I looked at the carfax and it says that there have been no accidents but I know that it isn't always accurate. Someone also told me that if the edge of the hood of a car isn't smooth it means that it has been in a front end accident. After i purchased the car i realized that theres two spots one on each side that looks like it might've been in an accident and also i noticed another spot on the rear fender above the tire. I'm really not good with cars but that's what someone told me so I was wondering if there's anyone here who knows more about it and can tell me if it has been in an accident and if it hasn't then where did those spots come from? Thank you.

 

That sure doesn't look right. And what's up with the rust on the wheel well?

 

Its kinda hard to tell with those pictures. Open the rear door and look for over sprays along the inner quarter panel and along the door jamb.

 

Is this what you are talking about?? I can see this on all 4 doors do you think maybe they painted the whole car? And is there anything I can do about this if i speak to the guy at the dealership? I just bought it on Saturday and it was way below blue book value. It's a 2009 with 60k miles and premium package for only $16k

 

Wow dude I downloaded the pictures and zoomed in, that totally looks painted. You don't see the dust particles in the paint?

 

Well I'm really not good with cars so I didn't know... Do you think I might be able to go back to the dealership and maybe get my money back? I don't know if there's a law that requires them to disclose that information though. I live in the state of new york

 

Not a chance in hell.. Plain and simple.

But I'm not a hundred percent sure your car has been in an accident you might want to let other members chime in. Bring it to a body shop and ask for their opinion. They'll be able to give you a better assessment of things then I could buy just viewing pictures.

 

Well I bought it from a nissan dealership so I'm assuming they do all kinds of work there and they must have known if it has been in an accident. And what other reason would they have for selling it like $3k under blue book value. When we were talking about the price he said that they took off the bumper to fix it because it had scratches. So I'm assuming there was probably a lot more than that and he didn't tell me. There's like no scratches on the car at all so i would say the whole car has probably been painted I mean it's an 09 so it can't be in such a good shape without any work on it.

 

Sorry to say, but it looks like something isn't right we me. Things like this is what scared me from buying used. The white spray inside the doors by the hinges is lithium grease. I'd be concerned with the rust the most. That is absolutely ridiculous that you have it occurring on a a 2009. As someone who is planning to buy a new Maxima, I hope this isn't common.

 

Something was done with that fender to case the rust, what state(s) was the car registered in ?

6 years in someplace like Minnesota where they salt the roads 6 months a year could easily cause rust if the surface paint was chipped.

The White stuff is grease, looks like someone just sprayed a bunch in there but it should come off.

I don't see any obvious signs of major paint work

 

Yeah it was a one owner car and the first owner lived in new york and i also live in new york and we get a lot of snow so that might be why there's rust but it is also a little bent like its not smooth compared to the other 3. I don't know now that I think about it it might have been just a very slight hit and there was very little damage to the car and they tried to cover it. I might take it to a body shop just to make sure but it shouldn't be anything serious. I was just concerned because that guy told me about the edge of the hood how its supposed to be smooth and it's not but im assuming if there has been an accident there would've been more damage or visible paint work on the hood and i don't see anything. Thank you everyone for the responses.

 

The wheel well fenders look normal to me. Surprisingly and I guess shamefully, some of my wheel well fenders look like that and my car is a new 2014 Maxima. Talk about quality? But regardless, it doesn't bother me. I will take some pictures of it in the morning and some other odd points. Considering you live in the north, and the fact that the fenders are not a smooth arch, the salt may have sat on there and ate through the metal.

As for the hood, it seems like the hood hit something, possibly the windshield wipers while they were in the up position. Line or pull up the windshield wipers and see if they come in contact with the hood if it were to be open. Again, that white residue looks like dried lithium grease. The previous owner, or someone, thought that the hood and subsequent doors were squeaky due to salt rusting the metal hinges and caused it to squeak or become stiff. It may have come in contact with whatever damaged the top portion of the hood from the above tasks. For a car that is 5 years old facing northern winters, it is not unusual to see that type of rusting or grease residue on hinge joints as a cheap solution to the problem.

 

Looks like rust spots were touched up.

 

Xtreme
I would say that car fax works on if the car was in accident and a claim was made on it to fix it. Car fax can't catch someone who has it fixed without insurance involvement or a reputable collision center.
As far as salt for the rust, any edge of metal makes it the most susceptible to rust as it can catch road and salt grime. It really isn't so much the salt as it is the maintenance. If they didn't clean the car regularly then rust will appear that much quicker.
The white stuff as someone said is lithium grease which is used for lubrication but usually it is not the automotive choice as it can collect dirt and grime very quickly.
Good luck and I hope you get some answers.

 

Hard to tell from these pics but you got fender rust and it looks like corrosion on that lower door hinge (more so than the upper) and attempts to spray something on the center hinge could be indicative of being in salt water--Sandy Victim?

 

I was just thinking that ( sandy) I would put that car on a lift and see what the undercarriage looks like as far as rust goes.

Where in NY is the car from ?

 

I lifted up the wipers it's not from them and it seems like the car has been in buffalo, ny the whole time so I don't think it was affected by the hurricane and if it was I think it's supposed to show up on the carfax. I didn't get a chance to take it to a mechanic or a body shop today but I don't even know if it's worth it since it doesn't seem like it's anything to be too worried about and we get pretty bad winters here and theres tons of salt on the roads all the time so it's probably from that. Another thing i noticed is that the passanger side mirror has been replaced but that doesn't mean anything he couldve broke it at like a parking lot or something. It just annoys me because it was auto dim and he replaced it with a regular one. As for the hood I dont know what it could be maybe the salt got all over the car? I don't know

 

Being in Buffalo chances are it wasn't involved in Sandy but just an FYI , Sandy cars do not show on car fax unless there were total insurance losses or had some work done at a shop that reported it.

Carfax is far from 100% accurate as far as accidents go

 

Not to me. When steel rusts under paint, it bubbles the paint which is what it looks like to me.

Not sure about the hood stuff. Perhaps they replaced the windshield at some point that that happened? I think the hood panel line opening up a little is normal. I'll check mine tonight.

The fender looks like that thin lip got a little banged up and bent, and it cracked the paint. That could have happened numerous ways during maintenance or while driving. Once the paint cracked, it allowed water and road salt in which caused the rust. If it was in an accident I would expect the main fender to be dented too, not just the lip.