How to Check a Car for Damage

While you can intially find obvious repaired vehicle damage, you should still take the car to a mechanic.

If you're considering a used car, you can benefit by taking the vehicle to a mechanic to check for damages. Trained mechanics can recognize previous body work and repairs that most people cannot. However, if you would like to check for damage yourself, you can do so while paying close attention to detail.

Instructions

1. Make sure the hood, trunk and all doors are closed on the vehicle. Stand back from it so you can view the paint and body panels, and then walk around the car slowly. Ensure all of the paint matches; all panels should be the same color.

2. Check to make sure all panels and each part of the car show equal wear on the paint. If the whole car has light buff marks and one door and nearby panel do not, you can assume it has been repainted. Also, all panels, along with the trunk and hood, should be equally spaced. No side should be uneven.

3. Open the doors, trunk and hood. Look closely at any bolt and washer placement, ensuring that none appear to have been out of place, as this means that the bolts have in fact been moved since the original factory settings. Do the same for the trunk and under the hood.

4. Compare bolt washers and welding on parallel sides, which should be equal. For example, if one side of the trunk has bolts and the other side has screws, it has been poorly repaired. The same applies to the doors and under the hood.

5. Check for new parts under the hood. While this can prove hard to identify, if you find that one side of the car shows age on its parts and the other side is fresh, clean and new, the car may have been damaged and repaired.

6. Look closely at the tires. Identify any uneven wear, which could signify frame damage. If the inside of the front tires are worn but not the outside, you can safely assume that the vehicle has been in an accident.

7. Make an appointment with a mechanic if the vehicle looks good, or if you suspect that it has sustained previous damage.

Tips & Warnings

• Check the vehicle's title as well. Any title that states "flood," "salvage" or "fire damage" means the car has been damaged but fixed to return to the road after passing a state quality inspection.

• You can also run a vehicle history report on the car, but the reports are not always accurate.

References

• Samarins: How to Inspect a Car Body When Buying a Used Car