Has my ex-demo car been in an accident?

cornerstone13

Does anyone know if there is a (cheap/free) way to find this out ? I bought a car from the local Citroen dealer recently and it just doesn't seem quite right!!! They said it was owned by a member of their staff and was used as a demonstrator. A couple of friends have said that the faults could be consistent with accident damage (slight 'shaking', juddering - I'm not a techie). Before I go back to the garage to talk about getting the faults rectified, is there a way that I can find out myself if it has been in an accident.

Thanks for any suggestions.

kitchpoo

The shuddering could just be a wheel out of balance, is the juddering at a certain speed? Are there any other symptoms? Does it pull under pulling away or braking to one side and what are the panel gaps like?

g_parry

First get a company like quick fit to do a FREE safety check - if they find problems consistent with an accident the AA or Rac offer full engineers reports (but at a cost)

Glenn
http://www.drivehaven.co.uk

Keith

g_parry wrote: »

First get a company like quick fit to do a FREE safety check

Glenn

I'd put money on them finding a fault!

g_parry

I'd put money on them finding a fault!

I'm not a betting man but that's not been my experience - I always have a check of brakes etc before a service so that I have some ammunition should the service provider decide I need some urgent work Quick Fit have never found any issue that required work.

Last year I was told by a VW main dealer that I needed new brakes, I was only due to keep the car for four more months. Took it into Kwik Fit and asked them to estimate the life of the pads to be told there was at least 30% of the pads remaining.

cajef

Kwik Fit have one of the worst reputations for overcharging and doing unnecessary work on people vehicles, as posted by numerous people on these forums in the past.

The general opinion is do not go near them unless you want to be ripped off.

Hintza

I agree wheels not balanced is most likely take it in and get them to have a look at balance and tracking and perhaps warpped discs.

Hit a kerb?

cornerstone13

Thanks for your replies.

There are no gaps that we can see on any of the panels, so I guess the easiest thing to do first is to get Kwikfit or similar to give their opinion.

Does anyone know if the insurance industry keeps a database of accident claims and, if so, is it something that Joe Public could get information on. I'm thinking of a similar thing to checking if a second hand car has outstanding finance on it.

Thanks again

kitchpoo

An HPI does check for such things - look on their website for exactly what is covered.

pianeet

kitchpoo wrote: »

An HPI does check for such things - look on their website for exactly what is covered.

a hpi check only checks for insurance damage,at my brothers garage they have a £5000 at fault excess so if the damage is considerelbly less the car will be repaired through there own workshops,rather than making a claim.

Ferrero_Rocher

Repairs often lose definition because the paint is thicker. Have a close look along the flanks of the car and compare each panel. Quite easy to spot on modern cars with sharp, edgy lines. Look for overspray & feel along the edges of the panels as well.

RAC do the hpi checks for a fiver now