How to determine a painted car or not. How do you know if a car has been repainted? Chips of paint on the fixing bolts of body parts

15.07.2019

Salon

Invariably involves spending large sums of money. It is not surprising that the future car owner does not want to waste his money by taking a low-quality vehicle.

Among other things, the car buyer must be able to understand whether the car being sold has a deplorable past. In this article, we will share the secrets on how to check if a car is broken or not.

How are used cars sold?

After a car gets into a serious accident, the car owner, as a rule, decides to sell it. He can give it away in the form in which it is, or take it apart for parts and sell them separately. To increase the proceeds for the sale of a car, the owner can also. If this person is unscrupulous, then, having received a car with a guided "marafet", he will try to sell it under the guise of a whole.

Therefore, you need to be on your guard. A car that has been recently repainted and beckons you with the glossy sheen of its body may well not be as beautiful on the inside.

Where can you "stumble" on a broken car?

It would be useful to talk about where it is easiest to accidentally "stumble" on a broken car that is passed off as a whole one.

If the implementation vehicle If the owner is engaged in it, then he will most likely act through the Internet or through specialized magazines. There he will place ads with photos of the repaired car. Moreover, in the "biography" of the vehicle there will not be the slightest mention of its difficult fate.

If a broken car is sold by resellers, then they are more likely to put it on the car market. Such people earn on the difference that remains after the purchase. broken car and its sale in a renovated form.

If a used car is offered by some firms or, then you need to be doubly careful. Such craftsmen and craftsmen work with them, who can hide almost any defect in the car system without eliminating it.

What is the risk of buying a used car?

When a car gets into a serious accident, many elements of its device suffer. Meanwhile, a car is a well-coordinated organism in which all parts are interconnected. Even if the car was damaged exclusively by the body, this is already threatening trouble.

The fact is that it is almost impossible to return the car to the form in which it left the factory assembly line. Therefore, its shape will change in any case and will not correspond to the clear calculations of the manufacturers.

Violation of the geometry of the body can lead to the following problems:

The camber/toe of the wheels will be broken. Because of this, the tire tread pattern will wear unevenly. Recall that driving on tires with varying degrees wear is dangerous. It is unlikely that it will be possible to eliminate the defects of this node at a service station.
You may notice that the doors, hood or trunk do not close tightly enough, which adversely affects the safety of transporting people and parking the car.
If the geometry of the window openings is violated, the glass of the car will begin to crack. The reason will be hidden in their growing inner tension.

Also, after an accident and subsequent repairs, the car may begin to overcome corrosion. It is extremely difficult to fight her. It is believed that it is completely impossible to eliminate it from the part. If you decide to replace the corroded part with a newer one and weld it on, remember that such an automotive "organ" will resist rust about five times worse than the factory one.

Major accidents have a negative impact on the mechanical strength of the car, and on the condition of its individual units. Because of this, the owner wrecked car can never be sure of the correctness of its technical condition.

But these are only prerequisites that can lead to more sad consequences.

a broken car is much more dangerous to drive than a whole one;
the life of a broken car is much less than that of a whole;
the cost of using and repairing a wrecked car will soon make you forget about the discounts received when buying it.

Therefore, if nerves and money are dear to you, you should not buy a broken car for driving. Only people who are somehow connected with a car service are interested in such a product, but a rare buyer turns out to be one of them.

Now that we know the reasons why you should not buy a wrecked vehicle, it's time to talk about how to recognize wrecked car.

Find out if the car is broken

To begin with, the simplest answer to the question of how to find out if a car is broken or not sounds very concise: “ask the seller.” However, as we have already said, not every owner of a broken car in this case will be honest and tell you the truth.

So it's a good idea to have those skills that will help you visually determine if a car has a sad road history.

To begin with, let's make a reservation that if you want to determine whether the car is broken or not, meet the seller only in daylight hours days. It is desirable that during the inspection the car was clean.

So, now we will talk about specific ways to determine a broken vehicle.

1. Reviewing the Appearance

Well, if nature has endowed you with an excellent eye and high-quality color perception. In the process of checking a car, these qualities will be very useful to you.

Inspect the car from a distance of a few steps. Try to catch if there is a difference in the shades of some of its body parts. See if the proportions are respected, if the car looks symmetrical in front and behind, or if its parts are located at different levels.

