Car Has Undeclared Accident Damage

[baraqua]

Bought a car approximately 14 months ago, with a substantial mot cert remaining. While getting its next Mot the garage dealer has pointed out that the vehicle has had serious accident damage resulting in damage to the sills and both wings. This apparently had also affected the airbag, which had to be reset. My sale agreement with the company has no mention of accident damage and there is no record of it via hpi check, but the mechanic has pointed it out and it is quite substantial. I paid £6,500 for the vehicle but feel a bit miffed that none of this was disclosed at time of purchase. As you can guess I am no expert on cars and would not know what to look for. I wonder if there is any redress, I guess the garage sales team are just going to say they were unaware, but I find that hard to believe when I have had a full service prior to it being handed over to me. Any ideas from anyone in a similar situation?

[TWR]

Take the car back where you purchased, give them evidence of your car's history, they should have checked if the car had been clear of accidents before they sold it, if you can not get any joy, get your insurance involved.

[TWR]

To add, if the car has had 2 new front wings, there is every chance it's out of line.

[TWR]

If poss, try and contact the last owner, you should find his / her details through the service history / the garage which sold you the car, or there may be for details within the paper work, have a look at the front tyres, are they even in wear? if out at night, is the beam even? If the car has just gone through the MOT as you say, these issues should have been noted. do not get BRUSHED OFF BY THE SELLING GARAGE, stand your ground, you have a case here.

[bednobs]

i didn't realise you had to declare accident damage when selling a car? And i thought HPI only told you if it was a write off, not if it had been in an accident

[Deskdiary]

If TWR is suggesting your insurance company should become involved to rectify the damage, I wouldn't bother - because they won't.

At the time of the damage you did not own the car, and therefore had no insurable interest in the car, and your insurance company wasn't insuring the car (or at least wasn't insuring it in your name).

Car Insurance claims are on a 'claims occurring' basis not a 'claims made' basis and therefore it would be the insurance company that was insuring the car at the time of the damage that would be liable, not the insurance company that was insuring the car when knowledge of the damage was first known.

[BRIGHT SPARK]

Are you saying the damage was not repaired to guidelines? If in doubt take it to a reputable bodyshop for inspection.How can you prove that you hav'nt had the work done during your ownership?

[Peter Pedant]

AA may be able to advise.

I think you have been sold a 'ringer' havent you ?
They saw one half of a car to another - and bind it with string and glue.
Used to be lawful ( they fell apart on the motorway etc) and I thought was made unlawful.
The seller is gonna say - " buy as seen no return "
and you need to know if the defects are such that no one could lawfully sell it according to current legislation...and I am sure it is a question of extent.

AA - I dont see that we can help

I also think you are on a loser but that is a personal opinion

[ToraToraTora]

This doesn't sound like an out and out ringer or cut n shut. This looks like the vehicle has had accident damage repaired privately. If an insurance company was involved this could well have been a Cat C/D write off but if not the owner can repair it privately and not mention it anywhere. Was the dealer that spotted the damage the same one that sold it? If so then they probably didn't know about it initially either. I don't see any redress here.

[chas2008]

as a body shop we repair badly damaged cars on a day to day basis, airbag resets are extremely common , doesnt mean the air bag has been deployed, could be something simple like a plug disconnected to allow the repair.
As long as its repaired to a good/safe/manufacturers standard it shouldnt be a problem.If you have any doubts dont rely on a mechanic (his comment on the airbag sets alarm bells ringing) take it to a body shop for an opinion, they are the experts.
My understanding is that the seller doesnt have to disclose anything unless asked, it wont be on HPI unless it was some form of write off.

[ummmm]

Cars are expensive to fix.

Someone crashed my car and rolled it into a ditch. The insurance company wrote it off although the damage was all panel damage. We owned a bodyshop so got it repaired. Just because it's been in an accident doesn't mean it's unsafe.

[chas2008]

just had to do an airbag reset on an Audi A3 (63 plate) just because we removed the door,doesnt make it an unsaleable vehicle...
airbag reset means nothing...