Why Panel Gap Inspections are Important When Buying a Used Car
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- čas přidán 7. 09. 2024
- Greg - Your Car Angel performs a panel gap inspection on a used car. All factory gaps should be uniform with no gap variations. This is especially important for the front of the car. As always an accident car is never a good choice when buying a used car.
Man this guy really deserves more views.
This information is very valuable.
IT CERTAINLY IS GREAT FACTS TO PASS ON THANKYOU CAR ANGEL,GREG.
Viq unfortunately I think alot of people just do a once over and take used salesman or new salesman word.
Viq underrated for sure
Totally agree. I subscribed within minutes of watching him. He seems to have no agenda other than helping people buy the best car possible.
Nice how you hold your hand and point from a distance
like an invisible rod going to the gaps, amazing work.
I bought my first of many AMG cars from a local Benz dealer who told me we know this car. It is off lease. We sold it new. No accidents, etc, etc. Not true. A year later the paint on the right back quarter, back trunk area and left back quarter and door did not match the rest of the car. A local 30 year paint repair shop owner said those areas had been painted. You can not trust Carfax or any other service to know 100% what really happened. This information is great and yes, very valuable. And, that cost that dealer at least 6 AMG car sales since! I will never trust them again. Thank you this training.
Hi Greg,
Thanks so much for doing and posting this video.
Recently I was at a Toyota Certified used car lot and saw a low mileage Prius with passenger side front and passenger side rear bumper gaps. Once I knew what to look for, it was very obvious this car was in an accident on the passenger side and had damage that was covered by the front and rear bumpers. Another thing that jumped out at me was the white color of the front bumper was close but didn't quite match. It was easy to spot in the sunlight once you knew what to look for. For me the most surprising thing was that this was a Toyota Certified Used car. Another thing I noticed was that the CarFax report was not attached to this car like it was on the other cars in the lot.
Also if you get down low and look at the panels from front to back when you shine bright light or sun on it and you can see minor warping as well sometimes that looks off. I once asked about the panel gaps being off at Mcgrath Lexus Dealership in Chicago and the salesman said it doesn't have to be reported as an accident if 3 or less panels were repaired. Nor did he have to tell us that it was repaired. I was like WHAT?! So he admitted to me that the car I pointed it out on he knew had damage without admitting it. I was pissed off and told the person I was with to leave and lets go to another dealer.
I love how this feels the end of a sherlock holmes episode. The part where he does all the deductions and reveals all the twists. More of this!
Greg,
Something else to keep in mind is that the big car rental companies are self-insuring, which means that they take care of their own cars that are in accidents. There's no record of an accident and Carfax will never be the wiser...
Ik this is really late but a side note if a rental company "totals" a car, they will report to carfax as "structural damage" or some other "less severe" sounding name. Watch out cuz it might look like it's a better car judging from the car fax, if you find a rental car with structural damage (or any carfax nowadays) you might as well walk away and buy something half the price that's older
@@DIE2dayORelse Hi Randy,
That's very good to know. Thanks for sharing that. Once you start looking at gaps and know what "normal" is, it becomes much easier to spot a problem area.
Its very common for used car dealers to do ding removal and some light touch up paint.. So over spray may not be an issue , But if there is a panel gap.. Beware!
I knew there was a problem with a car I inspected for my personal use. I just could not put my finger on it to explain why. I just chalked my reservation to the pushy salesman....
I did notice oddities as you pointed out in this video.
The salesman would not come down on price, and I walked away!!!
Good for you. Walking away is a powerful tool.
You have a video on checking gaps on a car? Really?!
Subscribed.
x2
X3
I am currently shopping and I think your videos have been more than helpful in steering me clear of bad deals. Thank You!
Everytime I buy an used car I bring a magnet with me, cause plastic fillers. And the flashlight is super helpful to check the back of the engines, if you see oil leaks just keep looking.
Do not rely on carfax ever even if it's 100%. Always inspect it even if it's new, double check it during the day and make sure everything is there before you make your signature.
Trust, but verify.