It should be noted that if the car is in the shade, and not under the sparkling sunlight, the difference in shades of its parts will be much easier to see.

But at the same time, the sun glare helps to see small defects that would be invisible on a monochromatic car cover in the shade.

The car, which has never been repainted in individual parts, must be all the same shade without any deviations. Violations in its geometry should also cast doubts on a potential buyer.

Experts believe that the presence small dents, cracks, chips or scratches on the car is a good sign. This means that the owner did not try to hide his defects through automotive cosmetics. Such a vehicle looks less suspicious than one with flawless paintwork.

Anyone who decides to approach the purchase of a car with maximum level scrupulousness, we recommend purchasing a special device called a thickness gauge. He will determine what thickness of paint is applied to different parts of the car body. If these figures differ, then the car was painted.

2. We look into the cracks

We continue to check the correct geometry of the vehicle body. To do this, check the gaps.

You should inspect the gaps that are located between the lowered trunk lid and wings, as well as at the closed trunk and closed doors. All these gaps must be the same width.

If the gaps are not the same, then the shape of the body has changed. This could be due to the repositioning of the tin after the accident or the replacement of some parts. In any case, remember that this seemingly trifling error after some time of operation of the car will make you regret buying it.

By the way, welded parts can also be unevenly docked.

If you are not sure about your eye, take a ruler with you for inspection.

It is recommended to check the gaps not only between behind closed doors. To be sure, open them. Check the hinges and the gaps formed next to them. It is recommended to even shake the car a little when open doors to see if the parts are shaking.

If the doors creak when you open them, beware. They may just be asking for lubrication, but they may have been reinstalled. When replacing doors, they are often placed a little unevenly, which is why parts of the hinges rub against each other more tightly and emit unpleasant squeaks.

Also unevenly installed doors leave small defects on the body. Inspect the areas next to them for tiny dents and scratches.

3. We look into the "eyes"

Of course, in order to understand whether a car is broken, sometimes it’s enough just to look into the eyes of the seller. However, most often these people are able to perfectly disguise deception. What can not be said about cars.

5. Look at the tires

As we have already said, if the geometry of the body of the tire is violated, the tires wear out unevenly. Therefore, evaluate their tread pattern and draw your own conclusions.

True, it should be noted that for the appearance of a visible difference between the degrees of tire wear, some time must pass. If the owner of the car, after repair, drove it to the parking lot and no longer operated, it will be almost impossible to see inaccuracies in the degrees of wear.

But it's still worth checking out. For greater accuracy, you will need to measure the distance from one center point of the front suspension to the other. Find out what distance is provided by the manufacturer. If the result obtained differs from the original by at least half a centimeter, then the shape of the body was still slightly changed. Moreover, most likely, this happened after a strong blow.

6. Testing fasteners

Now it's time to check the age of the fasteners. Installed new fasteners may indirectly signal that the car has undergone cosmetic repairs.

If the car is sold to you in its original configuration, it must have factory rivets and caps.

Why are new fasteners installed when painting? Yes, because the old ones simply break.

The point is that when you restore paintwork car specialists often remove its individual parts. At the same time, old, battered fasteners do not withstand and become unusable. They are replaced by new, but not factory elements.

But let's make a reservation that the presence of new mounts only indicates that the car was dismantled. For what purpose this was done, we can only guess.

7. Inspect the gas tank cap

This part does not affect the driving process in any way and, if its geometry has not changed, can be painlessly removed and reinstalled.

These properties encourage specialists to automotive painting in order to remove this small door to select a shade. This is done after the car owner orders the procedure for painting the car in its native color.

The hatch is removed and the desired shade is selected from it, which would be most suitable for the native.

True, when installing the mount, the doors can also fly. They will be replaced by new ones. This will signal that the car, most likely, was painted before the sale.

8. Getting into the salon

After an external examination, sit in the passenger compartment of the car. Take a good look at its lining. If necessary, remove the plugs. Check how old the bolts are used for fixing.

If the bolts are new and, moreover, not covered with enamel, then some parts, such as doors, were removed and repaired. And then they were returned to their place, but secured with new bolts.

