How to determine whether a car is damaged or not

Ways to check a car - broken or not

Used cars are in great demand, and the secondary market is ready to offer a lot of options at a good price. In general, cost is the only advantage of used cars over new ones, but in conditions of rising prices, for most Russians it is most acceptable to buy a used car. At the same time, buying a car on the secondary market is always fraught with risks, no matter how it is done, be it a private transaction, a purchase at a showroom or an official dealership.

Particularly dangerous are damaged vehicles that have been thoroughly cleaned before sale, and a new car may also be dangerous. Depending on the scale of the hidden defects, such an acquisition will lead to troubles of various kinds - from rapid wear and tear of components and assemblies to an accident as a result of the unpredictable behavior of the bolivar on the road. A salon can also sell a used car. Don’t forget that dealerships have much more technical capabilities to bring even the most “destroyed” car into decent shape than the average car owner. Dealers hide facts from the car's history and disguise physical imperfections, including the consequences of an accident, so thoroughly that the buyer will not be able to see the defects. The most unpleasant moment may be the discovery of defects already during operation, because it is not always possible to recognize deception right away.

This issue, especially if a used option is being considered, must be approached with all responsibility so as not to get into trouble when buying a vehicle. It doesn’t matter whether you buy a car second-hand, at a car dealership or from an official dealer, you should check whether the car is damaged or not. This can be done in various ways.

How to determine whether a car is damaged or not? What to look for?

Do you want to buy a used car from a car owner and are afraid that he will sell the car that has been in an accident? Perhaps after an accident the vehicle was carefully painted, and it is not so easy to notice the defect. To determine whether a car is damaged or not, whether the car body has been painted, you need to know a few simple rules.

Visual inspection of the machine

The first two rules: the car must be clean and well lit so that you can carefully inspect it from all sides.
A non-damaged car has a uniform color over the entire painted surface. There should be small defects in the form of scratches - this is quite natural on a car that is not new; new paint that does not correspond to the age of the car should be alarming. There is also a special device that allows you to check the thickness of the paint on the body. If there is a big difference in the readings, it means putty was applied to individual parts of the body and they were damaged in a collision. You can check the condition of the body with a regular magnet wrapped in a thin cloth. Where it will not be magnetic to the car body there is a thick layer of putty. The device for determining the thickness of paint is called a thickness gauge.

Check the distance between parts

Carefully consider the distances between different parts of the car. They should be the same. For example, between the hood and the body or between the doors and the body. Look inside the cabin and inspect the panels and plastic handles. Deformation and chips of the plastic indicate that the car has been subjected to impacts.

There is a certain symmetry to the car. Check the distance between different parts of the car. It should be the same. You need to look at how car doors open and close, how door hinges and other components work. During impacts, it is the doors that are most susceptible to deformation. Another way is to listen to the car for extraneous squeaks and sounds. The operation of the doors will tell you exactly what condition the car is in. Take a close look at how they are installed, to see if there are any distortions or excessive gaps between the interior. All this will tell you whether the car was in an accident or not.

Inspect the headlights

The windows and lights on a car can tell a lot. If one of them looks noticeably newer than all the others, you should think about why and ask the seller about it. The manufacturer's sign must be on the windshield. Unless, of course, the car owner explains to you that the glass was changed for another reason.

The light from the lanterns should be the same in contour and saturation. If the headlights do not shine the same way, this indicates a reinstallation of the car's optics.

Check the gaskets between the windows and doors

You need to make sure that the doors close well and fit snugly against the rubber gaskets. If a clear gap remains, the vehicle body may have been subject to impact. Bend back the gaskets on the windows that connect them to the body; there should be no fresh traces of paint there. If they are there, it means the body has recently been repainted.

Check the condition of the tires

Tire wear should be even on all wheels. If this is not the case, you will have to measure the distance between the racks of the vehicle's chassis. It must correspond to the manufacturer's specifications. If not, then the car body was deformed as a result of the collision.

Attention to details

It’s always the little things that indicate major defects, in particular new fasteners. When the car is disassembled, they become unusable and are replaced with new ones. This means that the car was repaired.

Look at the gas tank hatch

Sometimes you can tell a whole car from one that was in an accident by the gas tank cap. It is usually removed to select the color shade when painting the body. New bolts or springs that secure the cover may indicate that it was removed for paint selection by a body painter.

Why is this information needed?

The participation of a car in an accident significantly reduces its value on the secondary market, and if the damage was significant, even though restoration work was carried out, such a vehicle attracts mainly resellers. Violation of the body geometry reduces the service life of the car and poses a danger to the driver and passengers. In addition, some parts may have been replaced during restoration, and replacement is often performed using non-original parts. At the legislative level, there is no responsibility for the restoration and masking of car defects, so any malfunctions that arise after you purchase a damaged vehicle will fall solely on your shoulders.

Buying a vehicle is quite a serious undertaking and every future owner, despite the desire to save money, wants to purchase a serviceable car that will not cause trouble during operation. So, checking a car for participation in an accident is necessary for the following reasons:

This information will help reduce the price tag on the car. Even minor damage discovered during the inspection, for example, small chips or scratches that do not in any way affect the comfort and safety of operation, is not a reason to refuse the purchase, but can serve as a significant reason for reducing the value of the car.
Hidden body damage is often dangerous. A serious accident usually provokes deformation of the car body, which in turn can affect the technical characteristics of the vehicle, lead to the inability to set the wheel angle, uneven abrasion of the tread, change in the slope of the windshield and other unpleasant consequences that can subsequently cause another accident. Even with thorough repairs, it will not be possible to restore the car to factory condition, but an inexperienced motorist will not be able to determine “by eye” the presence of well-disguised defects, which is what they are counting on.
Even minor damage to the paintwork of a car affects the condition of the body in the future; damaged areas are more susceptible to corrosion, which already does not spare cars, and damaged ones in particular.
Subsequent repair costs. If you don’t bother much with restoring the car, focusing mainly on hiding defects, soon the components and assemblies of the car may require repeated repairs.
There is a small chance of resale of the car. If you are unlucky enough to buy a car restored after a major accident, you can subsequently sell it only for spare parts or you will have to “sell” it to another ignorant buyer.