A very informative presentation. Thank you for the good work you’re providing. Big like
I'm looking at cars right now, so this is a very helpful reminder and tip on how to be more observant. Thank you!
Yes. You are a car angel. The car looked O.K. before you explained the irregularities. Thank you for the information.
I agree with everyone here. You simply ooze experience and professionalism.
I inspect cars for a living, first thing I check is paint around bolts that attach the hood/bonnet. Instant give away if it’s been removed
at one point, the body shops may develop a new method of painting those bolts
@@ireneuszpyc6684 It's not necessarily an issue for the bodyshop to 'conceal' their work....it's the owners who are trying to downplay what work was done.
The bodyshop is likely PROUD and happy, that YES...that's our beautiful work, they aren't necessarily effected by a 🔩 enough for them to DISGUISE that they fixed a car so much so that 'they' are going to INVEST in 'secret' 🔩 technology....not their 'battle'
Hey Greg, your tips are absolutely the best on CZcams for car buying. Very well done my friend. Clear, concise, accurate and not over-sateted information. I do not have to take your advice with a grain of salt as I do with other very famous , and still very helpful, CZcamsr. I wish I discovered your channel before I got my Sienna couple weeks ago. Thank God it was not a bad purchase, but man I would have had a lot of confidence in the market with all your priceless tips. Much respect brother.
Bravo Greg.
You opened many car buyer eyes.
Carfax doesn’t mean diddly squat. Two of my previously owned cars had insurance work done while I owned them, and neither showed up on the Carfax afterwards. One was almost $7k of work too! Front bumper cover, A/C condenser, HID headlights, right fender, rear bumper cover, etc.
thank you for the excellent tips on finding damage on cars.
Im definitely going check the panel gaps from now on
Uniform gap. Thank you for the valuable education.
All true and it goes for ALL gaps. Recently I bought a car with a hood fender gap which was easily seen. Before buying, I saw there had been no internal problems seen like a warped or repaired fender-to-fender crossbar or replaced suspension parts. There was no alignment problem, no hood bolt problems, no inside repaints, no obvious frame damage. It really appeared that the damage was both minor and the repair poorly done, like a quickie repair. I ran a magnet in a sock all over the fender and it didnt seem to have any putty in it. Look for gaps, but if its a car you really want, try to get a real inspection done to see if the repairs were major. If the damage was minor and did not involve any frame or suspension component, you might be OK. Myself, if the repair was major i will walk away no matter how well it was done. Soon I'll take the car and see if the gap can be fixed or not.
No need to run a magnet in a sock. That's why I invented the Paint Spy. www.paintspy.com. Works perfectly.
Great advice! I used your advice in buying a used corolla and turned down two vehicles with no accident report based on suspicious gaps in the front and in the rear of the vehicle and bought myself a used vehicle with no gaps at all and the vehicle feels nice and solid after riding it for almost 7K kilometers. Easy inspection that saved you money down the road. Thanks!
God bless you for making these videos and putting them on CZcams.
God? :D Firstly he is monetizing it , and then ..what's whit God again? How on Earth does god come into this situation is BEYOND ME :DDDD Damn Religious people are gullible ..
Thanks for this video - I happened to watch it before going used car shopping. I went to see a very well priced RAV4 - sure enough, big-time signs of damage to the front end first revealed by panel gaps. Undisclosed by the Toyota dealer, clean CarFax. No deal! Thank you.
I would have never thought of this thank you.
Thanks for teaching this to us Greg. Very astute.
Such good information. I always relied on the Carfax reports in the past, but will be doing my own check in the future.
Great stuff definitely gets a thumbs up unfortunately I had to learn all of this the hard way from personal experience
I wish I would have seen this video before last November. I got a van for cheap but didn't notice the different size gaps until later. The van wasn't perfect. It has a few problems which I thought were easy fixes and weren't a problem with regard to the price. The van is worth what I paid but I didn't want a van that has a bent radiator support. It turns out that the van was hit in the front and bent the radiator support. All the damaged body parts were replaced and professionally repainted so the color matches on the whole van, but they didn't straighten the radiator support. The cost for getting the radiator support straightened at a body shop far exceeds the value of the van, therefore, an insurance company would write it off. The insurance company didn't know the van was in an accident.
