Disclosing if a car has been in an accident

missgidge

When you are buying a car from a car dealer do they have to tell you if it has been in an accident or can they legally not tell you? I'm looking to buy one, but I don't want one that has been in an accident due to past experience.

Browntoa

Vehicle check like this

https://www.vehiclecheck.co.uk/

For significant previous damage

missgidge

Thanks for the link. I have seen that you can buy a vehicle check, but it's if the car dealer legally has to tell you that I want to find out. I have been told that they don't need to tell you if it has been in any accident and I wan't to know if that is true or not.

Tom99

Why not ask them? They will say yes, no or I don't know.

Angus_Og

The garage wouldn't necessarily know it had been in an accident. Accident damaged salvage that aren't registered as such are relatively more expensive than those that are registered.

If it is CatS it will be on the V5C and will have been registered. A CatN they might not be aware off.

missgidge

Tom99 wrote: »

Why not ask them? They will say yes, no or I don't know.

I am asking if it's law they need to tell you because I have previously been lied to in the past and I don't want be in a similar position again. I also know someone who was told their car that would be traded in had previously been in an accident when it hadn't been.

worried_jim

Don't believe a word they say and do your own due diligence.

How do you know when a salesperson is lying? Their lips are moving!

(From someone who used to work in sales)

[Deleted User]

We were going to buy a car, asked dealer if the car had been in accident or had any problems, told no. Ran a HPI check, no insurance claims. Had a mobile mechanic look at it and within minutes he said the car had been clocked and there had been a complete wing replacement, the engine wasn't in very good condition. It had been in an accident and the wing was replaced off insurance. Dealer denied all knowledge.

Mobile mechanic saved us thousands of pounds.

Lip_Stick

Tom99 wrote: »

Why not ask them? They will say yes, no or I don't know.

I would have thought the answer to that was obvious. In case you can't figure it out, there is a forth option of 'lie'. We are talking about car dealers after all.

robatwork

Still worth directly asking them.

If a car dealer (or any seller) says "no" to the direct question "has this car ever been in an accident", then you will have more legal comeback if it ever ends up in court and it can be shown the seller should or would have known it was in an accident.

Of course this comes down to a judge believing your word over theirs, and car dealers lie. All the time. Even the main dealer franchises.

So ask, and also do an HPI check.

Mistral001

What is the point in asking the dealer any question that you will rely on when buying a car? They are unlikely to have looked at the car in any depth, but just sent it to be valeted after either getting it as a trade-in or from an auction.

Ask no questions and you will be told no lies. If the dealer is not known to you as being totally reputable and dependable, then do ALL the checks yourself or get a mechanic to do them for you.