Hello all!
I know it is a stupid question but anyways how bad it is to buy a car which was in an accident? It is a private sale for 02 TL S and the seller provides all the papers from a dealer. Last summer the car hit the fence on the highway, front left side was changed completly along with the hood and front airbags. Total repair cost was about 14K. BEfore this, the car was very well maintained but... this accident makes me feel very uncomfortable. Any ideas how bad it could be in the future. Any ideas will help.

Best regards.

 

I would never buy a car that had that much damage. Keep looking for a accident free TL.

 

keep looking....too much potential to be problematic.

 

You should know the answer by now. Definitely NO to a used vehicle with an accident history.

 

I'd pass on that car. Too many unknowns with that type of damage.

Does the car now have a salvage title? If so, that would void warranty coverage. And that's a big deal since the TL has significant transmission reliability problems.

 

Thx for your ideas !
no salvage title, and the car is still under comprehansive warranty till 09/07 and for tranny till 2009.

 

Don't do it, I did.. My previous car had problem after problem. They were minor but time consuming.

Does it have any frame damage? You wanna make sure that the frame will hold up if its in another accident.

 

the dealer says that the frame was not damaged, but a subframe was changed. I have no idea what is a subframe though

 

Anyone seen Longest Yard with Adam Sandler?

"I'm sorry... I brokeded your toy."

 

Also, never buy a car with rust. I learned that lesson the hard way with my first Accord.

 

No dont buy it, find one that wasnt in an accident

 

oh yea, dont buy it...accidented cars are no good..

 

with everyone.... 14K is way too much damage to buy that car.

if it was like 2 or 3K MAYBE get it, but that is way too much damage for me to be comfortable with.

keep looking, you'll find a better one

 

I would think of what the repairs were. If most of the cost was repair work, then I would avoid it. If most of it was something like paint and the actual cost was fairly low, then there shouldn't be a problem I would assume. My last accident was about 10k, but that was mainly due to a compete repaint of the entire vehicle. No major components were damaged and she runs better then before the accident, which I thought was strange when I got her back.

Not saying that it is a good purchase, but see what was repaired beforehand and judge the purchase from there.

 

haha i bet youre like damn! but i wanted a tl-s soooo badddd.

id just go with what random thought said first about paint and stuff. but 14k does seem pretty high. good luck!

 

same thing with me... cept worse... my first car i owned for a year almost to the day... bought it with the service engine light on... first mistake... bought it while it was getting dark outside... second mistake... didnt notice til a few days later the front fender was also discolored (sign of an accident) and 1 headlight was cleaner than the other (like it had been replaced) needless to say paid 9100 for the car, put in 3000 worth of work to get it running to normal... was so fed up with it i sold it for 8,000 (do the math on the losses and bare in mind i was a 17 year old kid with a part time job haha) then i bought the TL and im in love with it... i shopped around for 2 months before finding the perfect one from here on acurazine... check the black market... thats how i came across my car with everything i wanted.. no problems, extremely clean, and a negotiable price that iw as comfortable paying... not to mention i dealt with a good guy who owned the car last.. unfortunately my TB and motor mounts just went which i had to pay for.. and i went thru a tranny but that was covered... but things are going to go on a car with 80k+ miles...

long story short dont buy crashed up cars... check the black market b.c everyone on here loves their cars and most likely have taken great care of them... and there are usually people on here who can vouch for the seller... good luck.

 

there's the biggest problem with the car. besides being in an accident, never ever... EVER EVER EVER... trust the dealer.

 

accidanted ?

 

to buy a car thats been in an accident is in one way good.
well i mean it as if the car you are going to buy is still to be repaired.. then it is good... because you will know how you repair the car and you are aware of the problems it will or has.

if someone had an accidented car.. and it was fixed by them then you wouldnt know whats wrogn with the car...

but buying a car thats been in an accident and still needs to be repaired is GOOD in my opinion.. and a car thats been in an accident and is repaired already isnt a good buy.. its what i think

 

its kinda funny how everyone is saying DON'T BUY IT. all my life i am always owned salvaged cars and they have never ever given me a problem. BUT YEAH i guess don;t buy it!

 

thanks all! I'm really thinking hard know... The car looks so nice, and the price is sort of for my pocket.
About the damage: air bags were replaced by origanls, the front bumper, the subframe, left front suspension, left front fender and for some reason back bumper too. bodyshop manager is about to give a breakdown on what was repaired, there is another thing, the guy who owns the car is somehow related to someone in dealership and I cant really trust them anymore. Anyways... the bottom line question is it possible to have an accidented car and not having big problems due to that or the accident itself means that the car will have lots of problems.

