Used car (less than 1 yr old), suspected accident damage

ahappychappie

Hi,

I purchased a used car just over two weeks ago, although used the car is less then 1 year old (registered Sept-12).

Car is very nice and runs more than fine. However, a few days ago I noticed the paint in a small area on the nearside isn't smooth - it's not immediately noticeable - you have to stand at a particular angle to notice it -the 'unsmooth' is about 1ft x 6 inches.

Once noticed I looked more carefully - there are small areas on the rear door where the finish looks like when you've waxed the car but missed a bit if that makes sense - obviously I've tried cleaning but the finsih remains the same. Again you have to stand at a particular angle to notice it. Although, yesterday it was extremely sunny and the marks were more noticeable.

My suspicion is the car has been in an accident, the paintwork repair job thus being of poor quality.

Thus, I just wondered where I stand. Is it a case of sold as seen or can I go back to the dealer? I don't have the V5 yet, a possible option was to try contacting the previous owner - just for acknowledgment of an accident, or maybe if they have a 'guarantee' from the repair workshop. However, given car is only 10 months old I suspect it wont have been a private owner so this route might not be possible.

Obviously I did have a good look at the car before purchase and didn't notice anything unusual. As above it's on in certain light and at a certain angle you can see the difference...

Many thanks

Quentin

Brand new cars often have some accident damage which has been repaired prior to sale.

Nothing to worry too much about (unless you were specifically told there had been no previous bodywork repair. )

neilmcl

In this particular instance, and in the absence of any particular fault, I'm afraid it is a case of sold as seen.