Just wondering how much the resale value of my 2004 TL has been effected after a front end accident which cost my insurance company (Travelers) $13,000 to fix. Car was repaired at the Acura dealer body shop.

Damage to car: bumper, hood, driver fender, wheel, steering rack, various suspension parts (left AND right), both airbags (though no passenger?), windshield.

Damage to me: broken bone in hand from airbag deployment (I was blowing the horn when it went off); minor burns from the airbag; inhalation of airbag gases (choke).

Accident facts: SUV driver sited for failure to yield, no driver's license and turns out their insurance info was bogus (lesson learned - call their 'insurance' company before leaving the scene to verify policy info).

Good news: front bumper repaint after a couple of curb scrapes; chance to get previous wheel scrape fixed; yank by seat belt seems to have 'adjusted' my shoulder and increased flexibility (dislocated it a couple years back).

Six weeks of driving a Pontiac G6 later I'm getting my car back today (hopefully).

2004 TL, SSM, 5AT, Navi, 31k miles

 

i guess i can chime in optimistically and say that at least you are not driving around a salvaged car.. then the value would be basically $0

 

I would guess that it has affected it a lot. For instance, when I sold my 03 TL-S to Carmax, they did a carfax report that showed 2 accidents that the previous owner did and they said judging from the paintwork on it that it must have been major and it cost me around $3 or $4000 in value. Your accident seems like more so if it's a trade-in, you are going to get fleeced. And if it's a private sale, and you are honest, well what would you be willing to pay if it were you buying it?

I know how you can definitely tell how much it has affected it. Go to a Carmax and act like you are selling your car to them. They will give you a free estimate. Carmax gives more than a dealer (trade) so that is why I said them instead of a dealer.

 

so the suv got away with the accident?

 

She will be sued by his insurance company for the damages and the state may decide to pull her car's registration until she shows proof of insurance.....

 

can you trade it in and get a better deal. if you sell it privetly, you'll get low balled when the customer reads the carfax.

 

Hopefully they DO have insurance and you can file for diminished value. You should be able to file a small claims suit on them for the difference. Good luck collecting if they really werent carrying insurance.

And yes, the car will be worth less? How much? that is the hard part. Maybe 10% of its value when you sell it?

 

approx value...

-$13k, kidding aside, your ride has lost major value.

that's a lot of damage. Was the frame messed up?

 

no frame damage after $13k repairs???

 

You took a huge hit. Would you buy a car that had 13 grand worth of work done to it?

 

Ive come to find there can be a diamond in the rough. Ive bought a few vehicles involved in an accident, and to be honest, if the work is good, and it should MATCH OR BETTER factory quality, it shouldnt be an issue. The truck i just traded must have been involved in an accident. It never showed up on carfax, but there were things i had noticed along the way that made me think it had some body work. At the end of the day, i would trade it, demand proper dollar for it, regardless of accident history, as the dealership is fixing the car. Another thing, you HAVE to inspect the car, and if you arent capable, take it to a body shop local people to you reccomend! You should see little to no evidence of a repair, short of the necessary, and as i said before, an insurance company should repair the car at least to 100% of the factory quality. Seriously, you pay all that money, you deserve the service you pay for! Take for granted things like welds, filler, epoxies, and other necessary things, but to be honest, if it is anything short of factory, will it be as safe, god forbid, the same thing happens again? All in all, you can trade the car at least close to a market value, dealers have markups, and the ability to auction a car, they can unload it and move it if necessary.

The reason i stick to trade, is simply because i wouldnt want my own name on a private sale, it just wouldnt feel right to try to scam someone... I know it sounds messed up, but at an auction, at another dealer, things like that, its out of your hair! At least then if someone buys the car, and the disclosure claims no accident, there can be some legal recourse for the person who may purchase it! I assume anyhow! Either way, good luck with the whole ordeal, and i hope you are happy with all the work. Check multiple times fairly soon on paint defect, runs, sags, sand marks etc... It is imperative that you make your insurance company aware that you expect factory quality... IT IS the reason you pay insurance, you arent paying for some jim bob hack job any 3rd rate shop can do. You pay for quality, you should expect it. The better work they do for you, the more the car will be worth, and ultimately, the easier for you to get your money out of the car!

Again, good luck,

Take care
Mark

 

Not worth their time. Why would they spend money to get nothing?

Trust me, I've been there and yes, the driver got away with it.

I agree with the poster above --
1) Have the police come to the accident.
2) While waiting call to verify policy is currently in force.

Once the police write down that the other driver has insurance, it doesn't matter if the card is no good, nothing you can do except hope you have uninsured motorist.

 

ecliptics: "so the suv got away with the accident?"

No, it had to be towed away as well.

darksom1: "Go to a Carmax.."

Thanks for the suggestion.

ayethetiense: "Was the frame messed up?"

No, body shop says only the bodywork, suspension, steering rack were affected.

CL6: "Would you buy a car that had 13 grand worth of work done to it?"

Probably not.

722ish: "The reason i stick to trade..."

I'll definitely go this way too. I may check into a deminished value claim if the trade-in is way way out of line w/ Blue Book.


Got the car back yesterday and it looks like they did a great job. The manager went over each charge which took a while and explained everything in detail. It took a little while to get back in touch w/ the car after the six weeks of rental. Today's commute pointed out a couple of new rattles in the dash which I'll have them look at. Also noticed a very slight pull to the right which I'll keep an eye on and have checked if it persists.

Thanks for all the replies.