car depreciation after a collision
 

How much does a car depreciate for say dealer trade in after your car has been in a collision. My baby has been injured but will be fixed, however I'm wondering what this will do to the value of the car down the line. I know dealers typically try to screw you on trade in anyway but I'm thinking this will decrease the room to negotiate. Thanks

If you sell your car right away you may take a hit. My 350z was involved in an accident and I traded it in 3 years later and I got about the highest edmunds value. The dealer tried to get me to accept less on my trade in but I refused. If your car looks like it hasn't been in an accident there won't be problems for the dealer to sell it. I'm sure they tell the buyer that the car was in a minor fender bender.

Thanks, thats good to know. I won't be selling any time soon, maybe 1-2yrs which would make it 3-4 years old (it's a 2009). Thanks again

You can also call your insurance and file a diminshed value claim. Since you're taking a hit on the car.

I'm going through a diminished value claim on my wife's altima right now. There are a number of hoops to jump through. A couple of the stipulations are 1) you're not at fault and 2) damages/repairs cost >$2,000. There are a few others which I don't recall at the moment.

Don't ask, don't tell........Though Here in NC you must sign a statement verifying that the car has not suffered more than 25% of it's value in repairs. Dealers rarely check the Carfax, and often the accident won't ever be listed anyway. I got $2200 in diminished valve on a $7K repair.

Car was actually better than new after the fix because of better quality paint and excellent work.

Just got my brand spankin new Sequoia back after I backed into wall.... I know I know.

$1,000. out of pocket. No one's the wiser.

If you can afford to foot the bill, mums the word.

Plus... it's a lease :tiphat:

If you go to a dealership just haggle with them until you get a trade in price your happy with, the dealership won't lose a car sale over the trade in value of a car...They are greedy for a sale and gross, etc..

Anyone have any advice on filing the diminished value claim? I was rear-ended while stopped in traffic. Cosmetically the damage was minimal ( I couldn't even get a picture of the small scratch and indentation) but I knew from how hard she hit me that there would be more damage underneath. Original insurance adjuster looked at it and estimated $550 for some touch ups. After I took it into the Nissan Collision Center and they took the bumper off they found a lot more damage underneath the bumper shell. They had to call the insurance company back to get another adjuster out there to see it underneath. The new total came out to be $4700.
They fixed up everything as good as new and i'm happy with the repairs but based on the more substantial damage I believe I should get a Diminished Value Settlement to cover the fact that I now have a car that has been in an accident. I looked up on KBB the difference in trade-in price for a car in "excellent" condition and one that is in "good" condition and the difference was $1400. When I called the insurance company and asked how to go about filing the claim I was told that I would need proof that the car's value went down. I was like "it's been in an accident, of course the value has gone down".
So, anyone have any tips or advice on how to go about "proving" that the value is now less without actually selling the car?

It all depends on the insurance company im afraid, I was in a very similar accident and the person at fault had geico. Repair bill was somewhere around 7k, I called up after to file diminished value claim and they cut me a check for ~4k in a few days with no hassle. From what I heard from the body shop that did my work, I got lucky. Some insurance companies you have to take them to court over the issue. Might want to look into hiring a lawyer.

I've had someone back into my rear driver's side fender and the repair bill was around 3300.00. I had won the case and it was 100% their fault. So, I called their insurance company (Progressive) and they simply told me to hire an appraiser at my own cost, usually around 300 to 400 bucks to prove that it has lost value. 300 to 400 bucks that I will not be reimbursed either. So, now I am trying to debate where or not to do this because I fear the outcome! By the way, Progressive has the worst customer service ever. Well from my experience they suck!

I recently went through a diminished value claim in Georgia. By Georgia law the insurance company has to pay diminished value. Check the law in your state. The hard part about the entire process is that there is no real formula to calculate DV. There are two types of DV- repair related related and inherent. Repair related is easy to calculate. You look at the quality of the repair and make a claim based on that the repair. Inherent is much harder. Its based on a persons perception that the vehicle has been in a wreck. Georgia law says something to the effect - damage whether real or perceived does have an effect on resale value and should be considered. I hired an expert that came out and did a full assessment and said that my claim should be ~$2500. The insurance company countered with ~$600. It took six months of back and forth and eventually I hired a lawyer to send a demand letter. I had to settle for $1600.
I have quite a few sample demand letters I would be glad to share. Just message me.

The insurance has to report the damage to like CarFax, etc., not the repair facility.

So if your are lucky it will not be reported unless is over certain amount of money.

you insurance company should pay you for diminished value

sell/trade in the car the moment it's out of the repair shop. chances are the documents are still 'pending' and wont show up. :D hahaha. my wife's pos corolla smelled paint when i traded that pos in after $5K+ repair. got a super trade-in value. woohoo~

I went to Carmax and they offered me $21,000 for my 40th. They told me it was $4000 less than what it would have been without any accidents. The accident I was in didn't even cause frame damage. Just replacement of the hood, bumper, and passenger front fender. And No, I did not sell them my car. I almost laughed when they offered just $21,000.

wow... $21k crazy. i'd keep your 40th too. :)

If you don't mind me asking how much did it run you to hire an expert appraiser to come out and look at your car?

Carfax is good and bad. Are you buying or selling? If you claim your gonna take a hit on your insurance and trade in values. Who cares if your insurance gives diminishing value. You pay the same in the long run anyway. If you can fix a car out of pocket then its obviously a small mishap thats not worth worry about. Or a plus because the next owner has a better paint job. (As long as you dont salvage a total lost car and take advantage of the buyer).

as long as it's not salvaged and was repaired properly, it should maintain most of it's pre-accident resale value.

$325. He was very professional. Used a paint meter over the entire car and justified his appraisal over about eight pages of documentation. It gives you ammunition to go after the insurance company. In my case it wasn't as big a deal. I just wanted to prove a point to the company that I wasn't going to rollover. If it were 5k+ worth of damage it is probably worth it depending on how big of a jerk the claim rep you are dealing with.

I see.. thanks for the info.

The claims agent I was dealing with was a PITA. Also, very rude and unprofessional. Due to my experience with him and many other associates and how Progressive handles their business, I will never use their insurance If I'm on the market for one.

yeah i went thru one last year and it was a pain. its one of the most well kept secrets in the insurance industry. don't ask they ain't saying........

I inquired with my insurance company about deminished value, they said that it only applies if you pay for the additional coverage. I found that state law doesn't allow for diminished value claims where I live. There are a few other states that don't allow for these claims too. It might have to do with the fact that Michigan is a No-Fault state.

Link with some info not all specific to Michigan.....
http://www.carinsurance.com/kb/content33391.aspx

How Diminished Value Works....
http://www.carinsurance.com/kb/content10766.aspx