# What would you do? Certified Used car that had been in an accident.



## Juvysen (Apr 25, 2007)

Dh and I are looking for a certified used van now that we have a little bundle arriving soon... so we were looking at one of our local dealerships for a certified used toyota sienna. They have several but one was a 2008 with 20k miles and a great price... so we look at the carfax... it had been in an accident with a deer.

So, I guess I'm wondering if anyone knows what this means in terms of the certified used status. I mean, there's the 7 year/100k mile warrantee on it and all...

So, would you trust that it's in reasonable shape and go for it or would you go for something that's a more sure bet? Does the certified used status factor in at all? What do you think?


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## Juvysen (Apr 25, 2007)




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## snoopy5386 (May 6, 2005)

I don't know....my car was in an accident with a deer - the deer ran into us as we were driving down the highway, it ripped off the drivers side mirror. That was the only damage - we still reported it to the insurance company so it would be on our car's carfax report too. They replaced the mirror and here we are years later. I would go back to the dealer and try and get more info on the accident. It could have been something extremely minor like ours. For us it was worth it to go through our insurance - we had no deductible on the comprehensive (what it was covered under) and the insurance didn't go up because of the accident since it wasn't our fault.


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## Juvysen (Apr 25, 2007)

Yeah, it makes me wonder because it's only an '08 and has low mileage. Sooooo... I wonder what would make someone give up a new car if it hadn't been totaled (I have to assume there'd have to have been some pretty significant damage or at least bent frame for an insurance company to total a new car).


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## rainyday (Apr 28, 2006)

I'd take it to a mechanic that I trusted and have them look it over for signs of frame damage, etc. If the mechanic thought it looked ok, then I'd probably go for it. Our mechanic has also advised us over the years to avoid certain used car brands that we had been looking at because he sees them way more often than average in the shop.


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## rainyday (Apr 28, 2006)

I wouldn't necessarily worry about it being an '08. People trade in newer cars all the time for all sorts of reasons, and it wasn't necessarily related to the accident.


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## RunnerDuck (Sep 12, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Juvysen* 
Yeah, it makes me wonder because it's only an '08 and has low mileage. Sooooo... I wonder what would make someone give up a new car if it hadn't been totaled (I have to assume there'd have to have been some pretty significant damage or at least bent frame for an insurance company to total a new car).

Depending on when they gave it up... we have an 08 Sienna and some time last year we got a thing about the dealership having a low number of new used cars (you know what I mean, newer models) and they were offering to buy your used car for the kelly blue book price minus some amount for miles... Well we went in to get a quote because while there was nothing wrong with our van we do wish we had gotten two power doors and a power hatch (we have the basic 8 person LE, only one power door)...

Our miles were pretty low but it still ended up that it would cost a ridiculous amount to upgrade to the 2 power doors/hatch, so we said forget it. I mean like 8k or 10k or something... I would like a power hatch but every time I opened it I would think "8 thousand dollars... "and wonder if it was worth it. So...

But anyway - it could have been something like that. The deer thing may have had nothing to do with the trade in. Maybe they saw a good chance to get the car they wished they had gotten in the first place.

I live in PA and someone told me recently that this is like the #2 state or something for getting hit by a deer... if people gave up their cars every time they hit a deer we'd have serious problems. I wouldn't give up my own car over that so I wouldn't rule out a used car based on that, either, especially from a dealer where it will have gotten a lot of safety checks and all.


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## Juvysen (Apr 25, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *rainyday* 
I wouldn't necessarily worry about it being an '08. People trade in newer cars all the time for all sorts of reasons, and it wasn't necessarily related to the accident.









I always forget that I think differently about cars than most people. I'm usually in it to buy for the long haul... I forget that that's not necessarily everyone.


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## mbhf (Jan 8, 2005)

The carfax report will tell you if there was any major damage. If it has any frame damage, you probably don't want anything to do with it (I wouldn't) but otherwise it's probably not a big deal. I got rearended once at much less than 5mph and the only damage was a rubbed spot on the back bumper (which still cost almost $1000 to fix!) but it shows up on the carfax report. I also had a door repainted from a scratch and the painted door showed up on the carfax report, too, though it just said "left rear door repainted" or something like that.

As for it being an 08, most people I know trade in every 2 years so that doesn't seem odd to me.


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## Thalia the Muse (Jun 22, 2006)

My last car, a Nissan Sentra, had been totalled in an accident and rebuilt by a mechanic. It was fine -- part of the rear end was practically made out of Bond-o, and there was eventually some cosmetic cracking after I'd owned it for a few years. But it ran beautifully, I got it for a steal, and I drove it for about five years without any problems. I only sold it because I wanted a four-door to make it easier to get a baby in and out of the back.


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## Juvysen (Apr 25, 2007)

huh... all the carfax says is "in a collision with a deer"- it was from a police report.

