Is this enough to show no big accidents in the cars past?

[AnimalMother7]

Thanks for everyone’s help so far on this car.
Is this video enough to show there’s been no big accidents?

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[ORRadtech]

The short answer, I'm sorry to say, is no.
It's enough to show the undercarriage doesn't show significant damage or obvious wear.
But proof of never being in a wreck, no.
I'll ask again, what did the mechanic you hired to inspect it have to say?

 

[23GreenGremlin]

The one thing about the video that jumped out to me was in the first few seconds there is a brace on the driver's side that looks very clean (tag hanging off of it) compared to the passenger side brace. May be nothing but any time something looks like it has a different amount of weathering or dirt, I would definitely take a closer look. Getting a Carfax isn't perfect, but for a pretty reasonable fee, it does show you a lot about the car including how many times it has actually been transferred, some dealership reported maintenance, emissions testing and failures. Just one of many tools that you can now access.

 

[AnimalMother7]

The short answer, I'm sorry to say, is no.
It's enough to show the undercarriage doesn't show significant damage or obvious wear.
But proof of never being in a wreck, no.
I'll ask again, what did the mechanic you hired to inspect it have to say?

Mechanic said:



“Honestly though, I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Whatever past life it’s had… it’s still in excellent shape”

That being said he’s a mechanic vs an auto body guy. Cars going to the auto body shop Tuesday and despite that I’ll still get a lemon squad inspection just to be sure.

 

[K4fxd]

The new part with the tag is a new caster arm, could be as simple as a ball joint that went bad. If there was any crash damage they did a great job fixing it.

 

[AnimalMother7]

Carfax actually shows the control (caster) arm

 

[ORRadtech]

The one thing about the video that jumped out to me was in the first few seconds there is a brace on the driver's side that looks very clean (tag hanging off of it) compared to the passenger side brace. May be nothing but any time something looks like it has a different amount of weathering or dirt, I would definitely take a closer look.

I saw that too but it's a '16 with over 100k miles. It not out of the realm of possibility that some suspension parts have been replaced. Still not proof of a wreck.
I will say that if the chipped paint is on the same side/corner as the newer looking part it might bear further checking.
I will say again though, even if it suffered damage in the past, as long as it was properly repaired that's not a reason to dismiss it.
It sounds like you're doing everything right for your due diligence.
Hope it works out for you.

 

[AnimalMother7]

I saw that too but it's a '16 with over 100k miles. It not out of the realm of possibility that some suspension parts have been replaced. Still not proof of a wreck.
I will say that if the chipped paint is on the same side/corner as the newer looking part it might bear further checking.
I will say again though, even if it suffered damage in the past, as long as it was properly repaired that's not a reason to dismiss it.
It sounds like you're doing everything right for your due diligence.
Hope it works out for you.

Thanks. That chip was over the passenger rear, I’ll definitely keep you all posted. I really don’t mind the higher miles since it’s just for nice days around town. I doubt we’ll put 5k miles a year on it.

 

[#1ford]

If I was that worried about buying any car,I would pass!!!! When in doubt throw it out ! I guess this would apply ? Best of luck to you what ever you choose to do .

 

[shogun32]

Is this video enough to show there’s been no big accidents?

Someone took the M6 out and put in the A6.

 

[AnimalMother7]

If I was that worried about buying any car,I would pass!!!! When in doubt throw it out ! I guess this would apply ? Best of luck to you what ever you choose to do .

Bad experience in the past. It’s a “we won’t get fooled again” kinda deal.

 

[ORRadtech]

If I was that worried about buying any car,I would pass!!!! When in doubt throw it out ! I guess this would apply ? Best of luck to you what ever you choose to do .

If I was buying from out of state I hope I'd do the same kind of due diligence.
Have a mechanic inspect it, ask people familiar with the car for opinions. Doesn't seem excessive to me. Seems smart.

 

[Pittpa]

FYI, regarding Carfax, I bought a four-year-old car sometime ago that was a certified pre-owned Subaru Legacy GT turbo. The Carfax showed no accidents, but it did show ann alignment at a body shop. I called the body shop and they said there was an associated collision estimate with an insurance company. I got the claim number and called my friend at that company and he advised me the car was stolen twice in the first 12 months, and been in accidents each time. But it was all sheet metal no structural damage. I checked with the service department of the Subaru dealership and they told me the car had had a short block and turbo put in the year before at 46,000 miles.
I did buy the car but the point is that some things don’t show up on Carfax for a few years. These theft claims and accidents showed up on Carfax later on after I bought the car. If I didn’t have a friend over at the insurance company I’d probably couldn’t find out those details.

 

[Bigred911s]

Must be a northern car because there is quite a bit of underside surface corrosion.

 

[AnimalMother7]

It is, Canada actually. Probably no worse than Chicago though.

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