Front Right Corner Insurance claim " Light Pod"? any input?

bhoang · 10-29-2013, 10:55 AM

i am looking to purchuse a vehicle

08 335 fully loaded with 84000km asking 20000 at a dealership

however i was told and on the car fax shows a claim of $3000 " front right corner"

was told it was not a accident , but only the whole front right "light pod" assembly? was replaced.

does this sound fishy?

the right side of the car sits lower than the left, judging by the wheel gap in the front.

i test drove the car as well, the alignment is off, and the steering wheel vibrates a lot.

thanks in advance

JustinGTP · 10-29-2013, 11:01 AM

Hm, a headlight replacement can be pricey, but who knows what actually happened.

Is this at a dealer? Or is it one of those shady used car dealerships? It would need those issues resolved before you bought it, surely?

JohnnyCanuck · 10-29-2013, 11:02 AM

$3000 would be very light damage and would not explain your test drive. The light pod, re & re for the light pod, some minor body work would easily be $3K.

There's something else to the story. Carfax will only report insurance history. If the car was damaged and there was no insurance claim, it wouldn't likely show (for example if the previous owner didn't have collision coverage and had a single vehicle accident, no insurance claim, won't show on Carfax). I'd have the car inspected by a third party before buying it.

dassub · 10-29-2013, 11:04 AM

If it looks off, and drives off, I would walk away. Sounds like a shady dealer.

bhoang · 10-29-2013, 11:35 AM

its from a GM dealer, they just got it as a trade in.

i was told there was no bumper or paint work, strictly just the light pod was replaced.

and this claim was back in 2010.

335alive · 10-29-2013, 04:07 PM

CarProof or CarFax? 2 very different documents.

CarProof will show claims; if a claim was not made, it should still show an estimate. Even if an estimate was not made, the accident should have been reported to a collision reporting centre, which will then still show on the CarProof, albeit with no dollar amount...

This sounds fishy if the car is not driving right, and looks/feels off. Sounds like it could have been a more significant event...

MyF15+F85 · 10-29-2013, 05:41 PM

$3000 in a claim is not much at all.
DID you know that the actual amount will include
-rental of the vehicle ? Oh yeah rental ( if applicable )
-actual repair
-storage of the vehicle ( if the car sits in the shop longer than time to repair it.
Sometimes the parts need to come from Germany, now if that happens storage fees..... )
-insurance almost always pays full retail price to the repair shop, that is priceyyy
So for $3000 you will get just the headlight and the air freshener !

10-29-2013, 10:55 AM	#1
bhoang Second Lieutenant 11 Rep 213 Posts Drives: 2009 335 Join Date: May 2012 Location: toronto iTrader: (2)	Front Right Corner Insurance claim " Light Pod"? any input? i am looking to purchuse a vehicle 08 335 fully loaded with 84000km asking 20000 at a dealership however i was told and on the car fax shows a claim of $3000 " front right corner" was told it was not a accident , but only the whole front right "light pod" assembly? was replaced. does this sound fishy? the right side of the car sits lower than the left, judging by the wheel gap in the front. i test drove the car as well, the alignment is off, and the steering wheel vibrates a lot. thanks in advance
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10-29-2013, 11:01 AM	#2
JustinGTP Captain 58 Rep 602 Posts Drives: '13 MINI Paceman JCW Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Calgary, Alberta iTrader: (0)	Hm, a headlight replacement can be pricey, but who knows what actually happened. Is this at a dealer? Or is it one of those shady used car dealerships? It would need those issues resolved before you bought it, surely? __________________ '09 LCI 335i E90 in BSM over Oyster Dakota Leather, Manual, Sport, Navigation, Individual Audiophile, Executive, Active Steering, JB4 + MHD BEF, 335is Exhaust w/AWE Tuning Tips, AFE DCI, Euro Tails/Fog Light Switch, various painted and other OEM + mods, 19" M5 reps summer '13 MINI Cooper S Paceman JCW R61in Light White & Black Roof/Mirror Caps/Sport Stripes, Loaded + Rare
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10-29-2013, 11:02 AM	#3
JohnnyCanuck Major 1254 Rep 1,352 Posts Drives: 2018 Audi RS3 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Vancouver iTrader: (1)	$3000 would be very light damage and would not explain your test drive. The light pod, re & re for the light pod, some minor body work would easily be $3K. There's something else to the story. Carfax will only report insurance history. If the car was damaged and there was no insurance claim, it wouldn't likely show (for example if the previous owner didn't have collision coverage and had a single vehicle accident, no insurance claim, won't show on Carfax). I'd have the car inspected by a third party before buying it.
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10-29-2013, 11:04 AM	#4
dassub Captain 60 Rep 965 Posts Drives: '14 328xi sport line Join Date: May 2009 Location: Toronto iTrader: (1) Garage List 1981 Fiat 124 Spider [0.00] 2014 F30 BMW 328xi [0.00] 2006 E90 BMW 325i ( ... [0.00] 1988 Audi 90 Quattr ... [0.00]	If it looks off, and drives off, I would walk away. Sounds like a shady dealer.
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10-29-2013, 11:35 AM	#5
bhoang Second Lieutenant 11 Rep 213 Posts Drives: 2009 335 Join Date: May 2012 Location: toronto iTrader: (2)	its from a GM dealer, they just got it as a trade in. i was told there was no bumper or paint work, strictly just the light pod was replaced. and this claim was back in 2010.
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10-29-2013, 04:07 PM	#6
335alive i accidentally the verb 19 Rep 671 Posts Drives: 13 Subaru BRZ Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: caledon, ontario iTrader: (2)	CarProof or CarFax? 2 very different documents. CarProof will show claims; if a claim was not made, it should still show an estimate. Even if an estimate was not made, the accident should have been reported to a collision reporting centre, which will then still show on the CarProof, albeit with no dollar amount... This sounds fishy if the car is not driving right, and looks/feels off. Sounds like it could have been a more significant event... __________________ '88 Porsche 944 - SOLD '90 Audi Coupe Quattro - SOLD '07 E90 335i 6MT - SOLD '08 E90 335i 6MT - SOLD '13 BRZ SportTech 6MT - current
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10-29-2013, 05:41 PM	#7
MyF15+F85 First Lieutenant 50 Rep 388 Posts Drives: 2015 F85 and 2015 F15 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Hamilton ON iTrader: (0)	$3000 in a claim is not much at all. DID you know that the actual amount will include -rental of the vehicle ? Oh yeah rental ( if applicable ) -actual repair -storage of the vehicle ( if the car sits in the shop longer than time to repair it. Sometimes the parts need to come from Germany, now if that happens storage fees..... ) -insurance almost always pays full retail price to the repair shop, that is priceyyy So for $3000 you will get just the headlight and the air freshener !
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