 | Richard Smith has been in the Auto Body Industry for 26 years. He is ASE Certified Master Collision Tech, an I-Car Platinum Tech, and an I-Car Instructor. He and His wife own and operate Sharp's Auto Body & Collision Inc. located at 202 North Elm St. in Pittsburg, Kansas. He is a father of 5 children, Ex Military E-6 Staff SGT. and is active in his home Church. The one thing he enjoys doing is educating the public about the safety and proper repair of automobiles, no matter if it is a vehicle that has been in a collision, a small dent, or a complete restoration. The shop is always equipped with a skilled professional to handle your auto needs. |
Automotive Service & Repair
2011-04-01 13:55:00
Buying wrecked or pre-salvaged vehicles...what you should know - part 2
Question: Are there any “jaw dropping” cases you’ve found when tearing apart a poorly repaired wrecked or pre-salvaged vehicle?
Answer: Where do I begin? Recently we had a young lady bring her vehicle to us to be repaired from an accident she was in. When we started tearing down the vehicle for repair, we found sections cut out of the structure of the vehicle and immediately had to stop all work on it. We called the customer to tell her what we had uncovered and explained to her that we could not go any farther with the repair of the vehicle, because of the liabilities. After doing some checking around, the customer found that before the vehicle was given to her as a gift, her car had been purchased from someone as a rebuilt vehicle.
Several people were called in to see the prior damage we had unveiled, and found that they could not get the person they bought it from to make good on their deal. This customer was in a real uncomfortable situation and I have to say, it was very upsetting to have to watch her go through all of this. She could not sell the car because it would make her liable if anyone got hurt in the vehicle. In addition to that, she was driving a vehicle that was very unsafe.
It was time for them to make one of two decisions: To repair the structure of the vehicle properly and move forward with the repairs from the accident, or take the vehicle with them, knowing that it had major structural damage and was unsafe. The customer transports young children in her vehicle so she knew it was not just her safety that was a concern, it was also the safety of the children and any other passengers she may have in the vehicle.
In the end, the decision they made was to have the vehicle fixed the proper way, as it should have been done in the beginning. This cost them several hundreds of dollars out-of-pocket to do this. However, since they did make this decision we were able to complete the accident damage repair for her also.
The moral of the story is this: If you must buy a wrecked or pre-salvaged vehicle, remember to be sure the facility or person you’re buying from has the proper training and certifications to repair the vehicle to standards. The initial savings on that vehicle may come out-of-pocket in expenses down the road, and you may also be driving a structurally damaged vehicle in the process. If you do not have a shop you trust you can call your local BBB, Chamber of Commerce or even go on line and check out the shop through several resources.