Doesn't mention any fixes after that...


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## ASusan (Jun 6, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *RunnerDuck* 
I live in PA and someone told me recently that this is like the #2 state or something for getting hit by a deer... if people gave up their cars every time they hit a deer we'd have serious problems. I wouldn't give up my own car over that so I wouldn't rule out a used car based on that, either, especially from a dealer where it will have gotten a lot of safety checks and all.

That. I saw Binghamton as your location, and thought, "Would it be possible to buy a used car in upstate NY that HADN'T been in a collision with a deer?"

I think my parents hit a deer twice in one week. May have even been the same deer.


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## Juvysen (Apr 25, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ASusan* 
That. I saw Binghamton as your location, and thought, "Would it be possible to buy a used car in upstate NY that HADN'T been in a collision with a deer?"

I think my parents hit a deer twice in one week. May have even been the same deer.









Yeah, we're definitely in deer country. I've never hit one, personally, but I know LOADS of people who have and I'm uber careful (not that that necessarily matters - my mom's ex husband got hit by one on his SIDE window!)

I don't know what the other ones are like, it just worried me because *some* deer crashes are bad, and it was such a new car it didn't occur to me that someone would get rid of it without there being something seriously wrong with it. I'm sending DH today (hopefully!) to go look at it, since the dealership is right near where he works.


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## cschick (Aug 28, 2007)

A lot of shops will do a look-over for you.

As for carfax . . . after seeing the reports on our old cars, I take any carfax reports with a big grain of salt. My husband's jetta was in a crash and sustained frame damage (a 16-year-old who had had her license 4 weeks turned left across his path and the front of the frame ended up bent). It has a completely clean carfax report.

My jetta was rear-ended in a slip-and-slide accident, and the only reason it sustained any damage was that it was below 0F and the bumper cover literally shattered due to the temps. But the carfax report on that accident made it sound like it was a majorly damaged.


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## Juvysen (Apr 25, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *cschick* 
A lot of shops will do a look-over for you.

As for carfax . . . after seeing the reports on our old cars, I take any carfax reports with a big grain of salt. My husband's jetta was in a crash and sustained frame damage (a 16-year-old who had had her license 4 weeks turned left across his path and the front of the frame ended up bent). It has a completely clean carfax report.

My jetta was rear-ended in a slip-and-slide accident, and the only reason it sustained any damage was that it was below 0F and the bumper cover literally shattered due to the temps. But the carfax report on that accident made it sound like it was a majorly damaged.

Thanks! that's useful. we'll definitely have our mechanic check it out for us. I just looked up the kelly blue book and it apparently assumes "excellent condition" for any certified used car... so, is that because the "certified pre-owned" program is as good as it claims? or is it not? And if it is, then would they take a car that is that damaged? kwim?


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## RunnerDuck (Sep 12, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Juvysen* 
Thanks! that's useful. we'll definitely have our mechanic check it out for us. I just looked up the kelly blue book and it apparently assumes "excellent condition" for any certified used car... so, is that because the "certified pre-owned" program is as good as it claims? or is it not? And if it is, then would they take a car that is that damaged? kwim?

I don't know, but I think they'd be pretty careful about putting it up for sale.

FWIW shortly after we got our van my son left all the lights on inside (he liked to press on them and turn them on) and then the battery died... We'd had a Hyndai before the van and Hyundai had great warrenty, great service - they would come and give you a jump start. So I called Toyota for roadside assistance and learned it doesn't come with new Toyotas, only used ones!!! I was ticked. So we had to join AAA and wait till the next day for a jump.

So I learned the roadside angle of things is better with a used Toyota. Of course most insurance companies will cover this sort of thing, too, but I found that weird. You pay all this money for a new Toyota and they won't even give you a jump start? Dunno if this is true any more - this was late '07 or early '08.

I have not bought a used Toyota but I had a used Ford once and a used Chevy. I forget which one but shortly after I got it the transmission died... and the dealer covered. It costs a lot more but it's a lot safer going through a dealer with a used car. If something does go wrong they will probably make good on it. I really wouldn't worry about the deer.


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## DahliaRW (Apr 16, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *RunnerDuck* 
FWIW shortly after we got our van my son left all the lights on inside (he liked to press on them and turn them on) and then the battery died... We'd had a Hyndai before the van and Hyundai had great warrenty, great service - they would come and give you a jump start. So I called Toyota for roadside assistance and learned it doesn't come with new Toyotas, only used ones!!! I was ticked. So we had to join AAA and wait till the next day for a jump.

So I learned the roadside angle of things is better with a used Toyota. Of course most insurance companies will cover this sort of thing, too, but I found that weird. You pay all this money for a new Toyota and they won't even give you a jump start? Dunno if this is true any more - this was late '07 or early '08.

You can get roadside assistance if you buy a prepaid service plan or purchase it seperately with Toyota. But no, not automatically included.


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