[FoxtrotGolfXray 5.0]

Originally Posted by Dr Smith

Sometimes an expert can only spot the issues..the same panel beater I referred to was once repairing our Territory and called me to ask "who had repaired our car previously". I was shocked as I answered no-one, it's never been damaged before. He asked me to come down and proceeded to show me the paint lines on the inside of the front driver's door skin and around the lock etc where it was obviously taped off and painted but some scratches were still there at the bottom....I did actually find out it was repaired at the factory before shipping to the dealer after a favour by someone with some "mates". Initially I thought it was the dealer however they were adamant it wasn't and they too got the same response from FoMoCo. until my contact dug deeper.

And this is the quandary, in my mind. When does a repair become unacceptable? The vast majority of purchasers would never be aware that their vehicle, purchased new, may have gone through a repair at the factory prior to delivery. And even if they did, most would not be too concerned by it and would happily pay full asking price, even if that was below RRP.

At the other end of the scale, you have repairs that are obvious, have been shoddily executed and/or are down right shonky. In this case, a reduction in asking price over a non-repaired vehicle would be expected and probably reasonable.

So, with that in mind, back to the OP's post. If the repair has been carried out professionally, and has no impact on the roadworthiness of the vehicle, does it warrant a price reduction? Extra warranty? What if it was repaired as a result of being transported here? Does that make a difference?

Tough one, IMHO. I really don't think it's black or white. At the end of the day, if the repair is professional, doesn't result in the vehicle being considered unroadworthy (not that I have much faith in that system alone), and don't have an impact on the cost of ownership (ie doesn't impact on sale price or cause additional maintenance costs over the life of the vehicle) then I think it's time to enjoy the ownership of the vehicle and move on.