Purchasing a car in the current market can make finding a good deal on a vehicle feel like pulling a diamond from the rough—as long as everything is as good as it looks.
High interest rates have driven up the cost of borrowing to purchase a vehicle, and those looking to purchase vehicles with cash in hand have to contend with supply and manufacturing shortages when looking for a vehicle that fits their budget.
One of the things a used car salesman—or simply someone looking to have their car sold for a good price—might do to improve the appearance of a vehicle and its sale price is apply a new coat of paint.
What to check for when buying a car
The owner of Utah-based Dave’s Auto Center (@davesautocenter on TikTok) says he always inspects used vehicles with a paint gauge to measure the thickness of car paint to determine whether a vehicle has been repainted during an inspection, to help customers determine if a deal is good enough.
“First thing I do on a used car inspection is I’ll get a paint gauge, measure thickness, and I’ll go around and I’ll look at the thickness of the paint,” he says in the video. “This hood has been painted to five, and it’s not even. The very first thing that tells me is some person, not some robot, has painted this car. It’s 2021 Cadillac Escalade. They think it’s a good deal and we’re going to find out if it’s a good deal, so let’s go a little further.”
What does varying paint thickness on a car mean?
The thickness of the paint reflects the method in which it was applied, he said. A human painting a car with a paint gun will create an unevenly applied surface, while a robot painting the vehicle at its time of manufacture will generally apply an even coating of paint.
“These things like this also tell me the car’s been painted,” he says. “Six-o, and that’s usually how that works. A guy will spend more time with his paint guns spraying here than he will up here like this. It’s not uncommon. However, a robot, it doesn’t care, it’s going to make the paint even across the car.”
Having varying thickness of paint as an indication of it being repainted can be a starting point for a line of inquiry about the car’s accident history, he said, which would be important for customers to know about if they think the deal they are getting might be too good.
“So when you have these differences in the thickness of your paint, if you had this while you’re out at the dealer, or the person that’s selling you the car, it would be an indication that the car has been repainted, and you might want to look at it closer to find out how extensive the damage is.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to @davesautocenter via contact form on the business’s website regarding the video.
Commenters weigh in
Some viewers commented on the stated thicknesses of the paint, highlighting that some of it sparked concern for them.
“The difference between 4.5 and 5.0 is absolutely nothing but the 6.0 on the fender tells me a different story,” one commenter wrote. “I’ve done restorations for over 40 years and I could tell you this is the truth.”
“Kinda true and not true. depends on where the bots stop and start,” another said. “Could be lighter in the middle where they don’t overlap very well.”
“I believe it could have been a repaint but aren’t most new cars dipped in paint rather than robot painted?” a third added. “Genuinely curious…”
@davesautocenter Used Car Dealers may not like this! #autoshop #autorepair #usedcar #usedcars #enginerepair ♬ original sound – Davesautocenter
Others left comments on the video stating that they did not necessarily care about whether or not a vehicle has been repainted when buying used.
“If I’m buying a car the last thing I care about is paint I care about what’s under the paint like the metal work,” one user said.
“But does it matter?” another commenter wrote. “If it looks good and was painted well????”
“So many people miss the forest for the trees in these comments,” one further user added. “This is ONE step that COULD tell you something. You need to add up all the other parts of an inspection.”
Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