9. Studying the seams

To carry out this check, you need to know how the manufacturer assembles the machine parts. Most often this is done through spot welding. Then the remaining space is fixed with a reliable sealant. It hardens when exposed high temperatures. After that, paint is applied to the body.

Sometimes these works are not even carried out by people, but by special robots.

Such a seam looks very neat and does not catch the eye.

In most workshops, there is no possibility of repeating the same seam. Therefore, there most often the parts are fastened by continuous welding. Such a seam is striking and looks unaesthetic.

But the point here is not even beauty, but the fact that such welding screams about the replacement of some parts of the car, which, most likely, was once broken in an accident.

10. Dive into the rich inner world of cars

Resellers and representatives of various companies involved in the sale of used cars know what the buyer is looking at first. Of course he enjoys the picture. Therefore, all external body defects are carefully masked and eliminated.

However, they periodically save on internal defects, hoping that the eye of a naive client will not get there.

Disappoint them. Remove the trunk lining, look deep under the hood, inspect the end sides of the doors. If the car is broken, there you will find traces of dents that will immediately dot the “i” in your head.

So let's recap

If you doubt your own memory or quickness, write on a piece of paper a list of actions to follow when checking a car for body repairs.

This list is:

Visually evaluate the symmetry of the body and its uniformity.
We compare the gaps at the hood, doors and trunk. They must be the same.
Compare the headlights, which should be the same.
We are looking for smudges of paint under the seals.
See if the tires are equally worn.
We are looking for new, not factory fasteners.
We examine the gas tank cap, find out if it was removed.
We are looking for new unpainted screws in the cabin.
We are looking for non-factory welding seams.
We are looking for traces of dents on the inner surfaces of the body.

After such a thorough inspection, you will surely be able to answer for yourself the question of whether the broken car is in front of you.

We wish you not to "run into" broken cars and not beat your own. Good luck on the roads!

Are you an ordinary car enthusiast and do not know all the intricacies of the 'four-wheeled' business? Want to buy a used car, but are afraid to get caught on a "broken" option? We will help you make the right choice and tell you what methods of recognizing a broken car exist.

The secondary Russian car market was formed immediately after the legalization of private car ownership in the USSR, in the second half of the 50s. To date, more than half of the cars on it have been restored after a serious accident. And the saddest thing is that their repair is most often performed poorly.

Where are we heading from?

In order to understand what the market situation is, let's look at the statistics. For example, in Germany, where the lion's share of used cars comes from, for every fifth car there is one broken. This is especially common among private ads for the sale of cars. Of course, such studies have not been conducted in Russia, but one can imagine what the situation is like in our market.

The used car market is perhaps one of the most dangerous. It is unclean there both from the point of view of the law and from the point of view of morality. Needless to say, what a whirlpool is the market for broken cars? Five to ten years ago, used broken foreign cars were exported mainly from America and Europe, there were small deliveries from Japan. Now most of those cars that have undergone a post-accident recovery procedure have been involved in an accident in Russia.

In the capital alone, an order of magnitude takes place every day. two thousand accidents. Of course, most of them are minor accidents, but about a quarter of the cars are broken 'for write-off'. However, no matter how broken the car is, especially a foreign car, the owner is unlikely to throw it in the trash. Where does the broken rubbish go? A call to the first available advertisement for buying cars in any condition is the first step towards getting rid of a broken car. However, this step is not always correct ...

The fact is that if for some reason decent car services that offer decent price for your car, then unscrupulous buyers immediately appear on the horizon, who flock like flies to honey in search of a cheap freebie. They, as a rule, are not inferior in price and take the car for nothing. It is also curious that literally the very next day the car is resold without any investments. In turn, other buyers resell it again. This can happen indefinitely before the car gets to the service. And here the saddest thing happens - there, as it turns out, he is also not particularly happy and, restoring the car, they do not care about the quality of the work.

What happens after an accident?

Injured in serious accident cars end up in a parking lot, usually a police one, sometimes - in a parking lot from an insurance company, less often - in a private one. That's where they hang out. Sometimes, it is even difficult to determine the brand and model of the "victims" - they are so damaged. It is much more difficult to believe that they will ever be ridden again.