Every motorist expects to purchase a reliable car that will last for a year without the need to regularly look under the hood, and will not fail after just a few kilometers. Of course, you can buy a used car for mere pennies, but subsequent costs can hit your wallet hard.

If we are talking about a minor accident that did not cause damage to the structural geometry of the body and internal mechanisms, and the repair was carried out efficiently, purchasing a damaged car can still be considered.

What are the risks of buying a used car?

When a car gets into a serious accident, many elements of its structure suffer. Meanwhile, a car is a harmonious organism in which all the details are interconnected. Even if the car’s body was damaged only, this already threatens trouble.

The fact is that it is almost impossible to return a car to the same form in which it left the factory assembly line. Therefore, its shape will change in any case and will not correspond to the clear calculations of the manufacturers.

Violation of body geometry can result in the following problems:

The wheel camber/alignment will be disrupted. This will cause the tire tread pattern to wear unevenly. Let us remind you that driving on tires with varying degrees of wear is dangerous. It is unlikely that it will be possible to eliminate the defects of this unit at a service station.
You may notice that the doors, hood or trunk do not close tightly enough, which negatively affects the safety of transporting people and parking the car.
If the geometry of the window openings is disrupted, the car windows will begin to crack. The reason will be hidden in their increasing internal tension.

Also, after an accident and subsequent repairs, the car may begin to suffer from corrosion. It is extremely difficult to fight her. It is believed that it is completely impossible to eliminate it from the part. If you decide to replace the corroded part with a new one and weld it, remember that such a car “organ” will resist rust about five times worse than the factory one.

Major accidents negatively affect both the mechanical strength of the car and the condition of its individual components. Because of this, the owner of a damaged car can never be sure of its technical condition.

But these are only prerequisites that can lead to more dire consequences.

a damaged car is much more dangerous to drive than a whole one;
the service life of a damaged car is much shorter than that of a whole one;
the costs of using and repairing a damaged car will soon make you forget about the discounts you received when purchasing it.

Therefore, if you value your nerves and money, you should not buy a used car for driving. Only people who are somehow connected with a car service are interested in such a product, but a rare buyer turns out to be one of them.

Now that we know the reasons why you shouldn't buy a junk car, it's time to talk about how to recognize a junk car.

Verification methods

There are several methods to find out about the past of the car you are purchasing. You can determine whether a car has been in an accident and check its technical condition independently if you have knowledge and experience or with the involvement of specialists; this can be either an on-site inspection or a stationary one (at a car service center).

It is equally important to check the legal purity of the vehicle; there are also several options for such verification; all the necessary information is contained in the databases of the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate, RSA, insurance companies, customs and tax services, as well as banks. Let's look at how to find out by state. number or VIN code, whether the car was in an accident.

Through the traffic police

You can clarify the situation by knowing the VIN number of the car. Unless the seller is hiding something, he will have no problem telling it to the buyer. There are two options that allow you to check a car using the traffic police database:

Contact the department of the government agency with a request (the method cannot be called convenient and fast due to possible queues and time costs for submitting and processing the request, while information about accidents registered with the car is provided free of charge).
Check information on state number, VIN or chassis on the traffic police website, for which you need to enter the relevant car data in the form on the website. The State Traffic Inspectorate’s online service also allows you to request a driver check by entering driver’s license data.

By filling out the form, you can find out whether the car was involved in an accident, and whether any restrictions are imposed on it, whether the car is wanted, pledged, etc. The information you are interested in can be obtained quickly, but there is one point here - the information is provided , starting from 2020, earlier ones are not in the database.

Through an insurance company

It is also possible to find out whether a car has been involved in an accident with the help of its insurance company. This is a fairly effective way to shed light on the dark past of a car or dispel doubts, but only if the owner of the car contacted the organization for help after the incident. Insurance companies retain basic information about an accident, such as the date of the event, the extent of the accident and the consequences. In addition, you can find out who was at fault for the incident, as well as what assistance was provided by insurers to the car owner.

It is worth considering if the seller does not report an accident, while the insurance company has information about what happened. At the same time, the absence of official information does not mean that the incident did not actually happen. If you suspect that the car is damaged, you should continue checking.

Other verification methods

There are other effective methods that allow you to break through the legal history of a car. According to state number, VIN code, frame, body or chassis number, you can both check whether the car was involved in an accident, and find out other information regarding its past using online service tools. These can be websites or mobile applications that interact with the databases of the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate, ROSSTAT, the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation and other government or commercial structures. It is possible to obtain information of interest in real time for free or for a fee. The cost of the service is usually not high, but it allows you to obtain detailed data about the car.

Online service "Autocode"

Using a service that interacts with many official sources, you can both identify a damaged car and find out other important information, for example, the history of registration actions, mileage, the presence of State Traffic Inspectorate restrictions, fines, information about technical inspections, compulsory motor liability insurance, find out about theft, etc. than to protect yourself from possible serious troubles. Checking a car registered in the Russian Federation is very simple:

Enter the license plate number in the search field on the service page and click the “Check car” button.
We are waiting for a report with basic data about the car to be generated.
To generate a full report, you will need to pay for the service, and then wait about five minutes until the service provides the necessary information.

The information received should be enough to decide whether you agree to put up with the car’s past or whether it’s worth looking for another option. Even if the information received does not force you to abandon the purchase, in many cases it can help reduce the cost of the car.

Vincar service

You can identify a damaged car by receiving a report with accident data from the traffic police website, as well as insurance companies, by using the Vincar service.

The website allows you to find out the necessary information by the VIN code of the car; the database of road accidents is regularly updated based on official reports and the information becomes available to users of the resource within 15 days after the accident. To check a car, enter the VIN in the appropriate field on the website and click the “Check by VIN” button, after which a report will be generated that reflects the history of vehicle registrations, participation in accidents, the number of accidents and the extent of damage, if an incident occurred. The service also allows you to order a specialist visit for a technical check of the purchased car.

