Apron Damage and Rear Passenger side door seal issue

2018 ACURA TL
42,500 MILES • 2.4L • 4 CYL • 2WD • AUTOMATIC
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RENO11300
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Hi, I'm looking to purchase a TLX from an auction.

Two damages listed that I am a little concerned about are the apron damage they point to in the picture and the paint on the leather seats.

Pic 1:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QZeqNFSJCke1AA-O60Od1712lYIJUMZT/view?usp=sharing

Pic 2:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wHMqOtwRwcXZAL1I-e_5NXSYTYfMhdVy/view?usp=sharing

On the first picture, do you see anything wrong with the apron or the supposed repair that they performed on it? The comment from the auction is substandard repair. This auction is known to be anal about little issue and call scratches to the underbody as structural issue. Is this something I need to worry about?



Second, as you see it is rear passenger seat and the metal next to the seat is exposed. I thought this would be covered by the door seal or weatherstrip. Am I missing something here or is it indeed that these are missing?
May 12, 2020 at 11:07 PM
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STEVE W.
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Very hard to tell what they are referring to in the first picture. Would need to see under the vehicle and what the repair was for as the picture doesn't show enough. The second pic is missing the weatherstrip. likely was removed and they masked off the area but dusted some paint in by accident. The paint should be removable but it would take some real care to do it without damaging the leather.
Typical auction vehicle though. Some are a great deal others are a roll with loaded dice. What do you know of the background of the vehicle? Run a VIN on it and see if you can find pictures of it prior to the repairs.
May 15, 2020 at 7:43 PM
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RENO11300
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Thanks for the reply Steve. Very helpful!

Do you know if I get any of these vehicle that list structural damage at auction but no accident or any bad remark as of the auction time on autocheck, would it structural damage be recorded on autocheck once the auction is won or later down the road or do comments from the auction stay undisclosed?

Thanks
May 15, 2020 at 10:05 PM
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STEVE W.
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Most of the auctions I go to leave it up to the bidder to determine anything about the vehicle other than what they list on a sell sheet. For instance they might list a vehicle as runs and drives, At some places that means you could put it on the road today, in others it means the engine runs, if you disregard the fact it burns oil faster than you can add it and ignore the loud rod knocks from the bottom, and drives because they put it in gear and it moved 6 inches. Damage mat or may not be listed, it would depend on who did the repairs and if the accident was reported through the system. One of the most popular outfits here is Carfax. The problem is that I could buy a car, drive it for a while, run it into a pole and damage it severely, Then tow it home, rebuild the damage and it wouldn't be on a report because I didn't report it in any way. Or perhaps a brand new car was damaged in the parking lot of a dealership, they would generally move it to the body shop and repair it and it wouldn't be reported either. That is the same with most of the reports, they are voluntary so things don't get reported unless an insurance company or similar gets involved. As for it showing up after the vehicle changes hands, it could if the information was discovered by someone who then entered it, but for the most part it would already be there if the original damage was reported.

That's why it's hard to deal with auction cars, you really never know what the history is.
May 16, 2020 at 7:41 AM