Rep Power: 0

What’s “Undercarriage” damage?

I’m thinking about buying a car from Copart, they mostly sell vehicles that have been in an accident, but some have minor damage and a few are from donations, and fleet sales, etc.

I found a 2010 Civic Hybrid, with low milage, it says the damage is Undercarriage.
This is how they do it, they don't give much info on what the problem is with the car.
You have to figure it out for yourself. They're much cheaper, but you're on your own to find out any problems.

Question: Would you like to speculate on what that might mean?
What accident might have happened?
What should I look for when I go examine it, or hire an actual mechanic to check it out?

My guess would be: Hit a curb or a pothole at high speed.
What other possibilities?

The body looks fine, in the pictures, I can’t see any damage to the body.

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I need to buy a car, because coming home from work today, someone hit my 2005 Civic Hybrid. They did that common mistake, coming off the interstate, stop at the stop sign, look left for traffic, then she took off before I did, because traffic was coming, and hit me. Mostly rear right fender, plus bumper cover.

I assume insurance will total it, since it’s probably a low-value car.

Thank you Civic Hybrid for your service! It has 370,000 miles, and has worked fine for years, but the clear coat is gone, hybrid batteries still mostly work fine, but gives an error every few months. It uses some oil.

I really like the Hybrid because: I get 45 mpg. There’s no head gasket, and there’s no timing chain, so it’s been much cheaper over the years without those expenses.
I want another Hybrid. I can live with the small engine/low power.

Thank you!

My 2005 Civic has been a great pickup :-)

 
Rep Power: 126

Post a link to the listing if you wouldn't mind.

If you're new to this, I wouldn't suggest it. Too many variables. At the end of the day, we aren't talking about a $20,000 car when you get it reinspected. KBB says they're only worth about $4000 and they typically shoot higher than what the cars are actually worth. It's probably not worth the headache.

Undercarriage damage can range anywhere from a bent frame to broken trim pieces (depending on the car). Typically it means it drove over something violently enough to write it off.

Now, in the event that you want a Copart car, find something with visible damage. That way (for the most part), there aren't any surprises.