Online Carfax service

The popular Carfax service, which allows you to check the history of cars from the USA, Canada or Mexico that have been registered since 1986, will also help you recognize a damaged car and find out other important information. The database is updated daily from various sources, including private ones, and vehicle checks are performed in the vin-online format, which allows you to search for the necessary information by VIN code online. Carfax is the simplest and most convenient online service. To get information about the car you are interested in, simply enter its VIN number in the search field and click the “Search” button. It is worth noting that access to the reports is not free and the price for a detailed report will be about $35.

Vin-Info

A free service that allows you to check a car using the VIN code. The check is performed in vin-online format, as in the previous case. To check the car, enter its VIN number on their website in the appropriate line and click the “Check” button below. From the generated report you can see the history of operation and technical work of the car, mileage, whether the car was stolen and other information.

What should you pay attention to?

Having walked around the car from all sides and taken a quick look at it, you may not even notice the results of the work of auto repairmen who skillfully disguised all the “abrasions” and “injuries”. Visually, the body may look perfect, but look a little closer and you will find traces of repair work. When inspecting the car, carefully examine the following details:

Gaps. The different thickness of the gaps at the joints of automobile parts is an obvious sign that the car was “magiced” at the service station. Pay special attention to the joints on the hood, trunk and doors - they should be the same along the entire length.
Paint coating. At the factory, paint is applied to the body evenly, and any changes in the thickness or shades of the layer indicate that paintwork has been carried out. Ideally, before the inspection, purchase a thickness gauge - a special device that determines the thickness of the paint layer.
Optics and glass. The fact that headlights and glass have been replaced can be determined by checking the date of their manufacture (it usually coincides with the year of manufacture of the car) and comparing the brightness of the headlights. However, the replacement of these elements is not always associated with a serious accident - often the cause is a stone getting into the glass.
Door and glass seals. First, the doors must close tightly and relatively quietly. Secondly, when bending the seal, you should not notice paint smudges - they only appear when painting the body.
Gas tank hatch. The trick is that this part is easily removable and, as a rule, is used by painters to select the desired paint. If you find torn, non-standard or different fasteners, it means that the hatch has definitely been in the hands of car painters.
Bottom of the car. Be sure to look under the vehicle, preferably on a lift with a flashlight. Having discovered sloppy seams, we can conclude that this car has already been in an accident and has been repaired.

Auto mechanics undoubtedly know how to identify a damaged car, so sometimes it makes sense to go to a service station for a full diagnosis. Perhaps the very desire of a potential buyer to conduct a thorough inspection of the car will force the seller to honestly talk about the mechanical damage to the vehicle received as a result of an accident.

Why do you need a visual inspection of the car?

Often, at first glance, it becomes clear that the car has been repainted, which means that damage preceded it. And don’t be fooled by the seller’s stories about how carefully he blew the dust off his swallow all these years. When a car shines like New Year's tinsel, although the mileage is quite high, the signs of hiding defects are obvious. It happens that it is not possible to find out whether a car was involved in an accident or not by searching the information in the databases, since traffic police officers and insurers are not always brought to the scene of the accident. So, the car is not included in official reports and there will be no accidents associated with it.

How are used cars sold?

After a car gets into a serious accident, the car owner, as a rule, decides to sell it. He can give it away as is, or disassemble it into parts and sell them separately. To increase revenue for the sale of a car, the owner can also. If this person is unscrupulous, then, having received a car with a damaged car, he will try to sell it under the guise of being intact.

Therefore you need to be on your guard. A car that has recently been painted and that attracts you with the glossy shine of its body may well not be so beautiful on the inside.

How to recognize a damaged car. Expert advice

Buying a car on the secondary market is always a risky business. There is always a chance to purchase a car not in the good condition described by the seller, but in a slightly worse condition. One of the important points is understanding whether the car was involved in an accident. This will often determine how long it will last for its new owner, and its future condition will affect the sale price.

Regardless of whether the previous owner admitted to the restoration work performed, whether this confession was complete, or the person is simply deceiving, there are several ways to independently determine the condition of the car based on the following simple tips:

– Inspect only a clean car

. Even a minimal layer of dust can hide flaws. The owner’s explanations about the continued use of the car should not be taken into account.

When shown to the buyer, the car must be in complete order. The owner should be asked if the car has painted parts. An honest seller will show and tell everything himself. The dishonest person will start talking about not remembering/not knowing about such details.

Whether a part is painted or not can be checked with a thickness gauge. In this way, iron or aluminum parts can be checked. Unfortunately, there is no way to check the plastic. We cannot say the exact values, and it is unlikely that it will be useful to the average person: the device is too expensive. It’s easier to contact specialists at the technical center; they will clearly show you what happened to each part, whether it was factory paint, whether the part was painted without repair or using putty. Such a check is relatively inexpensive - 2,000 rubles, but it gives you complete information about a future purchase and reasoned bargaining with the seller.

The main recommendation for buyers is the following: when purchasing, try to use car diagnostic services, including checking the paintwork. This will allow you to buy a new reliable friend who will not disappoint you immediately after purchase and will not require significant investments immediately after you leave the dealership gates.”

Evgeniy Dyubakov, Head of the service department “Independence CARFIX – Body Repair Center”

If you are buying a used car, there are many ways to check its actual condition. For example, go to any dealership and carry out diagnostics using specialized equipment. Diagnostics are necessary not only to detect any damage, but also to assess the wear and tear of the car as a whole. The car needs to be inspected as a whole, because it could be broken from any side, for example, there are cars with roof repairs.

Of course, there are some signs by which you can determine whether a car has been repaired. You should be alerted, for example, to bulging glue or the fact that the vehicle is being sold with significant mileage, it is more than one year old, but it shines like new, and there are no signs of use on it. This is the main indicator that the car has been repainted. In order to confirm this fact, there are special devices that allow you to measure the thickness of the paintwork. During diagnostics, the indicator where the thickness of this coating is minimal is taken as the standard. A discrepancy of 10-15% maximum is possible. Exceeding the indicator means that the car was either painted or repaired.

