If you’re in the market for a pre-owned car, it’s always best to get a Carfax history report, so you know where it’s been.  However sometimes, you may be dealing with a vehicle that has no document proof of damage.  Here are some no so obvious ways to check for signs that the car may have been in an accident.

Look closely at the body.

If you look at the car from an angle, where you can see the entire side, it should have a smooth finish.  If there are any type of  ripples or imperfections other than door dings, there’s a good change the car may have been in an accident and repaired previously.  You’ll also want to make sure that all metal pieces line up properly.

Inspect the paint.

Open the doors and hood to make sure the paint is the same on the inside as it is on the outside.  Also look for over spray on areas that aren’t supposed to be painted, such as knobs.  This could be a red flag that repair has been done after an accident occurred.

Check the hinges

Open the doors, hood, trunk and sunroof/moonroof.  They should all function properly.  Inspect them to make sure the gap between each of them are all the same.  If one side is different than the other, it could mean that it’s been replaced. 

Try the magnet trick.

Car body fillers will not attract a magnet.  What you can do is take a very small magnet and hold it up to different areas of the car.  If it doesn’t not attract in an area that’s metal, that’s probably a good sign of previous damage that has been repaired.

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