Thinking recently in both terms of selling or buying a car what impact a body repair has on the value of the car. I know if you were to trade in and there had been work carried out, even where professionally done, you will get a much reduced price. But I was wondering when buying a car, if there had been work done, is there any way of quantifying how much less you should pay. 

 

Reason is, I have bought a car and just found that the cill has been resprayed. It's not noticeable when the doors are closed and only the masking tape residue gave it away. I have gone back and asked for the full details of the work, but value wise, I would expect to have the price reduced by as much as the repair cost in this instance (prob min £250 going by recent experience with bodyshops), I'm sure the garage would do the same if the shoe were on the other foot.

 

Anyone else have experience of selling/ buying repaired cars?

In this day and age with smart repairs etc there are 1000's of cars with paint repairs. Why would someone discount the price if they have paid for the repair

Nothing. If it is not noticeable then you should act as if it weren't there. If someone smashed a window on your house and you had the glass replaced with your logic the value of your house has just been reduced by the cost of the glass. That is ridiculous and totally uncalled for. fair enough if they had repaired it to a level where you could tell that it had been done by either doing a bad job or not quite getting the colour right due to the rest of the car being faded ect then you would be well within your right to complain and get it at a lower price but not if it is a good repair.

Again nothing, providing the work is done to a good standard.

Depends. Depends what the price is and what the buyers after.

Personally, im abit anal, ive got an eye for a paint repair and if its going to be my pride and joy, im not interested if i can tell its been done.

a paint repair can just be the start. You dont always know exactly what happened to the vehicle for it to need a repair.

But then ive sold vehicles in the past and people havent even looked properly, not even appreciated the completely standard condition

Thanks for the responses. 

 

Depends. Depends what the price is and what the buyers after.

Personally, im abit anal, ive got an eye for a paint repair and if its going to be my pride and joy, im not interested if i can tell its been done.

a paint repair can just be the start. You dont always know exactly what happened to the vehicle for it to need a repair.

But then ive sold vehicles in the past and people havent even looked properly, not even appreciated the completely standard condition

 

I would also be fussy about the car. I don't mind where the work has been carried out by a qualified professional and I know what was done and why it was done and this is disclosed at the time of purchase. The position I am in is that I bought the car under the understanding it had no previous damage/ repair on the bodywork. Now I have it I can see evidence of overspray, masking tape residue and mis-matched colour. On the face of it, this is all pretty minor on the door cill, but I have no way of knowing why it was sprayed, the extent or quality of the repair etc etc. Once I have the car the risk becomes mine of any future issues from a possible poor repair.  

Thanks for the responses.

I would also be fussy about the car. I don't mind where the work has been carried out by a qualified professional and I know what was done and why it was done and this is disclosed at the time of purchase. The position I am in is that I bought the car under the understanding it had no previous damage/ repair on the bodywork. Now I have it I can see evidence of overspray, masking tape residue and mis-matched colour. On the face of it, this is all pretty minor on the door cill, but I have no way of knowing why it was sprayed, the extent or quality of the repair etc etc. Once I have the car the risk becomes mine of any future issues from a possible poor repair.

I see! I too would be abit frustrated.

Was it bought off a dealer? Private sale? How msny previous owners? What years the car?

It is not rocket science just buying a car, buyer beware,

and you check and check and take someone else to check as well and if the over spray was there 

and you missed it, then tough luck really.

 

If buying from a Business then it should be as advertised and you ask what they know about the car, 

but where nothing was hidden or withheld from you then it is a fair sale.

You had every opportunity to look for damage and ask if they had a repair done or is the car as they bought it.

Edited 12 June, 201510 yr by goneoffSKi

The car could have been damaged before the seller bought it and If it was an older car then I'd be very surprised if it had no additional paint.

 

You'd be surprised how many brand new cars are driving around with whole panels resprayed due to transit damage with the owners completely oblivious. My Audi has seen some paint, but then its 11 years old with 142K miles on it.

The car could have been damaged before the seller bought it and If it was an older car then I'd be very surprised if it had no additional paint.

You'd be surprised how many brand new cars are driving around with whole panels resprayed due to transit damage with the owners completely oblivious. My Audi has seen some paint, but then its 11 years old with 142K miles on it.

True that. Dad had a £27k brand new golf delivered to find somebody had keyed all down the side.

It came back after having a Bentley repair shop on it. Could still tell with a keen eye, but accepted it because it was a company car. Wouldnt of if it wasnt.

well i have to say as a paint sprayer if the work has been done well in respect of selling a car no one should know it has even been done at all

A trained eye can usually see though cant it.

Ie. If youre in the trade, i bet you can tell?

Mismatches colour, orange peel etc

As Rexbob is saying, professional quality work should not be able to be seen even by professionals, 

Kerb Side Motors work that is sh1te can be identified easily, as can some Factory Finishes which is just as you are describing.

