The reality of accident repairs

Everyone wants a car with a clean history and no accidents. On the ICBC APV 9T, commonly known as a transfer form there is a box to be checked off indicating whether there has been damage over 2000 dollars. If this box has to be checked,then the vehicle you are registering has been involved in a repair costing greater than 2000 dollars. Now, on this form there is no more data than that, simply a teaser, letting you know that the car has had an issue in the past. In order to truly ascertain how severe the accident or issue was, we must dig deeper. I recommend paying for a carproof report on any vehicle you are considering, it's a small price to pay for great piece of mind. The carproof will break down all vehicle history, both Canadian and or American. It is inevitable, over the course of time and the law of odds, that some vehicles get into accidents or fender benders. Nowadays, even a Kiss of the bumpers can cost over 2000 to repair, modern vehicles often have park assist sensors built in to bumpers and metallic or pearl shaded paint is quite costly to respray. Minor frontal collisions where a headlight is cracked and plastic bumper covers have to be replaced can easily top 5-8000 dollars. Yes, modern xenon headlights can cost upwards of 2000, add a bumper or a bumper respray and a handful of one-use fasteners and clips and you are at 8000. This is not a case where any structural damage has been noted. An eye opener, absolutely. Would I still buy a car with a declaration of 8000? Absolutely, providing I had done my homework. Body shops charge close to 100/per hour so don't forget to factor in a couple days worth of work to fix the expensive cosmetics on your lightly damaged vehicle. I see higher end cars with accident reports of 20000 to 45000 on a regular basis and to look at these vehicles after the repair has taken place, one could not tell that anything was ever amiss. Premium cars require premium parts to fix and even if the vehicle is 5 years old, the repair parts being installed on the vehicle are brand new and bought at brand new prices. Decide for yourself and do your homework, but my advice is don't overlook a great car that has been repaired properly at an accredited facility. The vehicle will function as it should and 10 years down the road, the repair will be ancient history.