Please note that the device does not work on aluminum and plastic parts. Accordingly, you should pay attention to such exterior elements as door openings and fuel tank flap openings. By these places you can determine the application of a second layer of paint or varnish. This can also be installed using removable parts: front fenders and hood, trunk lid. Pay attention to the fastening points - it is not always possible to re-screw the bolt exactly according to its mark. If the mark does not match, it means the part was removed - and, as a rule, this could be done for repairs. Therefore, it is necessary to understand why the owner needed this repair.

All modern body repair technologies are aimed at preserving the pre-repair appearance of the car. Therefore, a person who is not a specialist in this field will not be able to independently determine whether the body has been repaired. As a rule, this can only be detected by a specialist who knows well how to “hide” traces of body repairs. If you want to be confident in the car you are buying and decide to carry out diagnostics, then it is better to contact a car body repair specialist at a specialized center.”

Alexander Sotnikov

mechanical engineer, technical director of private service

It is not always worth giving up on a car that has had minor repairs done and was honestly reported by the seller. You don’t always need to listen to a familiar specialist who, in order to demonstrate his knowledge, will poke around and criticize down to the last screw. When looking for the perfect car, you may miss a good car that is worth the money the seller is asking for it.”

How to identify a damaged car

In this article we will teach you how to identify a damaged car using the example of a Citroen C3. When buying a car, any future owner wants to know whether the car was in an accident or not. It is our instructions and inspection tips that will help you find out whether the car is damaged or not. We will teach you how to identify a damaged car when purchasing it without a thickness gauge. Naturally, with a thickness gauge, everyone can identify a damaged car. But how to do this without it?

For example, we chose this particular car, since it has a very informative body, from which you can easily determine whether the car was in an accident or not, whether it was damaged or not, whether it was painted or not? We start with a general inspection of the body. We are looking for any or abnormal irregularities, spots, differences in shade.

When you have checked the car from all sides and found nothing, now we look at the gaps. We check the gaps on the right and left, as well as at the top and bottom. They must be the same size. There may be a discrepancy, but it’s minimal!

PS Dear visitors of the site, and in particular of this article. In general, to tell the truth, sometimes it is often very difficult to determine whether a car is damaged or not without special equipment. equipment! Therefore, the best solution would be to trust professional dealers who are responsible for their services. For example, pay attention to this dealer and this car - https://nissan-ast.ru/models/murano/

This car had a wing inside. But we pulled him out and tricked him a little.

We also look at the gaps of the front and rear doors and compare them on the left and right.

If you see that the frill is damaged, since during a frontal impact the hood inevitably hits the frill, then you can say with confidence that the car is damaged.

We carefully inspect all door pillars.

We bend the seals and check what is under them. If there is resistance welding and everything is fine there, then the car did not break down in this area either.

We open the trunk and look at this place. We inspect it carefully; if the car has been beaten, then traces will definitely remain.

Next we look at the trunk hinges.

There must be joint sealant in these places.

We look at the roof above the racks. If there is a strong impact, the area above the pillar will become deformed. You can tap this place and if the sound is dull, then it is clear that there is putty there and the car was beaten.

In the engine compartment, we look to see whether the inside of the body is painted in such a yellowish color and whether there are any differences in color anywhere.

We examine the glass. It should have a similar shade. And the resistance welding should be visible.

The spar should also be the same shade, without any anomalies and with the old sealant. If the sealant is fresh, then the conclusion suggests itself. We inspect the other glass in the same way.

Next, look at all the bolts. Most bolts should not be touched.

We look at the radiator, since it is very thin, there may be dents on it if there is an impact.

Well, one final little secret: with the car running, pull out the dipstick. If there is smoke coming from there, then such a car is not worth buying. Or open the lid completely. A good, working engine looks like this.

And lastly, look closely at the body and look for specks of dust or traces of sandpaper. If there are a lot of dust particles or there is at least one trace of sandpaper, then that’s it, the car has been painted.

How to check whether a car is damaged or not

A beautiful, neat, bright sample, as if it had just come from the factory, drops in price significantly if it has already been in an accident. Knowledgeable resellers restore such cars in no time and present them to the buyer in the best possible way. Sometimes, at first glance, you won’t notice what an almost brand new car can hide inside. And the attractive price compared to other cars with visible chips will immediately push you to buy. The classic phrase will add excitement: “I wanted to sell it for 500, but I’ll give it to you for 470...”.

Refurbished cars are a tasty morsel for dishonest sellers. Resellers, private owners, car dealerships, and even official dealers can sell a damaged car. Defining it is not so difficult. You should learn this, at least in order to reduce the price in time.

The main signs that the car is broken

There are primary signs that show that the car has been one hundred percent involved in an accident. Each of these signs separately should not indicate that everything is bad with the car. At that very time, a combination of factors should alert you in a certain way. Let's start with the fact that each part has its own serial number. Car glass, headlights, various parts in the engine compartment - you can check the originality of all these elements. And then perform a certain study of the potential past of the selected machine for the following processes:

replacement of the windshield - in most accidents, the windshield of the car develops certain cracks, it is replaced so as not to arouse suspicion;
replacing the front side windows will indicate that the accident was on a certain side of the car or the impact was strong enough;
headlights also have serial numbers that can be checked, this will help clarify the results of the inspection of glass serial numbers;
in the engine compartment, painting work is often not carried out very carefully; here you can see traces of handicraft welding;
if the car turns out to be young, and even at an attractive price, look at the originality of the main parts under the hood;
the paintwork can tell you a lot, because it is the first indicator that the car has been in an accident (more on this below);
too many new interior parts in an old car indicate either restoration after an accident or excessive care of the owner.

As you can see, there are many ways to understand at a glance whether a car has been in an accident. This understanding will allow you to adequately understand what the price of a particular car should be, and whether it is worth buying it at all. Often damaged and incorrectly restored cars are sold slightly cheaper than the usual normal versions of the equipment. This is done to dull the buyer’s attention so that he can quickly prepare money for a profitable transaction. This is often how savvy used car dealers get a particular model noticed and sold, no matter what problems the car may have. It is better to be vigilant and determine what exactly may be wrong with the car.