Excellent points, I use similar skills to check over 100 cars a day for "previous" at Manheim Auto Auction. Also, check all the doors inside edges and jambs for the tape line too, as well as the rear wheel wells.
Thanks again Greg , I’ve just started watching your videos m,and I’m learning so much 👍
I watched a Scotty Kilmer video where a customer ordered a carfax or fox on a car that he had 4 collisions in including a major rebuild when fairly new. Nothing came up.
@INDIVIDUAL ONE A major rebuild on a fairly new vehicle usually involves an insurance claim.
Which is why you should either check the vehicle thouroughly or if you don't have an idea what to look for bring somebody who has knowledge of where to look. I had a colleague who was a mechanic check my car beforehand and my actual mechanic looked up the vehicle on carfax and nothing showed up. But he still looked into every nook and cranny and even showed me what to look for next time in case i buy the same vehicle again on my own.
@@Enforcer_WJDE Not the issue some body shops can do a really good job 100% to factory spec..
but most like 99% will cut corners to keep more profits...
it's hard to find a body shop that does not cut corners though .
The one that does *not* cut corners is the place you want to go too. i have looked at about 30-40 cars most of them had been in wreaks or flooded (few flooded ) and those flooded ones are CLEANER then clean car faxes.. with laundered out of state titles.. and only a few were not in a accident
the SUV i did get was in a minor accident but it was just a crease on the fender which is only 150$ to replace from a salvaged yard of the same year and I get a better deal
it had 84,000 miles only paid 10500
this SUV typically goes for 17-19,000 with that much miles
Not every shop reports that they fixed a vehicle. If I get it fixed at a shop that doesn't report it and do not use insurance it is not recorded by insurance database.
Brilliant video Greg. You have provided an amazing insight to vehicle damage.
great advice. I have a clean car fax report with my previous car and clearly i could see a good size door repair. Lowered the price, but if it had been in the front i would have walked, no run.
After markets panels are a dead giveaway. Replace with OEM and you have no issues.
Oem panels won't magically fix the structure of the car being thrown slightly off by an accident. They will still likely fit poorly compared to a pristine car
watched two videos; ....liked...subscribed... ! Great job Greg!!
Greg, excellent video on panel gapping and how to identify the smallest of flaws & a great tip on identifying the tool mark on the Hood bolt, & also a great tip on the carfax report.
Hi Greg. As always, another excellent video. I'm impressed by how you are able to give your presentation w/out having to use a script. That says to me that you really know what you're talking about. Having done a few videos myself, I know how challenging that can be. Again...great work. Thanks man.
yep and he does a good job without it.
This is a must to subscribe folks! Thanks to you Greg!
Panel gap on 2nd and 3rd generation Prius vehicles when looking at fender gaps near the headlights, you have to take into account that the dealerships remove the fender on the drivers side to replace the bulb in the left front head light. The fuse block is so close to the light that it is faster to remove the fender than to try to contort yourself to replace the light bulb. They also do the same on the passenger side as well.
Your comment about over spray on the light bezel looked more like paint transference when forcing the fender back into place.
I bought a brand new 2000 Civic back in December 1999. To anyone who believes a new car can't possibly have had any work done to it, keep in mind shipping damage can happen. Shortly after buying the car, I noticed weird overspray on the windshield seal along the A-pillar as well as a tiny bit on the skirting along the bottom of the body (below the door). I brought it back to the dealer and they dismissed it as a slight factory mistake that would wash off in a short while (at the time I wasn't old enough to have a spine). It would be 7 years later when I first fully noticed there was a fender with a slightly different colour than the rest of the car (electron blue was the colour). I'm guessing the different paint aged slightly differently over time, which changed the hue. And I did have a body guy comment on the car at one point, saying, "So where'd you get the work done?"
I checked for panel gaps , repainting, removed wheel well linings, but I did not look under the car! The underside can tell you a lot. I was missing underbody panels which led to the damage of my o2 sensor and my muffler was removed. Luckily it was CPO so they fixed it. I never thought to look under the car.
