will take the car to a garage and try to fix the defects to make the car look as shiny as possible. Many highly skilled workers today can easily "magically" transform cars that have been in an accident into new, flawless cars that are difficult for inexperienced people to recognize," said Mr. Thang.

According to this expert with nearly 20 years of experience in buying, selling and repairing used cars, it is increasingly difficult to identify cars that have been in accidents or collisions. However, there are some details that cannot be hidden no matter how carefully they are made and can be seen with the naked eye as follows:

Windshield

Normally, the front and rear windshields are very difficult to break or crack without a strong impact. Therefore, if the windshield or rear window is replaced, we have the right to suspect that the car has been in an accident or a strong collision.

To identify, you can rely on the parameters of the glass in the lower left corner. For example, if the car is manufactured in 2020, the last row will usually have the number 0 or 20. If the car is manufactured in 2021, it will be number 1, similarly 2022 will be number 2... The new glass will usually not have the same number as the year of manufacture of the car, and the glue will have to be re-applied, and if it is not genuine, the new glass will look "wilder".

Headlights, taillights

With old cars, the headlights and taillights must be of equal newness. If we observe a car with one side of the light being old and the other side being new, we can also suspect that the car has been in a serious collision that required the replacement of a cluster of lights.

Door edges and slots

Door slots, especially the door edges, are very vulnerable to damage in the event of a collision and will "betray" the car's history of collisions. Door slots and door edges of cars are often stamped directly at the factory, so they are seamless, highly precise and even.

If the car has been in an accident, the door edges will be manually reshaped. No matter how skillful you are, the edges and gaps of the door cannot be absolutely even. In addition, if the glue on the door is uneven, discolored, stiff, ... it is very likely that the door has been in an accident and needs to be reshaped and reshaped.

Under the hood, trunk

After a car has a strong collision in the front, if the top of the hood can be easily handled and repainted, the bottom of the hood is the place that "reveals" the condition of the car because there is a skeleton and complex parts that are not easy to restore to the original.

The underside of the bonnet of a car that has never been in an accident should have straight, even edges, with no dents or patches. The edges on both sides should be symmetrical, and should not be warped when closed. The small holes in the bonnet's bones should be intact, not distorted.

Similar to the hood, open the trunk, lift the carpet and trunk cover, observe every small detail, especially the corners, see if the two sides are symmetrical or not, see if there are any bumps, putty or traces of collision. At the same time, observe the edges of the rear door to see if they are even and the glue is still intact or not.

If there are marks of bending, bending, or re-gluing, it is almost certain that the car has been hit from behind. No matter how skilled the mechanic is, the distortions inside the trunk cannot be restored to their original state.