10 Signs a Used Car Was in an Accident (Hidden Damage)
Beyond the CarFax: How to spot overspray, misaligned sensors, and pinched frame rails that dealers try to hide.
Quick Answer
A clean vehicle history report does not mean the car is accident-free.
1. The "Finger Test": Run your finger along the gaps between doors/fenders. Uneven gaps = replacement panels.
2. Paint Texture: Factory paint is smooth. "Orange peel" (wavy texture) means a cheap body shop respray.
3. Sensor Glitches: If the parking sensors beep at nothing, the bumper may have been bondo'd over.
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1. The Paint Tells the Story
Factory robots are perfect. Humans are not.
* Tape Lines: Open the hood and doors. Run your finger along the rubber seals. If you feel a "ridge" of paint, it was taped off for spraying.
* Color Match: Looking at the car in direct sunlight. Does the bumper look slightly yellower than the hood? Plastic fades differently than metal, but a stark difference means a replacement.
2. Structural Clues (The Scary Stuff)
* The Bolts: Look at the bolts holding the front fenders (under the hood). Is the paint stripped off the bolt heads? That means a wrench has turned them. Factory bolts are painted over.
* The Welds: Pull up the carpet in the trunk. Factory "spot welds" look like little dimples. Repair welds look like messy globs.
3. ADAS & Sensor Misalignment (New for 2025)
Modern cars have radar sensors in the bumpers and cameras in the windshield.
* The "Lazy" Lane Keep: If the car drifts over the line without beeping, the windshield camera might be misaligned from a glass replacement.
* Random Braking: If the collision warning goes off for no reason, the front radar (usually behind the brand logo) might be loose from a prior impact.
4. Glass & Labels
* The VIN Stickers: Original panels often have a VIN sticker. If the hood or door is missing its sticker, it's not original.
* Brand Names: Check the brand on the headlights. Do they match? Or is one "Toyota" and the other "Depo" (an aftermarket cheap replacement)?
Summary
Trust your eyes, not the story. If a car feels "off"—gaps are weird, paint looks wavy, sensors glitch—walk away.
> Need a second opinion?
> MotorMigo teaches you to look for "History Events" in a scanner's data stream that imply airbags or tensioners fired, even if the dashboard light is off.
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