Cars that are not subject to any restoration, of course, do not take. All the rest become clients of medium and small car services - those whose repair zones are empty. So it turns out that the only way to keep the employees of a dysfunctional car service center busy when there are no orders at all is to repair and restore a broken car. After the car is restored, it is sold through classifieds. Can you imagine the quality of this "restored" car? It is definitely not a masterpiece.

Trying to sell the timed in car accident, craftsmen most often resort to publishing ads for sale in newspapers and the Internet.

Insurance

It is worth considering especially if the car has a CASCO insurance policy. The main thing in this case is not to rush and think it over carefully and, only after analyzing all the options, take any action. Probably the best option in this case would be to receive payments according to an agreement with an insurance company, and the damage will be paid at the prices of a branded service, which is important. And then sell the car, restoring it under insurance. A potential buyer, in this case, will obviously count on less money and will give the car for restoration to those auto repair shops that have an acceptable price tag, and therefore semi-legal.

Having got rid of the restored car, the repair of which was carried out with the money of the insurance company, you just have to buy a pretty decent car with the proceeds, the main thing is not to get caught by a broken one. In order to avoid this, check the option you like for accidents based on the insurance company. Broken cars, as a rule, are insured under CASCO, which means that all accidents are included in the register of the insurance company. But this is far from the only option definition of a broken car.

How to identify a broken car?

There are a number of ways to determine whether a car has been in an accident or not. To get a rough idea of the past of the car you are considering, you first need to pay attention to general state body. Inspection is carried out only when daylight, in no case do not get fooled by meetings in the evenings, at dusk, when a car polished to a shine will inspire deceptive confidence. So two mandatory conditions when inspecting a used car: 1 - daylight hours, 2 - the car must be washed.

Inspect the car should be at a distance of several steps. Examine the body carefully, take a look at it as a whole and try to detect the difference in shades in its various parts. A fender, for example, could be painted a different shade of black with a different code or paint from a different manufacturer than, say, the hood. It is easier to inspect in the shade, as in bright sunlight it is more difficult to notice the difference in the color of different panels. Look at the same parts from different angles - this will help determine that the car was painted. Best of all, defects are detected at the moment when you catch a glare from the sun. If you notice a difference, be sure that the car is 'not clean'. Any defect in the paintwork means that the car has already been repainted. Then you should ask the owner for what purpose.

The main sign that the car was in an accident can be considered the difference in the width of the gaps. There are certain gaps between the hood and the fender, and if they are different parties are different, then this is a sign of poor-quality repair. To check the gaps, open the doors and shake them vertically - this way you check the hinges and the presence of gaps in them. Glass and headlights can serve as other evidence of a past accident. Optics play an important role. Dark spots on the surface of the reflectors indicate that some optical elements in the headlight should be replaced, and this, as you know, is not a cheap pleasure.

You should also pay attention to the brand of the manufacturer, which is usually placed in the lower right corner of the windshield. Most factory glasses have a special marking, but if there is no logo, then this is another reason to doubt the "innocence" of the chosen car.

If you want to understand thoroughly, then you need to learn the names of the supplier companies that supply the conveyor of the plant that produced the vehicle inspected. Thus, this will allow you to know for sure which parts are original and which are not. This applies to both glass and optics - any headlights, lights, turn signals, etc. - everything has its manufacturer. If you see the logo Chinese company on Mercedes spare parts, you can be sure that this is a consequence of poor-quality repairs.

windshield seals and rear window can be folded back and checked for characteristic smudges and steps on the paint. The color of the paint that will be under the seal may well be slightly different from the color of the main surface of the body - this is acceptable, but there should not be frank drops of paint.

To facilitate and simplify the procedure for checking the paintwork, there is a special indicator device that determines whether the car is beaten or not by the thickness of the coating. This is both faster and more accurate than the definition "by eye". It is enough just to attach the device to the surface of the body and hold it over it. The indicator readings should be approximately the same in all parts of the body. Deviations in some places indicate a thick layer of putty in its respective areas. This is a sure sign that the body has been repaired. It could be repaired in two cases: either after an accident, or after corrosion. A similar test can also be arranged using a magnet. Where there are thick layers of putty, the magnet simply won't hold.