My man this is a great video ! I'm a total car noob trying to learn the basics so this is super helpful ! Thank you !
Great video Greg....You're a great advocate for us consumers. Keep up the good work!! Subscribed....
You sir are a real ANGEL. I have been trying to tell people about panel gap when buying a car, but no one seems to know what a panel is. Your video sir says it all. I salute you. A true angel. Thank you.
This is brilliant - never thought of this when buying used. I bought a used Mitsubishi Lancer. It had a clean CarFax - but I noticed months later it had been in an accident due to a misaligned hood, and some sections near the wheel well missing (some plastic components). It doesn't seem to have mattered, but it would have been good to know (I could've bargained the price down I'm sure). Thanks for the tips!
Outstanding Greg! Your videos rock man!!! Keep 'em coming. You have a lot of knowledge to share!! I for one very much appreciate what you do.
EXCELLENT video! I ALWAYS check the gaps...waiting for a video on how accident cars circumvent CarFax. Subscriber added.
Hey Gregg also I learned in my car shopping car fax don’t report auction accident findings when they inspect cars at auctions And millions of cars go through options but Carfax does not report with the auction inspector finds out
Thank you so much for sharing such valuable experience and knowledge. How I got here is a long story but this knowledge gain will save me money and potential heartache. Thanks.
The way you thoroughly checked for gaps variations on the used car was amazing.
Especially while inspecting the front and sides. By the end of the inspection, you gave the car the finger.
My pet snapper and I thought your video was awesome. We gave it a big thumbs up!
I have a bit of different view on car inspections. I get the issue where people generally do not want accident repaired cars when they go shopping for one. I fall into that camp too. But crashes happen. Not all of them are catastrophic or long term permanent damage ones. Seldom are repaired cars done perfectly. It’s just not practical, or in many cases affordable. But just because a car has some crash damage repair, it does not automatically remove it from consideration. As you pointed out, there are often many witness markers to existence of crash damage. You pointed them out on your video. The indication of improperly applied body filler on the front bumper was probably the deal breaker because it indicates sloppy shortcut work. But the fact it had been repaired would not automatically exclude the purchase. For example, upon further examination, if the damage the car suffered did not diminish the function and long term performance and durability of the car, I would be ok with it. Especially if it resulted in a dollar discount savings off of the purchase price. I have purchased used cars which had clean car fax reports and have had crash repairs which functioned, and looked fine and gave me well over 100k miles and many years of reliable service. They well well worth the money spent for them. I have also had my share of turkeys as well, both non crash damaged and crash damaged. Cars are only new once. After a certain period of time, they will get ware and tear on them and often bumps and bruises along the way, but they can still be good cars. I had one crash repaired car I had purchased, and it was a couple of years before I discovered it had significant crash damage. (Basically the whole right side.) it was not until I had removed a rear interior panel on the drivers side to access the tail light and tailgate wiring to replace a worn out wiring shield that I discovered the body panel had been replaced on the passenger side. It was that well done. Only someone who knew what the difference between original factory build and replacement build parts and assembly would have been able to tell the car had been repaired. I owned that car for about 14 years. It was still running when I sold it.
Great info. My gen 2 Prius has a pannel gap on the bumper. Then again 10 years and 200k will do that.
Wow, very informative!! Thank you so much, Greg!
GREAT video, thanks
Wow this is awesome knowledge, I needed it, it had never crossed my mind, thanks man.
Agreed. I am glad there are other people that notice that gap issue, like I do. When it comes to car fax, people lie to it all the time. Even when they report properly, it can takes years before it shows up on record. My new rule of thumb for a used car, always compression test motor. I bought my car used with a bad motor. Since i was planning on rebuilding the motor on it anyways, it didnt bother me. A compession test takes around 1hr or less for a mechanic to do. So easy and the results will tell u nay or yay. Unless you want to swap the motor afterwards, the choice is yours.
Car fax is no guarantee. I bought a car once that was a year old and had a clean car fax and later I discovered overspray around the headlight and the door panel gaps didn’t quite line up.