What is important to know

How to check whether a car is damaged or not? Before you start checking, we recommend that you take note of a few simple but important recommendations.

If you understand cars at the gas and brake level, then it is better to invite a person with you who knows a little more about them. It will be calmer this way.
It is advisable to inspect the car during the day, when good natural light is in your favor. Or take care of high-quality artificial light, which will allow you to distinguish waves on the surface and differences in paint tones if something happens.
The car must be clean! Otherwise, it will be impossible to see the shortcomings.
Take a thickness gauge with you to check where there is putty that is not used at the factory.

Virtual tuning helps hide the most obvious nuances. Film everything that can be filmed. Additional elements may interfere with the real picture.
If it is raining, snowing, or a hurricane outside, we recommend rescheduling the inspection to another day. You don't need any unnecessary interference.
Never rely on the first impression of a car. And even more so, do not trust the opinion of those who understand little about this (for example, the advice of your wife).

Let's find out if the car is damaged

Let's start with the fact that the simplest answer to the question of how to find out whether a car is damaged or not sounds very laconic: “ask the seller.” However, as we have already said, not every owner of a damaged car in this case will be honest and tell you the truth.

Therefore, it is a good idea to have those skills that will help you visually determine whether a car has a sad road history.

To begin with, let’s make a reservation that if you want to determine whether a car is damaged or not, meet with the seller only during daylight hours. It is advisable that the car be clean during the inspection.

So, now we’ll talk about specific ways to identify a damaged vehicle.

Checking out the appearance

It’s good if nature has endowed you with an excellent eye and high-quality color perception. In the process of checking a car, these qualities will be very useful to you.

Inspect the car from a distance of a few steps. Try to discern whether there is a difference in the shades of any of its body parts. Look to see if the proportions are correct, whether the car looks symmetrical from the front and back, or whether its parts are located at different levels.

It should be noted that if the car is in the shade, and not under the sparkling rays of the sun, the difference in shades of its parts will be much easier to see.

But at the same time, the glare of the sun helps to see small defects that would be invisible on a plain car cover in the shade.

A car that has never had its parts repainted should all be the same shade without any deviations. Violations in its geometry should also cast doubt on the potential buyer.

Experts are confident that the presence of small dents, cracks, chips or scratches on a car is a good sign. This means that the owner did not try to hide its defects using car cosmetics. Such a vehicle looks less suspicious than one that has an impeccable paint finish.

For anyone who has decided to approach the purchase of a car with the maximum level of scrupulousness, we recommend purchasing a special device called a thickness gauge. It will determine how much paint is applied to different parts of the car body. If these indicators differ, it means the car has been painted.

Looking through the cracks

We continue to check the correct geometry of the vehicle body. To do this, check the gaps.

You should inspect the cracks that are located between the lowered trunk lid and the wings, as well as near the closed trunk and closed doors. All these gaps must be the same width.

If the gaps are not the same, it means the body shape has changed. This could be due to the straightening of the sheet after an accident or the replacement of some parts. In any case, remember that this seemingly trivial error will make you regret buying it after using the car for some time.

By the way, welded parts can also be unevenly joined.

If you are not confident in your eye, take a ruler with you for inspection.

It is recommended to check the gaps not only between closed doors. To be sure, open them. Check the hinges and any gaps around them. It is even recommended to rock the car a little with the doors open to see if the parts are moving.

If the doors squeak when opening, be wary. They may just be asking for lubrication, but they may have been reinstalled. When replacing doors, they are often placed slightly unevenly, which causes the hinge parts to rub harder against each other and produce unpleasant squeaks.

Also, unevenly installed doors leave small defects on the body. Inspect the areas around them for tiny dents and scratches.

Looking into the “eyes”

Of course, to understand whether a car is damaged, sometimes it’s enough just to look into the seller’s eyes. However, most often these people know how to perfectly disguise deception. The same cannot be said about cars.

Looking at the tires

As we have already said, if the geometry of the body is violated, the tires wear unevenly. Therefore, evaluate their tread pattern and draw your own conclusions.

However, it should be noted that some time must pass for a visible difference between the degrees of tire wear to appear. If the owner of the car, after repair, drove it to the parking lot and no longer used it, it will be almost impossible to see inaccuracies in the degree of wear.

But it is still worth carrying out such a check. For greater accuracy, you will need to measure the distance from one center point of the front suspension to the other. Find out what distance is provided by the manufacturer. If the result obtained differs from the original by at least half a centimeter, it means that the shape of the body has been slightly changed. Moreover, most likely, this happened after a strong blow.

Testing fasteners

Now it's time to check the age of the fasteners. Installed new fasteners may indirectly signal that the car has undergone cosmetic repairs.

If the car is sold to you in its original configuration, the rivets and caps must be factory.

Why are new fasteners installed when painting? Yes, because the old ones simply break.

The fact is that when restoring a car’s paintwork, specialists often remove individual parts of it. At the same time, old, battered fasteners do not hold up and become unusable. They are replaced by new, but no longer factory, elements.

But let’s make a reservation that the presence of new fasteners only indicates that the car was disassembled. And for what purpose this was done, we can only guess.

Inspecting the gas tank cap

This part does not affect the process of driving the car in any way and, if its geometry has not changed, can be painlessly removed and reinstalled.

These properties encourage car paint specialists to remove this small door to select the shade. This is done after the car owner orders the procedure for painting the car in its original color.

The hatch is removed and the desired shade is selected from it, which would best suit the native one.

However, when installing the fastening, the doors can also fly. They will be replaced by new ones. This will signal that the car was most likely painted before sale.

Let's get into the salon

After the external inspection, sit inside the car. Take a good look at its casing. If necessary, remove the plugs. Check how old the bolts are used for fixation.