Also check the tightness of the doors, and at the same time how tightly they fit to the seal. If a gap remains after closing them, then this can also be a sign that the body has been deformed. Doors must close and open with the same effort. Do not forget to open the trunk lid and check the condition of the bottom inside. In addition, it is highly recommended to check the areas of the body reinforcements - where, as a rule, a jack is installed. If there are dents there, then this may indicate that there was corrosion on the thresholds and the bottom.

And if, when examining the roof or the tailgate, you find certain abrasions, then you can rest assured that the car was used as a taxi, which means it is “shaken” and probably needs repair. These characteristic abrasions are left by the magnetic bases of the antenna.

Now look under wheel arches. Take a look at shock absorbers. If they are dry, then everything is in order, but if oil smudges are visible in that area, then keep in mind that the shock absorber will require an early replacement. Pay Special attention on the anthers of the shock absorbers - are they torn. If they are torn, they will have to be urgently changed, otherwise the shock absorber will soon will fail.

The function of a shock absorber is to dampen body vibrations. Try rocking each of the four corners of the car, just lean on the car and then let it go and see how it reacts. No, not the owner… of the car. The car should rise smoothly, this indicates that the shock absorbers are in good condition. It is bad if the car begins to smoothly rock up and down by inertia and stop only after some time.

After turn out front wheel inside and look at the front of it to check the condition of the drive boot. Everything is like with shock absorbers - if it is dry, then it's good, with oil smudges - it means it needs to be replaced. Carefully examine everything you see for damage: suspension elements, brake hoses And so on.

Conclusion

To play it safe, buy a used car from a reputable car dealership with a name and position in the market. So it will be at least someone to ask, in which case. It is clear that the price in such places, as a rule, is too high and differs from the options offered by private traders, but a pig in a poke can be excluded. The difference in price sometimes reaches 50-100 thousand rubles, but believe me, it's worth it. There are practically no 'killed' cars in car dealerships. And if the cars are imported, then even more so - usually in Finland or Germany, broken cars are not restored. If the car has been in a minor accident, which in principle has no practical significance, then you will be informed about this and offered an attractive discount.In the event that the car was seriously beaten, it is likely to be sold for parts. In general, having overpaid a certain amount, you will be sure that your car is reliable, moreover, it also comes with guarantees from a car dealership.

When buying, you just need to pay attention to whether the car was leased from a private owner. In this case, you should think about buying, since such machines are often used in harsh conditions, which affects their operational life.

And difficulties always arise - no matter where the car is from - from a trendy salon or a used car market - at one time, every thing requires quality service and repair. But the worst thing is if six months later you are told that the car is not new at all, but repaired and repainted after a serious accident. How to identify a broken car before buying, if you do not understand automotive intricacies?

Why you need to know everything about a broken body

It's not just about money - if you take a used car, this is one thing, but if the car turned out to be a fake in the cabin, this is another. In both the first and second cases, hidden damage to the body, bumper, roof or sidewall can harm the new owner. Without knowing about the deception, a person puts his life in danger, because any damage affects the behavior of the machine in the future. Any little thing that once failed can give a new failure, and the driver, being confident in the quality and reliability of a recently purchased car, will not be able to respond to a breakdown in time.

When choosing a used product, consider whether to buy a car with deep dents or damage that requires spot welding. However, the geometry of the car is not affected by scratches, rumpled tuning, minor chips or mini-dents. When buying a used car, do not tell the seller if the bumper is chipped or minor damage radiator - they are inevitable. The older the car, the more small, natural cracks on it, which are easy to touch up yourself if you want.

fix broken iron horse is not difficult - the main thing is to have money and desire. But how to check the quality and sincerity of the seller, if a brand new car shines with freshly painted sides in the sun?

How to learn about the past adventures of a new car

Feel free to take a look around. Do not come to the meeting in the evening - during the day there are more chances to see a mismatch of colors or the slightest difference in saturation or color overflows. On inspection, the machine must be clean and free of dirt. At a certain angle, you can see the texture - fine sand or pimples of paint on the side fenders or other parts of the car. To perfectly match the “native” color, a gas tank hatch is often used. After painting, traces of displacement are visible under the bolts (quite rare). If the car shines with a new varnish coating, there is reason to wonder if it was repainted the other day to hide the traces of the accident? Too much sunlight can fool your eyes. Sometimes the paint is applied in uneven layers - with a more detailed examination and measurements with a thickness gauge or a special magnet, you can easily detect a discrepancy.