An uneven gap doesn't mean the car was always in a bad collision. My car is an example. I accidentally scraped a planter in the driveway, I didn't see it because it was below the hoodline. The bumper and front fender sustained superficial dents, and paint got scraped off by the very low speed incident. When I took the car in for repair, and they removed the bumper to have it worked on and repainted. I didn't notice if there were uneven gaps as a result, but this is an example of something that could have looked bad in this video, but wasn't.
Good video for those of us looking to buy a new or USED car.
My Honda Accord front hood popped up in a high windy weather and smashed front windshield. I took my Honda to a reputable body shop in my area and they replaced and repaired part of damaged ceiling around sunroof. They did such a fantastic job that anyone I showed my car, couldn't tell if front hood was replaced and painted. If the car is repaired by highly skilled body shop, you may have hard time to identify if there was an accident specially when they used genuine OEM parts.
A lot better video than I expected. Very good advice, many years ago I inspected new vehicles when they came in off the truck. You would be surprised the things we found and even rejected a couple new vehicles.
That's pretty damn smart. I wouldn't have even thought to check it. But then again, the cars I have bought multiples of lately, I'm just hoping they start.
snowfreeze haha
Had same issue. Under 22k miles, 1.5 year old. Carfax was clean. After I bought noticed stiff steering and clunk on one side. Dealer fixed clunk, a strut mount replace. Strange for such low miles but it was a GM. Moved on a year later I learned what to look for and found fender, hood, door bolts has been removed. Hoses to that side located overflow tank had aftermarket worm drive clamps. Door inside grab handle slightly loose, small foam in door lock trigger missing. At 120k got all new struts w/ 4 wheel alignment and the install tech pulled me aside. Said he got it all aligned but showed me this wheel was + 8, this was -5, other side was close to 0 as expected. He said it was in at least a moderate perhaps heavy accident.
Thanks for this Greg! I've always looked at panel gaps when looking at, or considering cars and you are the first person to validate my approach! :-)
This video is very informative. As for Carfax, I would only use it as a tool to eliminate potential purchase rather than a tool for purchasing.
Years back I was in the market for a Corvette. Every Corvette had bad gaps at the 4 corners. I don't know if it was shipping issues or occurred on the lot. I finally had to go to another state to find a clean, new Corvette. Also, don't forget to look at internal gaps. Found one used Corvette where the dash panel had a 1" variation. I asked the dealer and of course he goes, "I have no knowledge of any previous damage." The car had to have been in a serious wreck. Don't trust a body shop for a professional review. A buddy bought a high end car that he found the same shop had done the repairs from a severe accident.
Very useful tips, Greg, many thanks!
Congratulation from Argentina!!! Really nice job.
Thank for this! I've learned so much from your channel in the last week.
Thanks for the great inspection review. I'm selling my car ASAP. Didn't realize that my vehicle was in an accident. Nothing revealed in a Carfax report. Things will be changing really soon.
Really helpful as I’m hoping to pick up a new car tomorrow (Honda Jazz) and I’m going through all your videos to make sure it’s all good. Many thanks 🙏
Thank you for providing such a valuable video.
you are a great man . i am a inspector too for used cars , i look for these things and also painted panels that have dust particles meaning that panel was painted . i have eyes like a hawk , i can spot it from 10 feet away , been doing this for the past 50 years .. the call me the spotter guy with hawk eyes . thx !!!!
Carfax is not reliable, the Yaris I own now, which I bought used, had a clean carfax and it is obvious that it was in an accident and was even repainted a diff color.
Let me guess it was first registered as a fleet / rental car... One particular rental car company has a reputation for having insurance companies settle out on their internal unit number not the VIN so the accident does not show up on Carfax and they sell the car with a clean title.
Actually, no. I am the 3rd owner, bought locally and serviced at the same dealership since new, at least I was able to see it had a clean mechanical record. always maintained at the same Toyota dealer and I have continued to do the same.
Rental car companies will often take a car in that had an undocumented accident and have an off site facility do the repair. The rental company will sell off these cars when they retire them and it is in their best interest to not show the accident because it would affect the bottom line. The dealer buys these cars at auction for resale and they will have a clean Carfax.