If the bolts are new and not covered with enamel, it means that some parts, such as doors, were removed and repaired. And then they were returned to their place, but secured with new bolts.

Studying the seams

To carry out this check, you need to know how the manufacturing plant assembles machine parts. This is most often done through spot welding. Then the remaining space is secured with a reliable sealant. It hardens when exposed to high temperatures. After this, paint is applied to the body.

Sometimes these jobs are not even carried out by people, but by special robots.

This seam looks very neat and does not catch the eye.

At most service stations it is not possible to repeat the same weld. Therefore, parts are most often fastened together by continuous welding. Such a seam is conspicuous and looks unaesthetic.

But the point here is not even about beauty, but about the fact that such welding screams about replacing some parts of a car, which, most likely, was once destroyed in an accident.

Let's dive into the rich inner world of a car

Resellers and representatives of various companies involved in the sale of used cars know what the buyer looks at first. Of course he enjoys the picture. Therefore, all external body defects are carefully masked and eliminated.

However, they periodically save on internal defects, hoping that the eye of a naive client will not get there.

Disappoint them. Remove the trunk trim, look deep under the hood, and inspect the ends of the doors. If the car is damaged, you will find traces of dents there, which will immediately dot the i’s in your head.

Self-check of a damaged car

So, you have decided on a car. The seller listed a complete list of the advantages of his “swallow”. All that remains is to check whether the car is actually damaged. Well, let's start the inspection.

We study the geometry of the body. To do this, open and close all the doors in the car. Difficulties in opening can arise even with the slightest damage. Remember that a crooked body is the first sign of a car that has been repaired. Read how to check body geometry.
To figure out the paint job, step back from the car a few meters and look at it from different angles. This way you can easily notice shades and transitions, which will indicate possible repairs after an accident. Read how to check the paint on a car.
It's not just the appearance of a purchase that can give away evidence. Get as deep as possible - inspect everything under the hood of the car, look under the luggage compartment and don’t forget about the opening for the spare wheel. Paint marks are hidden in such hidden places.
A non-standard or unpainted part that catches your eye is another sign that the body has been repaired. Take a good look at all fasteners. As a rule, cheaper paint is used for replacement, which will differ. If you suspect a replacement, compare them with the same ones on the other side of the case.
If parts have been removed at least once for painting or repair, tool marks will be visible on them. Take a closer look at the screws, slots and bolts of the fasteners.

Inspect the welding areas. During factory work, the seams and points look neat, the sealant is distributed perfectly. In other cases, the seam looks ugly and awkward.
Go to the headlights. It happens that one headlight shines brighter than the other. However, there are no scratches on it. This suggests that, most likely, it was replaced.
Examine the body completely. If you find traces of rust and corrosion, it means the car was in an accident. Damaged factory paint is not completely restored, and the affected parts begin to rust.
Look closely at the openings between the fenders and adjacent parts, the bumper and the connecting parts. And also look at the location of the hood, headlights, trunk lid and doors relative to the body. The gaps between them in an undamaged car are the same on all sides, the doors open clearly and without any extraneous sounds.
And in the end, to the forehead of the former owner of the car. The sly guy will immediately tell you the thousand and one pluses of the car, trying to hide the shortcomings. Or he will begin to broadcast something completely irrelevant.

How to tell if a car is damaged by its paintwork

When buying a car, the first thing we pay attention to is the paintwork. If the body looks perfect, then most likely it was repainted not so long ago. The presence of small chips and scratches on the front bumper, hood and radiator grill is quite normal for a used car. Even a very careful driver is unable to avoid encountering small stones while driving.
The absence of scratches from shoes on the door sills of the car is also a reason to ask whether it has been repainted, and if so, for what reason.
Very often, when partially painting a body, they try to make a transition in order to hide the contrast of colors. For this purpose, adjacent parts are also coated with enamel. For this reason, it is recommended to conduct an initial inspection of a clean car in good lighting and from different angles. Also, looking along the surface of the body, ideally you should not detect any micro-irregularities in the paintwork. If you are in doubt, it is better to contact specialists who will use a device to determine the thickness of the paintwork. A large spread in the values of this indicator indicates that the car was repainted, and a greatly inflated result indicates the presence of putty.
As a rule, when doing body repairs, craftsmen take care of the external attractiveness of the car. If the car has been painted, then you will probably find traces of paint or polishing paste on the interior parts or in secluded places under the rubber elements located at the junction with the painted ones. Don't forget to look under the hood, under the luggage compartment floor, the spare tire area and the underside of the rear fenders.
We remember the need to pay attention to detail. A reliable sign that the car has been disassembled is unpainted fasteners. Compare with a new copy and make sure that the mounting bolts and clips are the same. The gas tank flap may be telling. It is convenient to remove it for color selection. In this case, the integrity of the fastenings is compromised.

Example of a broken car

Checking a car for an accident using online services

The ability to independently inspect a used car can often help out when purchasing. However, this is not always the case. Even specialists can hardly distinguish the tricks of real pros. But it is not all that bad. You can find out whether the car has been in an accident using the Autocode service. At the moment, this is one of the few services that offers a full report on your car by state. number without using the vin. By paying a symbolic amount of 349 rubles, you will receive detailed information about the vehicle, starting from the history of registration actions and ending with its participation in accidents. you will see the following information:

How many times has the car been involved in an accident? The report will include all recorded cases.
Date of accident - how long ago the car was wrecked.
Type of accident. How and under what circumstances the car became involved in the incident.
Damage received. You will find out which parts of the car were damaged.

In addition, you will find out if the owner contacted the insurance company after the accident. The report provides a calculation of insurance repair work, which describes in detail:

calculation date;
Document Number;
recorded mileage;
cost of repair work;
damaged car parts;
required type of repair.

Checking the machine with the help of specialists

If you do not trust either yourself or online services, then you can find out whether the car was in an accident by meeting directly with specialists. So, where to check the car?

