Visual Inspection Guide: What Your Eyes Can Catch Before You Pay

That 3mm gap difference between doors? It’s revealing ₹2.5 lakhs of hidden accident damage. Professional body shops can make repairs look flawless—but they can’t hide everything. Learn the visual clues that expose concealed accidents without any special equipment.

Most buyers walk around a car once, see shiny paint, and move on. Meanwhile, trained inspectors spot panel gap inconsistencies, paint overspray on rubber seals, irregular spot welds, and misaligned body panels—all visible signs that scream “accident repair.” This 15-minute visual inspection can save you from a ₹3-5 lakh mistake.

Panel Gap Inspection: The Finger Width Test

Panel gaps are the spaces between body panels (doors, hood, trunk, fenders). Factory assembly creates consistent gaps of 3-5mm throughout the car. Accident damage and repair disrupts this consistency.

How to Check Panel Gaps

The Finger Width Test:

Place your finger horizontally in the gap between hood and fender
Move around the entire perimeter—gaps should feel identical (approximately one finger width)
Red flag: One side is 3mm, other side is 6-7mm = panels were removed and reinstalled

Visual Comparison:

Stand 2 meters from the car, check left-right symmetry
Red flag: Driver door gap wider/narrower than passenger side = frame damage or poor repair

In simple terms: Think of panel gaps like spaces between tiles on your bathroom wall. If one tile is closer to its neighbor than all the others, something went wrong during installation—or the wall underneath isn’t straight.

Paint Inspection: Three Critical Tests

1. Overspray Detection

Overspray happens when spray-painted body panels coat nearby rubber, plastic, or glass surfaces that should remain their original black color.

Where to Check:

Rubber door seals (should be pure black, not body-colored)
Plastic trim around windows (check for fine paint mist)
Under hood rubber grommets and wiring boots
Inside door jambs (check corners and edges)

Red Flag Example: You’re checking a red Maruti Brezza. The door rubber seals have tiny red specks or a faint red tint = door was repainted after accident.

2. Color Matching Assessment

Even professional repainting rarely matches factory color perfectly. Compare hood vs fenders, doors vs quarter panels under direct sunlight from different angles. Repainted panels show slight color shift—appearing different in sunlight versus shade.

3. Orange Peel Texture

Orange peel refers to the dimpled texture that paint shows under light—like the skin of an orange. Factory paint has minimal orange peel (smooth texture). Repainted panels often show excessive orange peel (rough, dimpled appearance).

How to Check:

Shine your phone flashlight at a steep angle across panels
Look at the reflection—should be smooth like glass
Red flag: Hood shows heavy texture/dimples, but doors are smooth = hood was repainted

In simple terms: Factory paint goes through a special baking process that makes it ultra-smooth. Body shop repairs dry at room temperature, creating a slightly rough finish—even when done professionally.

Spot Weld Examination: Factory vs Repair

Spot welds are small circular weld points that join metal panels. They look like tiny coins stamped into the metal seam. Factory welds are uniform and consistent; repair welds are irregular.

Where to Inspect Spot Welds

Where to Look:

Door jambs: Open all doors, check metal seams—factory welds are evenly spaced (every 3-4 cm), same size; repair welds are uneven and rough
Under hood: Fender mounting areas and radiator support—factory welds are smooth and painted; repair welds show fresh paint
Trunk: Check floor and side seams for continuous factory weld lines versus patchy repairs

What This Reveals:

New welds on old structure = panels were replaced after accident
Uneven/irregular welds = frame was bent and straightened
Ground-down weld marks = seller tried to hide repair work

In simple terms: Think of factory spot welds like machine-made buttons on a shirt—perfectly aligned and identical. Repair welds are like hand-sewn buttons—they work, but you can tell they were added later.

Structural Alignment: The Door Test

Misaligned body panels indicate underlying frame damage that even professional repair can’t fully correct.

Door Operation Check

The Closing Effort Test:

Open driver door, close it gently (don’t slam)
Note the effort required and the “thunk” sound
Repeat with passenger door—should feel identical
Check rear doors the same way
Red flag: One door needs more force to close or makes a different sound = frame misalignment

Hood and Trunk Alignment:

Close hood/trunk—should sit flush with surrounding panels
No raised edges or sunken corners
Both sides should be perfectly level
Red flag: Hood sits 2-3mm higher on left than right = frame damage underneath

The Gap Consistency Rule: All gaps (door-to-fender, hood-to-fender, trunk-to-quarter panel) should be identical on left and right sides. Any difference larger than 1-2mm indicates frame damage or poor repair work.

Key Takeaways

✓ Panel gaps tell the story: Use finger width test—gaps should be 3-5mm and identical on both sides ✓ Overspray is the smoking gun: Body color on black rubber seals = guaranteed repaint ✓ Factory welds are perfect: Uneven or new welds = accident repair ✓ Doors don’t lie: Mismatched closing effort reveals hidden frame damage ✓ 15-minute check saves ₹3-5 lakhs: These visual tests cost nothing but spot expensive problems

Professional Verification

While these visual techniques catch most accident repairs, professional equipment reveals what eyes can’t see:

Paint thickness gauge measures original vs repainted panels (100-120 microns = factory, 200+ microns = repainted)
Frame measurement tools detect 1-2mm frame distortion invisible to eyes
Airbag ECU scan shows deployment history (₹50,000+ fraud detection)

Get a professional used car inspection to combine visual checks with specialized tools. Cost: ₹3,000-5,000. What it prevents: ₹2-5 lakh losses.

Start with a quick vehicle search to verify basic details, then get a comprehensive history report before scheduling the physical inspection.