Replaced and repainted metal panels on a vehicle indicate previous accidents, vandalism, fender benders, racing abuse and various other hidden defects that dealers and vehicle history reports may not disclose. Federal Laws protecting consumers have been put in place all over the world to protect your rights against deceitful sales practices and hidden product defects. Unfortunately, car dealerships and sellers have remained unaffected and are still able to take advantage of consumers when selling vehicles. Even just one repainted panel greatly affects the value of a vehicle, regardless of the reason such panel was repainted. Dealers will subtract thousands off a trade-in offer to you whether it be for a simple parking lot ding or a serious collision. Shouldn’t you be able to subtract thousands on the purchase of the vehicle as well? Here is a just a short list of some defects you can identify with our paint thickness gauges that vehicle history reports will not disclose:
- Collisions with other vehicles settled outside of insurance and without a police report;
- Collisions with stationary objects or animals that a previous owner repaired outside of insurance;
- Fully repainted exterior to repair racing abuse;
- Repainted front to repair road rash and chips;
- Vandalism, scratches, key marks and other damage repaired outside of insurance;
- Car accidents that are not tracked by information reporting agencies used by companies such as CARFAX® and AUTOCHECK®;
- Damage by inclement weather such as acid rain or hail repaired outside of insurance;
- Damage occurring during dealer transport of a vehicle;
- Repainting to repair aftermarket paint modifications; and
- Repair of everyday wear and tear such as parking lot dings, scratches and the like.
Even if a vehicle's repair work is excellent, a consumer needs to know what they are buying and whether they are paying the right price. As an example, a 2008 BMW 550i with 12,000 miles has a Kelley Blue Book value of $56,495 retail and about $48,600 trade-in. This value assumes the car is in perfect condition and has original paint. This same car with 1 repainted panel, such as a fender or a door, is worth $46,300 on a trade-in. This same car with 2 or more consecutive repainted panels (such as the hood and 2 fenders, one entire side or the entire rear) is worth $42,300. Finally, this same car with an entirely new paint job is worth approximately $26,000 on trade in. If a dealer will deduct from the amount they will pay for your trade based on repainted panels, it is only fair that the consumer will deduct from the asking price an amount to account for repainted panels.