Many people consider the most reliable way to contact the traffic police. In fact, there is no difference between an online check and an appointment at a branch. The inspector will similarly make a request on the State Traffic Inspectorate website. Only for this you will need to bring a car with all the required documents.
A wrecked car is also checked at a service station. It is best to contact an independent service center to avoid any pitfalls. The health of the car here will be determined using computer equipment and testing stands. The price of the service will be from 900 rubles and above.
Technical specialists and nuclear experts will be able to recognize the damaged car. They will completely inspect the car, test it in motion, evaluate the engine's performance and issue a conclusion. On-site diagnostic services will not be cheap – from 1000 rubles. As a rule, experts recommend contacting specialists of a wide range.
Some also involve a legal check of the car when purchasing. An auto expert comes to you and identifies your car for an accident, collateral, loan, etc. In fact, it performs the same functions that you can do yourself using online services. The price of the meeting is also from 1000 rubles.

You can order an on-site inspection on the Autocode website. A specialist will come with equipment, diagnose the car and prepare for you a detailed report on the technical condition of the car. This service is especially convenient for those who have their eye on a car from another city. You don't need to go anywhere. An expert will check everything for you.

Checking a car is undoubtedly an important procedure when completing a transaction. Therefore, it is best to use the maximum number of methods, and it is advisable not to save an extra hour or an extra thousand on this. Moreover, today most information can be obtained online using only the state license plate of the car.

Factory subtleties

All factory work is carried out with the utmost care. And it is precisely this characteristic feature of the manufacturer that can help answer the question - how to recognize a damaged car.

At the factory, car bodies are welded together from individual parts using spot welding. The joints are carefully sealed with sealant, which is almost invisible on the finished model. However, artisanal body work cannot boast of such skill, and where there should be a flat, smooth surface, new formations appear that look like caked paint.

The situation is more complicated with welds. In some workshops, as well as in factories, spot welding is used. But upon careful examination, “non-native points” can be distinguished. They are less even and have traces of burns. Everything is much easier if the craftsmen used seam welding. In this case the difference is obvious. The presence of spot welding marks on one side of the body and their absence on the other indicates that the car has undergone serious body repairs.

How to distinguish a damaged car by the size of the gaps? Very simple. We compare two such gaps on both sides of the car. If the values are the same, there is nothing to worry about, but if they are different, there is cause for concern. An insignificant difference, at first glance, can lead to very serious consequences. The gap tends to gradually increase up to the thickness of a finger. All doors should close and open without any extraneous sounds, jamming or effort. Otherwise, we can say that they want to sell you a used car. It is very important that the geometry of the body is not disrupted. Such a defect can lead to tragic consequences. Pay attention to the uniformity of tire wear and whether the wheel alignment angle is set. If you have any doubts, it is better to contact specialists who have equipment capable of assessing the geometry of the car body.

We hope our selection helped you answer the question: how to distinguish a damaged car and not fall into the hands of unscrupulous sellers. Be careful.

Why check paint thickness at all?

The thickness of the paint coating (LPC) determines whether the car body has been repainted or repaired after an accident. This means that it is possible to determine whether there were any accidents at all.

A car is painted in two cases:

For cosmetic purposes - due to a scratch or minor accident.
After a serious accident.

Not only a used car, but also a new one can be tinted. If you are not an expert, it is difficult to determine by eye whether a car is painted: with careful repairs, the coating cannot be distinguished. Therefore, you need to measure it with a thickness gauge.

You can still buy a car after cosmetic painting, for example with a repainted wing, even if the thickness gauge shows deviations from the norm. But deviations are a reason for bargaining.

If the car was in a serious accident in which the body structure was damaged, then it is not a car, but junk on wheels. Being in such a car is life-threatening: you never know what kind of damage remains in the body, what could come off or jam, and in the event of an accident there is generally a huge risk. You can buy such a car only for spare parts.

It is important to understand the reason for the painting and exclude a serious accident. Ask to dictate the car's VIN - identification number - and check the car's history on the traffic police website. If the car is from Moscow, additionally check it with the Autocode service. This way you will find out whether the car was in an accident and in what circumstances. It's free.

If the seller refuses to name the wine, do not buy the car. Most likely, they are trying to cruelly deceive you.

DataLife Engine – Softnews Media Group

Most people prefer to buy used cars rather than from scratch at a dealership. The assortment of the secondary car market is quite colorful. You can buy cars of all famous brands, of any price range and external condition. Usually the price corresponds to the quality of the car, but there is a whole business restoring damaged cars, which are sold with a beautiful external gloss and appearance like perfectly good ones. After purchasing such a car, you can expect any adverse consequences.

In order for each car enthusiast who is planning to purchase a used car to understand what technical condition it is in, as well as the risk of accidents, we suggest reading this article.

A broken car quickly rots

The car must be inspected only during the daytime. If you are shown a car with a large layer of dirt, this is a sign that most likely there are major defects on the body, and the seller tried to hide them in this way. A damaged car quickly rots, so you need to pay attention to all problem areas: sills, wheel arches and underbody. You definitely need to lift the purchased equipment on a lift or overpass; in extreme cases, an inspection pit will do.

Checking the color

External inspection should be done not only close, but also from afar. This way it will be possible to determine whether the shades of the color of the coating are completely the same on all parts of the car, or whether there are still differences. If the car has been in a minor accident, then usually only partially the body parts are repainted. To see differences in color shades, it is necessary to inspect the body not under the rays of the sun, but in partial shade. You also need to pay attention to the width of the gaps between the body parts. A damaged car has irregularities in the geometry of the body and most often this will be visible to the naked eye. When the body has different gaps between the fenders, hood and doors or a skewed trunk line, there has been an accident.

Look at the headlights and glass

You can find out whether the car has been totaled by looking closely at the headlights. If one of the headlights was damaged in an accident, the pair will differ from each other. The headlights will be the same in color and other parameters, but will certainly differ in the serial number, which is engraved on the headlight.

You also need to check the serial number markings on all glasses. If the windows have not been changed, they will have the same stamp, and if you notice a mismatch, it means most likely the car was after an accident.

After purchasing any used car, you need to change the engine oil, since it is unknown what was put in there before you.