I see this often in my inspections. It also happens with legitimate dealer trade-ins but less so.
In the end the consumers are the ones that get duped.
@@YourCarAngel it's not only in America: such a story happened to me 2 years ago in England
(it used to be a fleet van, "clean title", after I bought it I noticed it had a frontal crash)
and on the opposite - sold my car that had one minor accident but carfax reported itas two. which was frustrating.
thanks! not many places on internet to get information like this.
You should videos much more often. Its all awesome knowledgeable information. You upload videos way to less frequently.
Quality vs quantity. It's free information you should not whine
Just step away from the car and look at the color of the doors, fender and rear panels. For most more pale colors, you will immediately see if any door or panel has a slightly different shade: that area had to be repainted due to damage. Only downside is, you don't know if it was only a large dent/scratch, or rather a larger impact with more damage to the car. On some higher end cars, there's another way to find out if the car was in a crash: open and close all doors one by one: those who close with a solid 'thump' were not touched, those who close with a less 'solid' feel and sound, might have been removed for damage repairs.
Thanks for such great info. I found a similar gap on the tailgate of my new truck. When I inspected further, I found more damage inside on the hinge plus the tailgate wasn't closing evenly. When I asked the sales person if there was any previous damage history....the answer was "No, not at all". Perhaps he just didn't know... :/
Globally relevant, and informative, review. Thank you Greg. #UK #LondonEngland
Well... that doesn't apply to Renault, around two years ago I went to see some brand new, and they had a Megane, Clio, and a Talisman with odd gaps on the panels, the seller said: "It's normal!".
Good info and video, thanks, Greg. Always appreciate your insights.
Great video! I am in the process of buying a used car and you will be surprised the junk that some of the car lots here (Ohio) are trying to sell that are "supposed" to be excellent condition.
Car Angel,Thanks for posting this video. Very informative! Lets say i really liked this car, and desired to by it. despite the "flaw,. If a therow inspection showd that everything else was great, and was working, it would be a good reason to get a deep discount when nagotiating price! After all, you can make the salesman real nervous by walking away! unless he lowers the price! iv bought cars with alot worce wrong with them, and they were very realiable!
An eye-opener indeed. You are definitely a Car-Angel.
Sometimes, even more than the damage itself, what is important to know is how it has been dealt with. In this case, the fender has probably not been touched too much, the headlight seems so be original (the overspray seems to indicate that they didn't bother to take it off before repainting), and the bumper is still original, which means both that the damage was not enough to really destroy it and that the repairing job was done cheaply. It appears that a (probably) fairly minor damage has been fixed in a shoddy, cheap way. In the case of these minor damages, this is a very good indication that the car is better left there.
Excellent, thanks Greg!
Great video. We bought an old car with the same issues, also with a CARFAX that said NO accidents reported, when clearly there had been one. Subbed too.
If none of the parts in the front were damaged then there's nothing to worry about, you can check this by simply test driving the car. If the car doesn't make any bad sounds or doesn't show anything to raise concerns it was just the body that was damaged. Bad tinsmith work is not the same as a bad engine inner parts etc.
This is great information thank you
Side note
I’m in the Uk, and I remember a story about the British Leyland Mini, the original ones. They had neat tidy joins between panels, but over the years the factory got worn out, for want of a better explanation, and the later cars had wider joins, even brand new off the line. But now cars are robot assembled and mouldings are better, I guess that won’t apply!
You are a very good presenter Thankyou for your service.
So glad I found you! I'm getting ready to look for a used car. Your videos are VERY informative!
I'm confused: suit + pony tail. :)
Thanks for another useful video. :)
Liked and subbed. Glad I discovered you! So much good info in your vids. You deserve more views!
very good sir appreciate the invaluable anaylasis
I buy new cars but they like to watch your videos!
Lol kinda ironic that I picked up a salvaged 2015 prius with both front and back damage. No frame damage and very very minor bumper cover damage. Had the car for six months, zero issues with anything. Basically over half off for minor cosmetic scratches. Some win, some lose, its a gamble.