Reflection can tell a lot

The easiest way to quickly spot signs of a body repair or a paint job is to look at the reflection. This car, for example, looks line new. The lines are straight and the paint surface is very smooth.

Here, you can see some unevenness in the reflection. It looks like there was some body repair on the rear left fender.

A closer look at the rear fender reveals this: a peeling off clearcoat. It's another sign of a paint job.

The rear corner of this SUV has been repaired. As you can see, the reflection looks not very smooth. Pay closer attention to to area under the gas tank lid and in the corner near the tail light. You can see some unevenness there too.

Check how body panels fit together

See how different body panels fit together. For example, the doors, when closed should be perfectly flush with other panels. The same for the hood, trunk lid and other panels. Look at this blue car, its rear door is not flush when closed; there was some body repair.

Look at this car, the front bumper came loose and if you look closely, the bumper has a slightly different color too. It looks like there was a body repair to this corner. If you notice something like this, the area should be inspected more closely.

Compare opposite sides

Here is a trick: if something doesn't look right, compare it to another side. For example, this used Pontiac Vibe was offered for sale at a new car dealership. A salesperson told us that they just got this car. While checking it closely, we found that the gap between the front fender and the door looks wide on the right side.

Checking the left side showed a totally different picture; the gap was almost non-existent as you can see in these photos. After further inspection we found that this car has been sideswiped, so its entire front end has shifted to one side. When we pointed this to the used car manager, he apologized and took the car off sale. Turns out they haven't noticed this problem when they got this car from a wholesale auction.

We checked this black Toyota at another dealership. The salesperson was honest and mentioned that the vehicle has been restored after an accident; the car was priced low. We opened the hood and it was easy to see. Compare these two photos; can you spot which side of this car has been damaged? This is the left front fender.

This is the right front fender. This corner appears to have been hit, look at the area around those two bolts holding the fender.

what are you looking for?

Watch out for mismatched colors and difference in paint texture

Look closely at the quality of the paint. A fresh paint may have a different texture, or signs of a body repair could be noticeable under the paint. In this photo you can see sandpaper marks that are painted over, which is a clear sign of a previous body repair.

this photo you can see that the paint texture of this door is not very smooth - there was some body repair here. Feel the paint surface with your hand; the original paint finish should be perfectly smooth, while the repainted panel may feel slightly rough and uneven.

See if the color of diffferent panels match

Another way to spot a previous body repair is to compare colors of different panels and see if they don't match. The trick is to look from different angles. Here everything looks right, but a look from the different angle shows an entirely different picture (see photo below).

The front fender is a bit darker, meaning this Toyota has gone through some body repair. Here is another trick: sometimes it's easier to spot mismatched colors by looking from a distance.

Look for paint overspray

At the factory, the new car body is painted before anything is installed on it. This means that any plastic trim or wiring should not show any signs of paint. Here, however, you can see that the door wiring harness has some white paint sprayed on it, which is an indication of a body repair.

Here is another example: if you look closely, a small area of this door trim shows signs of a white paint. This car obviously had a recent paint job.

Check the bolts that connect the hood to the hinges

Here is another tip: open the hood and check the bolts that hold the hood hinges. Here you can clearly see that this bolt has been scratched. This means that the hood was either replaced or readjusted from its original position. There was some body repair here.

This is how these bolts should look like originally. As you can see, these bolts have never been touched after the vehicle was painted at the assembly plant.

Watch out for rust

A few small spots like this is not a big deal, but watch out for major rust.

This rust spot has already been repaired and now it's rusted again. If the car has major rust spots like this, avoid it. If you suspect a repaired rust spot, try to stick a small magnet; it won't stick if there is too much filler and very little metal.

Avoid previously flooded cars

You should definitely avoid used cars that have been flooded in the past. A flooded vehicle is more likely to develop various electrical problems and mold in the future.

This car looks fairly clean and runs good, but something doesn't look right about this speaker mesh. It looks like a dirty water level mark. Was this car flooded?

To confirm we removed the rear trim piece from the center console. There's no questions this car was flooded and you can see the water level marks on the inside of the trim piece. This car should be avoided. A history report can also reveal a previous flood damage. Be suspicious if the history report indicates that the car came from a recent flood zone.

http://www.samarins.com/check/bodycond2.html

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AutosBay:
Reflection can tell a lot

The easiest way to quickly spot signs of a body repair or a paint job is to look at the reflection. This car, for example, looks line new. The lines are straight and the paint surface is very smooth.

Baylam

So are you saying that ANY car which has undergone body work is a bad buy?

Are you expecting someone who's buying a Nigerian used car to avoid any car because of mismatched body panel colours or body panel gaps? The guy no go buy motor be that!

My take is look at the car yourself...if you like it, go for it. Na u dey drive d moto!

I like this thread.

@ Siena thanks

Thanks, AutosBay.

Please continue.We need to know what to look at in the engine and gear.

really detailed piece...please continue with write-ups like this. my colleagues at work really find the car section useful and an eye opener.

@ Adedolapo thanks