Went car shopping this afternoon. Carfax came back with mild to moderate damage that doesn't seem to show up. The thing is, for it not to show up, they'd have had to have replaced both passenger side doors as the panels seem to line up fine as well as likely the front fender -- at least, based on the report listed in the Carfax.

Now, that's just my semi-educated guess from looking at it based on years of experience detailing. I'll admit that bodyshops out there are good, and probably good enough to make me think there's been no work on the car. Thus, is there any way to determine independently whether there were repairs done and the Carfax is wrong (as has been demonstrated in other recent threads)? I'm calling my insurance co. Monday morning to get a quote on what my new premiums would be if I get the car. Maybe they can access claims history. I'm sure whoever had an accident in this filed an insurance claim. No chance, based on the quality of the work they paid out of pocket (or unlikely).

I passed on buying it tonight, then the dealer called me back and sweetened the extended warranty offer. The price is a little high still. If I can find that the info is wrong, I'm going to jump on it. If I can't, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I don't really want to be in a position several years down the road with a vehicle that I'm having to explain an accident that I know nothing about.

This is on an early 2010s Lexus. Nothing shows up on the Lexus app, though most, or all, service records are on there. Sewell in Dallas did the work. Do you think they'd know if body work was done even if they didn't do it?

Walk away

I hit cars about 20% for a moderate. So unless it's 20% cheaper than market average I would look for another.

Why is a lawyer buying an old, possibly wrecked, Lexus? Car for your kid?

Depending on where the damage was there are often tells, a small (weak) magnet might let you know where the body filler is thicker. Damage to a corner and you can probably find overspray on side lights or reflectors.

If you have great eyes, you can sometimes spot where they feathered the clear coat.

If it was front end damage, it's unlikely the body shop spent much if any time re-aligning the headlights so if the low beams have crisp uneven cutoff lines that can be a tell as well.

VIN tags may be on each door. Might help determine if doors have been replaced.

Carfax will literally tell you where on the car the accident occurred. I would go with that.

Milwaukees Best Light said:

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Why is a lawyer buying an old, possibly wrecked, Lexus? Car for your kid?

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GX460 for me. I like the older front end look better than than the newer one and this model is the light version of the Land Cruiser. I plan to put TRD wheels and more aggressive tires on it and use it for some off-roading as well as DD. But I'm not interested in it if its been wrecked, just if the carfax info is incorrect. The deal isn't good enough.

Besides, I don't have to have the newest thing. Never have. I'd rather buy real estate or other appreciating asset.

Personal experience - don't 100% trust carfax. Take the car to a trusted shop to do a pre-purchase inspection.

Context: I owned a brand new BMW X3M Comp and was rear-ended. The impact was about 30-40 mph and did more than $15k in damages. Repair done by insurance-certified shop that DID NOT report the damage, but rather just 'vehicle serviced'. When I picked up the car, the repairs were flawless with body panels/parts replaced with OEM parts. The only evidence of an accident I could see required the evaluator to get the car up on a lift and know where the muffler assembly connected to the x-pipe to see they were clamped, not welded as from the factory.

I traded that X3M in on another car a few months ago and dealer made no mention of damage or repairs. To make matters worse with respect to trust in used cars, the dealer sold it a week later as a BMW certified pre-owned car.

I've only bought 1 used car since 1992 (a very expensive one) and took it to a trusted shop for a pre-purchase inspection. Helped me sleep well at night.

Any interest in a 2013 4Runner Limited with AWD/4WD?