Fashionable tuning, cunning sellers skillfully hide jambs, and sometimes old rust. An old cracked bumper can be checked by tapping with your fingers: if a dull sound is heard, then there is a greasy layer of putty under the paint layer.

Glass with different markings on the bottom edge they say that they were changed to new ones. headlights in perfect condition- the first sign of replacement (but the reason for the replacement is not always in an accident). Pay attention to the collapse of the convergence - check the car on the lift.

Fasteners (loops) must fit snugly to the body, not have any signs of displacement or welding.

The gaps between the doors should be the same width, and the rubber pads (seals) should be even. The difference in width indicates that the door is “not native” or has defects. Peel back the edge sealing gum- you can see traces of recent painting (drops, streaks). Traces of polish often remain inside the cabin, visually reminiscent of chalk dust.

Do not forget that broken places rust first.

Instruction

The body color must be uniform, and the gaps between body parts (front fenders and windshield, windshield, front bumper and front fenders, hood and fender, front fenders and doors, front and rear doors) are uniform.

Traces of unscrewing the bolts of the front fenders, hood, trunk lid.

On the bottom - traces of welding.

Doors should close tightly, without gaps.

There must be no oil or coolant leaks under the hood.

Condition of electrical equipment: generator, ignition distributor, ignition coil, starter, voltage regulator, battery charge relay. They must be undamaged and securely fastened.

No dents in fuel lines fuel tank.

Color check

In order to find out if the car has been involved in accidents, you can use a special device - a paintwork thickness gauge. This device determines the thickness of the paint that is applied to the part. Lean the device against the required part of the car body, after which the display will show the thickness of the paint on the part being checked. As a rule, the thickness of the applied paint at the car manufacturer varies from 80 to 150 microns. If the part was repainted by painters, the thickness of the paint will be much larger - about 200 microns. There are also large values \u200b\u200bin cases where it was used during the repair process. Also, the device can show, on the contrary, a very small value. This means that the abrasive polishing procedure was carried out several times, or the painting technology was incorrect, without the use of primer. The thickness gauge is not the cheapest device, however, this moment there are quite a few companies and individuals offering rental of this device.

Checking headlights and windows

If in the event of an accident the collision occurred only on one side, the headlights should be different, so be sure to check them when choosing a car. Perhaps the headlights will be identical in appearance, however serial numbers different headlights cannot match, so one of the headlights with different numbers is not factory, which may indicate a possible participation this car in an accident. Don't forget to check the label as well. car factory the same marking is stamped on all the glasses of the machine, so its inconsistency on a certain glass means that it has been replaced.

Rapid corrosion of a broken car

If the car is covered with a thick layer of dirt, this is the first sign of various defects that the seller is simply trying to hide in this way. Usually a broken car rots pretty quickly. When buying, check problem areas such as wheel arches, sills and underbody for corrosion. For this procedure you will need viewing hole or flyover.

Clearance check

Another sign of a car being involved in an accident is the difference in the size of the gaps. For example, there are gaps of a certain size between the hood and the fender, and if the dimensions of these gaps on both sides do not match, the car has undergone poor-quality repairs, possibly after an accident. To check the gaps in the car doors, you need to open them and shake them up and down to determine the play in the hinges.

Buying a used car, you can easily become a victim of an unscrupulous seller. By purchasing a car restored after a serious accident, the buyer runs the risk of facing a lot of problems during the further operation of a used car. Sometimes repairs are done so well that it becomes very difficult to recognize a broken car, however, there are several simple ways how to protect yourself as much as possible from buying a car that has been in a serious accident.

Instruction

Inspect the car carefully. In a broken car, the gaps between the body parts differ from each other, the color individual parts also different. This car was definitely painted.

Always inspect the vehicle in bright light. The car must be perfectly clean.

There is an old proven method that helps determine the presence of a thick layer of putty on the body. You need to try sticking a weak magnet to various parts of the car body. Where there is a thick layer of putty, the magnet will stick worse than in those places where it is not.

