Car value after accident
 

My GF was just in a fender bender, other persons fault, no major damage but some body work and paint will be necessary to the L rear quarter panel and bumper. She has a 2001 A4 1.8t in pristeen condition (thankfully NOT the Boxster!!). How will this affect the cars value, as she was thinking of trading in soon? Can I get the other guys insurance to pay for loss of value?

Thanks for any advice.

J. Tucker
'99 Silver Boxster

No, the insurance question. Insurance will pay for the repair less your deductable.

On the impaired value, the answer is MAYBE.

That is, if the buyer knows that there has been repair/paint work AND the buyer knows enough to care then is will lower the value of your car.

How much will it impact value?

We dealers do an assessment. Depending on how much paint work, we start at a thousand and work up.

The key here is the quality of the repair. Some repair shops are masters at this and a trained eye cannot tell the difference.

If possible, try to find a shop that will paint the repair back to factory paint thickness and whose work you have seen and are impressed with.


Good luck!

Beautifully stated Brucelee.

When you talk to the insurance company about the value decreasing due to the repairs, use the term "diminished value" so it sounds like you know a lot about dealing with insurance. In Georgia, they are required to pay for diminished value. Like Brucelee said, get a dealer to check it out and give you the number since they know more about the car's value than most.

Check with your state's insurance commissioner's office to see if diminished valued is required before you talk to the insurance company. Then be as nice as possible with your dealer's estimate and see if they say ok or give you a hard time. If they give you a hard time and they're required to pay it, let them know you've checked and know they must pay it while still being nice. You should not have any trouble after that, but if you do, let them know you will file a complaint with the insurance commissioner's office while still being nice. It usually will not go that far. ;)