Mismatched Colour (New Fiesta ST on here recently), Orange Peel. (Check the Yeti Section.)

Maybe im just yet to see a finish that good haha

That is because when the is a perfectly carried out repair you do not know you are looking at a re-finishing job is it not.?

For everyone saying it makes no difference, if I have two identical cars for sale, but one was in an accident and repaired, which would you pick?

If you go to trade a car in and they ask if it's been in an accident, you can bet that they will value it lower when you say yes.

 

If it was damaged heavily enough to be a write off then everyone agrees that the value is affected, so why shouldn't this be the case if the work wasn't quite so severe. Don't forget, on a new car this could be many thousands of pounds spent, including fixing some pretty heavy smashes. My Mk1 Octavia was rear ended and shoved into the car in front. It wasn't a write off but it needed to be pulled straight, had new front wings, bonnet, bumper, tailgate, rear bumper and so on.

Do you think that didn't devalue the car at all? Fortunately the insurance company admitted that it *did* and I was able to claim for the reduction in value of the vehicle - something like 15% IIRC.

 

Obviously the exact amount will depend on the car and the extent of the damage - a single panel being resprayed on a 10 year old car is neither here no there. If it's almost new and the whole side has been redone, that's more serious.

And many new unregistered car are damaged in transit before ever reaching the supplying dealers, minor cosmetic and even seriously damaged and repairs are carried out and you are non the wiser.

Repairs done at Distribution Centres were Options and Dealer Options are added, Leather Interiors, Colour Coding Done, and sometimes repairs were cack handed work is done fitting spoliers or the likes.

Edited 15 June, 201510 yr by goneoffSKi

That is because when the is a perfectly carried out repair you do not know you are looking at a re-finishing job is it not.?

Maybe so!

But even on family and friends cars which i know has been done

Name and shame that repairers and slap the friends and family with a wet fish and ask why they all keep accepting crap work.

When I bought our car I hadn't noticed originally that the N/S rear quarter panel had been sprayed. I only noticed after about 2 years (slight orange peel effect). Then some lovely lorry driver decided to hit that panel for us a few weeks back.

 

So it's been repaired again. The repair job they did is amazing. I've looked at it from all angles and up close (after sorting out the rubbish polishing job they did) and I honestly can't see a single sign of it being done.

 

I think if the repair is done to a very high standard then it shouldn't really matter. Obviously if the repair were to involve some proper structural repairs etc then it might be another story. But light body damage that's been repaired to a high standard... no.

 

Phil

My Fabia had work, I couldn't spot it no matter how much I looked.

I see! I too would be abit frustrated.

Was it bought off a dealer? Private sale? How msny previous owners? What years the car?

2 year old bought from a franchised dealer (same brand as car). I asked in advance had it any damage/ repairs and was told no. Even told that the staff knew the previous owner very well (return customer) and it was a genuine car.

 

Only on very close inspection (doors open and inspected cill) did I notice black residue where masking tape had been on the cills from front to back. There was also overspray on a piece of black plastic (small piece) where the front door meets the bulkhead?. On closer inspection, there is overspray residue on the inner wheel arch at the front and below this on part of the sub-frame (easily seen underneath). I can't tell without having a plastic side skirt removed if the actual work is good or not, but the way it has been left is not a tidy job.

 

My priority now is to make sure whatever was done was done properly (no structural issues), then I will be asking how after alleged 3 inspections and checks, that the garage didn't see the obvious work which I have picked up on.

 

I notified the dealer within 5 hours of collecting the car of the problem.

Is this a Skoda or some other car.?

 

So is it a 2 year old car from new, and you have bought it used,

are they saying they took the car in as a Trade in or returned car, and was it through their workshop or preparation for re-sale,

or do they out source the preparation?

(not a car just bought in at auction or from Trade?)

 

?

How many miles on the car, and do you have the previous keepers details yet, ?

maybe ask them about the cars history and any damage if they are a private individual or even a company.

Edited 15 June, 201510 yr by goneoffSKi

Is this a Skoda or some other car.?

 

So is it a 2 year old car from new, and you have bought it used,

are they saying they took the car in as a Trade in or returned car, and was it through their workshop or preparation for re-sale,

or do they out source the preparation?

(not a car just bought in at auction or from Trade?)

 

?

How many miles on the car, and do you have the previous keepers details yet, ?

maybe ask them about the cars history and any damage if they are a private individual or even a company.

Not a skoda, 2yrs old from new taken in through a trade-in from a regular customer with about 12k on the clock. Everything else is in excellent condition, just this repair that bugs me. I'm letting the dealer find out what was done and will then probably get it independently inspected for peace of mind. Not at the stage where I want to trace the previous owner yet.