Ok folks. Don't know if you saw a previous thread by me in regards to the wife's car getting rear ended.

Anyhow I don't think it's gonna cost that much to fix it (maybe $1-2k I would imagine -- but what do I know! Just a GUESS by me). Anyhow, the incident has been reported to the insurance companies now. There is no doubt that this "accident" wil be reported to carfax.

What happens if I decide to sell the car later? There's a good chance that the buyer will ask if it's been in an accident and run a carfax on it. Regardless of how SMALL/LITTLE the damage was, the buyer will have 2nd thoughts. Can I request a "diminished value" claim to the insurance company? This is really pissing me off the more I think about it. :sqntfawk:

This is for california. So if there are any lawyers out there, I'd love to hear from you. I know some states let the claiment claim diminished value to the insurance company.

Thanks!

 

well I would think that depending on how much damage is done to the car, most ppl wouldn't worry about it. If it's as little as replacing like the rear exhaust (due to them being crushed in rear end collision), and having the bumper replaced and/or repainted, then the person buying your car really shouldn't be concerned since this is fairly easy things to fix. Now if the frame is bent because of this accident, that's definitely something to worry about. But if you're saying it's only 1-2k in damage...you should be ok.

 

I'm kinda in the same situation.
I bought my 99 used last year. Need to part with it because I'm redoing my house.
I checked carfax and it was clean then, but I recenlty checked and I see that it's been in an accident.

It takes up to 3 months for this information to appear on carfax so if the seller decided to sell before that, it was either a coincidence or he knew about this "loophole" and quickly decided to sell it before it was de-valued.

Victim = ME!

But it's not major damage. Carfax says it's been in an accident and was reported to police. No salvage title or anything like that.
It comes out pretty much clean other than that.

But I'm wondering how much I can sell for now.

1999 White 3.2TL with 75k miles. New wheels, tires, spoiler, tinted windows. Exterior and interior is clean.

The range is so wide out there...anywhere from $11k ~ $15k for a nice one.

The car runs great too...

 

Carfax purchases their information from various resources (over 5,000), but may not have accident records from all states or police areas. If you are lucky, they may not know about your accident, though they do update their information pretty fast (sometimes the next day!!).

If you are worried about selling your car, run your own Carfax report before offering the vehicle for sale and offer the 'report' as a selling incentive that the car is 'clean'!!!!

For the salvaged/branded titles, they recieve their information from the DMV's of each state, among other sources, so if your vehicle is 'totalled' and has been branded, it will show up on a Carfax report within short order.

 

I had a '98 Ford Expedition that was slammed into by a Volvo 850 and it sustained $9500 worth of damage. Technically all cars have "diminished value" after an accident but it's a bitch to pursue because it's subjective, and what will you use to substantiate it? The generally accepted rule is if the car's wrecked, you fix it and it's "good as new" UNLESS there's an obviously shoddy repair made, in which case you may have a leg to stand on. Otherwise save your time and money pursuing it.

 

Good links below, especially from State Farm. Again, when I saw the legwork involved, I gave up. Too hard to prove.

http://forum.freeadvice.com/archive/.../t-183046.html

http://vehicle-info.com/

http://www.realtormag.com/rmomag.nsf...y?OpenDocument

http://www.statefarm.com/media/dimvalue.htm

 

I was in the same dilemma as you are when I got into an accident with my RSX (traded off for a CL). I was side swiped by a rig and was glad I did not get driven over as I incurred most of the damage on my drivers side.

The cost of the repairs covered by the other drivers insurance policy was close to five thousand as I had to get a new door, front corner panel, new front bumper, and of course new paint job. I preordered my car six months prior to when it was released and was pretty pissed. Let the truck driver know it too.

I asked the same question to my insurance company about diminished value and they stated I would have to take the driver to civil court at my own expense. They advised me that it is going to be difficult to validate and recommended me to consult thoroughly with a lawyer, which I did.

The end result was that it would be a waste of time unless I got injured by the accident. I guess the time spent at the gym helped me. If you plan on selling your car in the future, it would be wise to disclose the minor accident of yours to the other party just to make sure it does not come back to haunt you.

 

sc354 reply to my PM plz