 

It's hard to say. I would assume that a good body/repair shop would fix all the problems and it would run just as good, if not better, than it was before. I have yet to have any problems with my car. I had the hood, front bumper, driver side fender, driver side rear knuckle and 5 link replaced, as well as the entire car being repainted with no problems at all thus far.

Then again, a body shop that doesn't give a crap could make it look right, but in actuality is a piece of junk. I remember one member of the forums having to have his car go back maybe 4 or 5 times for repairs because they did a piss poor job. See if the repair shop was reputable and check the repairs yourself, or with a mechanic that you trust. And of couse TEST DRIVE the sucker first.

 

Be careful. It sounds to me that the car had enough damage to twist or bend the frame at least a little. And that will at least give bad tire wear. Then the owner is related to someone at the dealership. That is another twist.
The relative may have made sure that it was fixed a close to perfect for his family member. Or they may have conspired to make it sound like it was fixed properly, but maybe it wasn't. Who knows, but my opinion, don't do it. Could be too shady of a deal.

"Good things come to those who wait."

Not sure who said that but you get the idea.

 

If you want it that bad then get it. but like Doc said "good things come to those who wait"
You'll find the perfect deal..just be patient. Why take the chance? If you think its worth the risk then go for it.

 

You all say that its bad to buy car that was in accident. This is not always true, my car was in accident, few front panels got replaced, no damage to drive-train, the body shop did an excellent job, its been 3 year since, and the car drives like new.

 

And I wouldn't buy your car either. Buzzer777 there are plently of accident free cars out there so keep looking.

 

the extent of the damage is what is in question... $14,000 in repairs most likely = more than just cosmetics... which can lead to numerous problems down the road if not repaired right.

 

everyone has to understand that when you take a car to a dealership body shop the repaires are costing $14k but when you take it some where else and tell then that you insurance is not paying than the estimate is like 6K. Everyone trust me on this one. Uncle owns a autobody shop is queens NYC and i worked for him for 8 Months. I once bought a car from a guy who had gotten a quote from a acura dealership for $13k and i got in fixed at my uncle's shop and the total reapir cost me about $1800 thats it and lets just say if he wasen't related to me than he would have charged me the MAX 3K. Dealership bodyshops are a RIP OFF but they do get the job done right though. why don;t you tell us exactly what kinda a deal this guy is telling you and i will tell you if its a good deal or not consedring the fact that i hjave had more than 7 Salvage acura's in the past year alone not including three of them that i own right now. Pm me if needed

 

Buying a car that was in an accident is hit and miss. Sometimes you won't have any problems with the car if it was fixed properly. My cousin bought a car that had no serious accident but the suspension was f**ked up. Several thousands of $$ later, the car still does not drive properly.

The choice is up to YOU!

 

i wouldnt buy it... theres alot of TLs out there to buy

 

Again, thx a lot to all.
INSPIRE, what can u say about this deal? 12.3 K (CAD) for 2002 Tl with about 68K was damaged for repairs of 14K left front suspension was chaneged too as well as a right one.
Breaks are finished completly! But outside looks very good.

 

What does the Carfax say?

 

I was surprised when I ran a Carfax report and it said no accidents at all. Does an accident have to be a specific one to get recorded by Carfax?

 

LOL,.. I was thinking the same thing. My current TL is on a Salvage title and drives like a dream. Of course I did my due diligence when I bought it, but it was a significant bargaining point. Personally, I don't think accidents are that big of a deal depending on the severity. I mean, if you can have the car inspected by a third party mechanic and he says it's ok, then go for it. Just make sure the dealer will back you if you have any problems with it.

 

oh,.. and Carfax is far from perfect. It doesn't catch everything.

 

my 2000 acura TL got in a REAL bad car crash about 5 weeks ago..








not just this gentlemen... but also one of the transmission solenoids was destroyed.. it had bent my chasis.. yeah.. REAL bad.. an acura bodyshop gave me a inspected computerized estimate that was goin to be over $8,000!!!!! .. i felt like crying!!! i went to a regular bodyshop.. the job was doing for about $2,500... EVERYTHING repaired and painted.... if u want the car, just get it... i dont think it can be that bad.. i got my car back and it drives PERFECT.. cant be happier!! sucks i had some money saved for the OEM kit and all that.. i had to waste it all on that repairs!!

 

my accident was about 5 weeks ago if i can remember =D... haha was suppose to pick up the car today but they put HOLES in my new bumper.... so they are getting that fixed so will be picking it up on saturday and my accident was almost the same as yours... worth up to 13000$$ of damage.. but my damage happened on the left side if you are facing the front of the car

 

for 30% less it's worth it, but not full price. A few panels or body damage is ok, but not front end, (air bags ejaculating)

 

Mig that's not too bad, maybe 4-5K in fixing

 

i already fixed it for like 2,500....