CarFax says, "structural damage" seller says no frame damage...can this be?

[Speedmaster]

So, there is a car for sale and the owner states there is no frame damage and no damage was evident behind the fenders.

The CarFax notes an accident and has a separate notation for "structural damage". To me that reads, "Danger Will Robinson".

I should note that this is for an aluminum unibody car, but not an NSX.

Much thanks in advance.

 

[mrdeadman]

Technically if it doesn't have a frame because unibody then it couldn't have frame damage.

 

[bogeygolferkyle]

"Structural damage" could be anything.

A brace supporting the fender could be considered frame damage and therefore pretty easy to repair. But then again it could be massive. Funny that this up as I was surfing UTube and an article on this topic came up. you might want to do a search and see if you can find it. It was truly eye opening for me.


Good luck


Kyle

 

[Aaron94T]

A brace supporting the fender could be considered frame damage and therefore pretty easy to repair. But then again it could be massive.
Kyle

By definition a brace supporting the fending is not part of the frame. Frame damage is very specific and not easy to repair. If the car had frame damage it should deduct a serious % off the asking price.

Now structural damage is much more nebulous. What type and year car are we talking about?

 

[Speedmaster]

By definition a brace supporting the fending is not part of the frame. Frame damage is very specific and not easy to repair. If the car had frame damage it should deduct a serious % off the asking price.

Now structural damage is much more nebulous. What type and year car are we talking about?

It was for an RS6 for sale over on Bring a Trailer. The auction is over and I passed on the car...it had nearly 500whp with all-wheel drive (quattro). I was giddy with excitement but seeing that language in the CarFax meant a non-starter for me (at least not without appropriate photos of the damage and repair details.)

 

[Jinks]

Lots of good info in this video. Which has several tips on why I bought a salvaged/stolen Nsx for 16,000 bucks....

https://youtu.be/q69yklelNgs

 

[Vanishing Point]

Bear in mind CarFax and the others only record what has been reported to them, so not all accidents will appear. Try Googling "Title Washing" if you really want to become concerned about future purchases.

 

[Speedmaster]

Bear in mind CarFax and the others only record what has been reported to them, so not all accidents will appear. Try Googling "Title Washing" if you really want to become concerned about future purchases.

Yup, VP - there were some other "issues" that spoke to me...(NY, CT, MA and RI titles as I recall - can you say high probability of a wash?) The other was that the seller would not deliver any frame plots or photos of previous accidents (yeah, that can be explained away, but sheesh...who buys a car with that on the CarFax and doesn't at minimum take photos of the areas affected to prove up no damage,etc.?)

In the end, it was just an AWD, very high hp car for winter fun. If I want that, I will put a supercharger on a Phaeton V8 (not the W12) and go to town on a budget.