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I can tell you know what you're talking about. It takes years to develop that eye. You have to look at every detail in each and every car to be sure. If you see a lot of them, like I do, and a knowledgeable person gets you started, it becomes obvious. I can tell almost all the time whether a car's had repairs. Almost no one is good enough for it to be invisible. But 20-foot test? Sure! And that's all most people and the insurance companies want. I've seen returned leased vehicles that were obviously painted by Maaco or worse- maybe Uncle Charlie's backyard shop. CAn't believe people allow that on a $30000 car. But it's out there. OTOH, there are '88 740s with perfect paint repairs, done by private shops that prep well and do a great job every time. The good guys will do the SAME work on every car, be it a new XC or an 87 240.
They know their reputation depends on it, and sometimes small jobs appear expensive. You get what you pay for.
Tomorrow we'll see cars at an auction- unfortunately you get about a minute to look over a car, and if it's raining, well, forget it- it's twice as hard to tell. In that minute you have to try to detect clues about the car's previous life, extent of it's injuries, what's original and what's replaced. I *LIKE* to see a bit of paint in the corner of a headlight. That means the car had a very light hit or just scratches- the headlight assembly didn't have to be replaced. If it's got all NEW front lights and a repainted hood, it got wiped out pretty thoroughly. Worse, is finding the telltale welds inside the rear door openings and trunk, meaning it had a quarter panel off. Tough work to get 100% right.
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Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: 86 244DL, 87 244DL, 88 744GLE: 625K total
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