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Old Feb 18, 2019 | 07:10 PM
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Default Carfax question

I was looking at a preowned C7 online and the carfax reported damage. The salesperson said that it was likely small damage because the owner didn’t report an accident. I know I would have it fully checked out prior to any purchase. The question is - if the damage was minor, would you buy it if the price was good or would it really hurt the resale value in the future?
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Old Feb 18, 2019 | 07:44 PM
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Totally depends on what the damage was.
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Old Feb 18, 2019 | 08:00 PM
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Originally Posted by Cliffp
I was looking at a preowned C7 online and the carfax reported damage. The salesperson said that it was likely small damage because the owner didn’t report an accident. I know I would have it fully checked out prior to any purchase. The question is - if the damage was minor, would you buy it if the price was good or would it really hurt the resale value in the future?


I would not buy it. I dont care how insignificant the damage may or may not be. It will hurt the resale value. If you trade it in down the road the dealer will pull a car fax and see the " damage" reported ....BOOM you just lost several thousand on trade, but hey you can always tell them it was only minor damage...no big deal right?

Of course the sales guy said it was minor ...fact is he has NO idea what happened.
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Old Feb 18, 2019 | 08:02 PM
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Although a clean car fax is not a guarantee the car was never damaged, its is foolish to ignore a report . Of course the sales man is going to say it was only a scratch.

That being said with the way cars are constructed to day with crush zones engineered to absorb energy, and then understanding a car is never rebuilt the same was as it was constructed at the factory , Knowing that one bonded seams relys on the adjoining bonding seam. Me personally would get rid of a car like a corvette after an axcedent . With all of these garage kept queens going up for sale lately with the new C8 coming out I would not purchased a damaged car unless I seen the insurance repair bill
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Old Feb 18, 2019 | 08:22 PM
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Originally Posted by Cliffp
I was looking at a preowned C7 online and the carfax reported damage. The salesperson said that it was likely small damage because the owner didn’t report an accident. I know I would have it fully checked out prior to any purchase. The question is - if the damage was minor, would you buy it if the price was good or would it really hurt the resale value in the future?
Most (not all) car salesman will tell you anything to sell a car. The fact that he even speculated it was “small damage” when there is NO WAY he could know that, tells me he is completely full of crap. I’d walk away. But hey, I’m sure he’d buy it back no questions asked if it turns out he was wrong, right?


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Old Feb 18, 2019 | 09:59 PM
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Carfax has ruined many good cars with bull **** reports with wrong information? If Carfax wants to report accident damage on a car than disclose the full police report stating the damage then let the consumer decide if they for themselves if they want to buy or pass?
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Old Feb 19, 2019 | 08:02 AM
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Yep, diminished value, here it is in use.
I would not buy unless there was a substantial discount.

When you go to sell, this report will affect your sales price.

Good luck.
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Old Feb 19, 2019 | 08:39 AM
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You have to remember - anything that was repaired via Insurance will most likely show up on CarFax. The car could have a bent wheel or bumped a curb and bent a skid plate... I dont consider those things "accidents" or "damage". A fender bender, a rear collision, flood damage...those are things I would walk away from...not the minor stuff.

Before you buy - you need to get the full ACCURATE story behind what was the "damage" that made it to that CarFax report.

If you post the VIN - there are other sites to see the details of the accident (not 100% but sometimes)...
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Old Feb 19, 2019 | 08:43 AM
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Here is the vin for you experts!

i appreciate the help and responses!
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Old Feb 19, 2019 | 09:05 AM
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The car may have had some minor damage but you will never know that ( neither does the salesman ) unless you had the repair invoice. I guess without that document, you have to expect the worst...buyer beware here
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Old Feb 19, 2019 | 09:09 AM
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Originally Posted by Mayor111
You have to remember - anything that was repaired via Insurance will most likely show up on CarFax. The car could have a bent wheel or bumped a curb and bent a skid plate... I dont consider those things "accidents" or "damage". A fender bender, a rear collision, flood damage...those are things I would walk away from...not the minor stuff.

Before you buy - you need to get the full ACCURATE story behind what was the "damage" that made it to that CarFax report.

If you post the VIN - there are other sites to see the details of the accident (not 100% but sometimes)...
So the A8 shutter problem would not show up under car fax?
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Old Feb 19, 2019 | 09:17 AM
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probably a snow plow ran into it on the dealer's lot. sales person wouldn't know about it because it is an internal thing between the general manager and the body shop. lawyer will charge you $10k to search and discover the bills from body to the GM and then tell you the cost was less than the percentage of damage cost required to report it. so no foul on the dealership. but some penny pinching green eyeshade type filed through the dealership insurance and then carfax knows, and there goes the ball game.

there are over 100,000 c7 vettes without a carfax damage brand. which ones do you think get the first cut by a prospective buyer in his elimination rounds on buying a C7? gonna keep it for life? don't we all say that at purchase....
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Old Feb 19, 2019 | 09:31 AM
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This is all I could find without having to pay for a report - sorry it wasn't more help:

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Old Feb 19, 2019 | 09:33 AM
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Originally Posted by Big Lebowski
Most (not all) car salesman will tell you anything to sell a car. The fact that he even speculated it was “small damage” when there is NO WAY he could know that, tells me he is completely full of crap. I’d walk away. But hey, I’m sure he’d buy it back no questions asked if it turns out he was wrong, right?

I must say that I am truly impressed that you have taken the time to speak with most [not all] of the approximate one million car salesmen in this country to enable you to make this blanket statement!
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