What is a thickness gauge

A thickness gauge is a device for measuring the thickness of a paint coating. Looks like a small box.

There are many models of thickness gauges on the market, just like smartphones.

Some thickness gauges work at temperatures below zero, others do not. Some models measure aluminum parts, others only work on steel surfaces.

I recommend using professional thickness gauges - these are, for example, models Etari ET111, Etari ET11p, Autotest 112. You can buy one for 5000-7000 rubles.

But if you change your car every three years or less often and don’t plan to use a thickness gauge often, then there’s no point in buying one. You can just rent. It costs from 300 to 500 rubles per day.

Hundreds of thickness gauges are rented out on Avito

What the thickness gauge will show

Using a thickness gauge is simple: take a calibrated device and apply it to the car body at a right angle. It will immediately show the coating thickness in micrometers. One micrometer is one thousandth of a millimeter.

I applied the thickness gauge to the body of my car. Coating thickness - 117 microns. Everything is fine, my car was not painted (I already knew this, but for your use as an example)

The higher the value the thickness gauge shows, the larger the paint layer and the higher the likelihood that this car was repaired after an accident. Typically, the factory paint layer on steel parts of a car is no more than 200 microns.

Readings above 200 microns indicate repainting.

Readings of up to 300 microns occur if a cosmetic defect has been painted over on the car, for example a scratch from a key. This does not affect the safety of passengers in any way, but you can still bargain.

Readings closer to 1000 microns indicate that there is still putty under the paint. A body element with such indications was definitely severely deformed in an accident and was puttied during repairs. If the work is done poorly, the paint on the putty may crack and fall off over time.

More than 1000 microns is a sign of serious body repair, which means participation in a serious accident. It is better not to buy a machine with a coating layer of more than 1000 microns.

2000 microns is the maximum value that the thickness gauge can show. If the layer is thicker, the device will not show numbers. This means that there is a lot of putty at this point.

Check in advance what the factory paint thickness should be on the car model you are going to buy. This information can usually be easily googled using a query like “Mazda 3 paintwork thickness.” A small scatter of readings is acceptable, but not more than 60 microns.

There are comparative tables of normal coating thickness for different cars on the Internet.

Broken or not? Visual inspection

The “first acquaintance” with the car should be made only in clear weather, because it makes it easier to detect the presence of any defects.

It is best to start a visual inspection with the body. Take a couple of steps back and look at the entire car. Try to catch the differences in shades between the parts, repeat the inspection from different angles. Defects are best manifested if you “catch” at the details a glare from the sun or a glare from another light source and visually “travel” this glare over the entire surface under study. To detect traces of putty or dents, you need to stand at an angle to the car - when viewed tangentially, such defects become more noticeable.

If the defects are still not visible visually, but the feeling of anxiety does not go away, then you can use a thickness gauge or simply an ordinary magnet wrapped in fabric. The thickness gauge will determine the coating layer and display the data on the screen, and a magnet attached to the body will simply fall off in those places where putty is present under the paint layer. It is necessary to examine not only the sides of the car, but also the wheel arches, the ends of the doors and the roof. If the magnet does not hold, this may also indicate severe corrosion hidden under the paint.

Inspect the tires, because their uneven wear may indicate irregularities in the geometry.

A more detailed examination of a used car

After completing the visual inspection, you can begin checking the engine and transmission. An experienced car enthusiast will need just one look under the hood to appreciate all the nuances, but if you are not a professional, then you need to carefully inspect the engine for oil leaks.

Next, you need to inquire about the condition of the liquid from the cooling system; if a foamed emulsion is found there, this means that the engine heats up excessively when driving and it is better to refuse to buy such a car.

It doesn’t hurt to unscrew the oil filler plug to check its surface for the presence of black resin, which will indicate that cheap mineral water was poured into the engine.

A sign of a damaged car is often a worn-out gearbox. Therefore, the STRUS and their anthers should be inspected for cracks.

Its interior can tell a lot about the history of a car. It is no secret that after an accident during the body repair process, all body parts are treated with an anti-corrosion coating. If there is new anticorrosive on the floor in the cabin or there are traces of mastic, then this should make you wary - most likely the car has recently been repaired. And the presence of moisture under the mats indicates that the bottom of the car has begun to rust.

After the floor, you need to inspect the seats. Their looseness, sagging and wear indicate long-term use and impressive mileage. The same goes for pedals. The shabby interior and the presence of low mileage on the speedometer mean that its mileage was rewinded.

Then you can start working on the chassis. Bent suspension arms of a car or the presence of traces of “interference” in the structure most likely indicate that the car has been in an accident. Also measure the distance between the suspension struts; if it differs by more than 5 mm from the parameter stated in the data sheet, then most likely the car was hit. Don't forget to check the integrity of the steering rack and power steering pump.

If you still have doubts, it is better to agree with the seller about additional inspection of the car by specialists.

The low cost of a car often worries buyers. The owner motivates the sale by family circumstances, financial difficulties or the purchase of a new car. These arguments do not always reflect the real state of affairs, since the car may have defects. A car that has been driven for less than a month may be involved in a serious accident. In this case, the low price does not compensate for the problems that arise during further operation. Having discovered that the car has been repainted, potential buyers often refuse to purchase it even with a significant discount.

How to calibrate a thickness gauge

To give accurate results, the thickness gauge must be calibrated. Calibration gets lost due to temperature changes or if the battery runs out.

To calibrate the thickness gauge, metal plates are used, which are sold with it. If you rent an instrument, ask the owner to calibrate it in front of you and provide you with rental calibration plates just in case.

The calibration plates look like this:

My thickness gauge has two gauge plates because it works on both steel and aluminum parts. The device must be calibrated separately for steel and aluminum. If the thickness gauge only works on one metal, there will be one plate.

The kit usually includes a special calibration film, which is used for adjustment.

The calibration process is simple - place the thickness gauge on the plate and reset the readings to zero:

We apply the calibration film to the plate and place the device on top:

The thickness gauge should show the numbers printed on the film. If this does not happen, repeat the procedure.