Are you an ordinary car enthusiast and not aware of all the nuances of selling cars? Decided to buy a used car, but are you afraid that the salon will sell a broken car? Today we will talk about how to identify a broken and / or painted car and not get into a mess when buying a car.

So, how to check a broken car yourself?

1. Carry out an external inspection of the body

At visual inspection used car must meet 2 prerequisites:

Daylight hours
Vehicle clean condition

Inspect the car should be at a distance of several steps. Take a look at the body and try to determine by eye the difference in shades in its various parts and elements. It is better to inspect the car in the shade - it is easier to notice the difference in shades, and the defects are most visible when the sun glare hits them. Not painted car should have a uniform shade of paintwork throughout the body, and if you notice even the slightest defect, most likely the car has already been repainted.

By the way, multiple scratches and small chips paint on a used car is quite a common situation. On the contrary, it should unnaturally alert you the new kind coverage, especially if it does not match the age of the car.

Advice for advanced. A special device, a thickness gauge, will help to significantly facilitate the procedure for checking the paintwork. It is enough to attach this device to the surface of the car body and draw on it. The indicator readings in all parts of the body must match, and significant deviations in any place indicate a putty layer, as happens when the car is broken. If you do not want to spend money on a thickness gauge, prepare a magnet wrapped in a thin cloth: in those places where it will not stick to the body, most likely, a thick layer of putty passes.

We offer you to watch a video on how to use the thickness gauge.

It is easy to recognize a broken car by comparing the width of the gaps between the hood and the fender (they should be the same on both sides). Sometimes an uneven gap can be found at the junction of the parts to be welded, say, between the wing and the body pillar.

Don't buy a car without checking the width of the gaps in symmetrical places. Also, be sure to open the car doors and shake them a little to check the hinges and the gaps in them. A well-known technique is to listen to the car: are there any squeaks and other unpleasant sounds when opening and closing doors. Quite often, doors after an accident are installed with a slight distortion, and during operation they leave some defects on the car body.

3. Check the optics

Glasses and headlights are excellent witnesses of past accidents. If they are trying to sell you a car with headlights that differ in transparency, then one of them has recently been replaced, and it is worth asking why. Also take a close look Windshield- usually in his right bottom corner bears the mark of the manufacturer. If the glass is not marked with the factory logo, this is another reason to doubt that the car is not broken (although, in principle, the glass could be replaced for another reason).

The headlights of the car should shine symmetrically and evenly. To check their operation, drive the car against a flat wall and turn on the lights. If the light falls unevenly and at the wrong angle, this indicates the replacement of the headlights.

Advanced advice. Be aware that each car manufacturer has its own suppliers supplying parts to the factory conveyor. If you learn their names, you can always determine which part of the car is original and which is not. In this case, an unscrupulous seller will easily be brought to clean water, especially if you show him the logo of a Chinese company for spare parts, say, from Mercedes.

4. Check glass and door seals

Bend the windshield seals and rear windows to check for characteristic smudges or steps on the paint. If the color of the paint under the seal is slightly different from the main shade of the body, this is normal, but in no case should there be frank smudges of paint under the seals.

Be sure to also check the tightness of the doors and make sure they fit well against the seal. If a visible gap remains after closing the doors, this is a very likely sign that the body has been deformed.

5. Assess tire wear

Uneven tire wear may indicate a broken body geometry. To check this fact, measure the distance between the center points of the front suspension struts. If the resulting number differs from the factory norm by more than 5 mm, most likely the body geometry was violated after a serious impact.

An indirect sign of production painting works are new fasteners supplied to replace factory rivets and caps. The fact is that when repainting the body, its individual elements are often removed, and during dismantling, fasteners often break or are lost. Thus, the presence of new fasteners is an indirect sign that the car was dismantled, which means that a broken and painted car can also be identified in this way.

7. Check the gas cap

Sometimes a tiny detail, such as a gas tank hatch, helps to distinguish a broken car from an unbroken one. To find out if it was removed for tinting (color matching before painting), open the hatch and take a closer look at its fasteners. Non-standard or damaged bolts, “non-native” rivets - all this suggests that the gas tank hatch, as a compact element that does not affect movement, was removed in the past and was in the hands of tinkers.

In conclusion, we suggest watching a video with expert advice on how to distinguish a broken car - perhaps this will make all of the above more understandable.