How Much Should Damage History Affect Value?

[mikefocke]

I had a '01S which was hit in the rear. $1200 or so. Stretch the bumper cover, replace the shocks and the bumper bar. A few bolts and screws. No body panel or light damage. I did use the opportunity to get the Bumperettes painted along with the bumper. 5 years later, couldn't tell the difference and a PPI couldn't even find it. I sold with full verbal disclosure and written repair order and after incident picture available but not even viewed. Had they looked the newer parts could even have been a plus.

Use it as a reason to get the seller to OK the PPI and then maybe $500 or whatever you can get the seller to give you. Some will to sell especially in this season. Some won't. There are hundreds out there..

[BoxMann]

Originally Posted by mikefocke

I had a '01S which was hit in the rear. $1200 or so. Stretch the bumper cover, replace the shocks and the bumper bar. A few bolts and screws. No body panel or light damage. I did use the opportunity to get the Bumperettes painted along with the bumper. 5 years later, couldn't tell the difference and a PPI couldn't even find it. I sold with full verbal disclosure and written repair order and after incident picture available but not even viewed. Had they looked the newer parts could even have been a plus.

Use it as a reason to get the seller to OK the PPI and then maybe $500 or whatever you can get the seller to give you. Some will to sell especially in this season. Some won't. There are hundreds out there..

How much do you feel your sales price was discounted due to the accident vs. the car with a clean history?

How many mph was the collision?

[maytag]

y'all, just my opinion, but I think this is just a tad silly for a 15-20 year old car that will NEVER be a collectible. Nor will it EVER be worth more than it is right now.

Cars get hit. Cars get repaired. If it doesn't drive right, isn't properly aligned, squeaks or rattles more than it oughtta, or otherwise shows signs of improper repair, then steer clear.... or get a smokin' bargain on it. But if none of that is true, then don't worry about it.

And if you're worried about the resale on it, I wouldn't. There are far more buyers like me, who couldn't care less what the carfax says (as long as it doesn't show lies that have been covered-up), than there are buyers who want a "perfect" car for their money. Just be as honest as your own first-hand knowledge of the car and its history allows you to be when you sell.

[BoxMann]

Originally Posted by maytag

y'all, just my opinion, but I think this is just a tad silly for a 15-20 year old car that will NEVER be a collectible. Nor will it EVER be worth more than it is right now.

Cars get hit. Cars get repaired. If it doesn't drive right, isn't properly aligned, squeaks or rattles more than it oughtta, or otherwise shows signs of improper repair, then steer clear.... or get a smokin' bargain on it. But if none of that is true, then don't worry about it.

And if you're worried about the resale on it, I wouldn't. There are far more buyers like me, who couldn't care less what the carfax says (as long as it doesn't show lies that have been covered-up), than there are buyers who want a "perfect" car for their money. Just be as honest as your own first-hand knowledge of the car and its history allows you to be when you sell.

Maytag, I think that's excellent advice. I'm ok with buying a car that's had a damage history, some guys would avoid it like the plague. But I wanna make sure that the damage was minor, professionally repaired, that there are no issues like the ones you mentioned, and that I don't overpay. Simple as that.

[jmitro]

Originally Posted by maytag

y'all, just my opinion, but I think this is just a tad silly for a 15-20 year old car that will NEVER be a collectible. Nor will it EVER be worth more than it is right now.

Cars get hit. Cars get repaired. If it doesn't drive right, isn't properly aligned, squeaks or rattles more than it oughtta, or otherwise shows signs of improper repair, then steer clear.... or get a smokin' bargain on it. But if none of that is true, then don't worry about it.

And if you're worried about the resale on it, I wouldn't. There are far more buyers like me, who couldn't care less what the carfax says (as long as it doesn't show lies that have been covered-up), than there are buyers who want a "perfect" car for their money. Just be as honest as your own first-hand knowledge of the car and its history allows you to be when you sell.

+1
I'm amazed at how ridiculously obsessive some people (not specifically referring to OP) are about buying a 15 yr old used car with any sort of defect. If you tried to lowball my car for $2000 as that seller, I'd tell you to walk away

Originally Posted by 78F350

$2,000 difference from what? KBB? Cars.com? No. There are just too many variables in the care and condition of a car that age. My offer (or bottom $ as seller) would be specific to the condition of that car, which could vary a couple thousand regardless of mileage. Again, PPI and how the car is Now.
I would pay significantly less for a car with a branded title (Rebuilt, Flood, Repo, etc.). Not for any worry, but because to me, the title is part of the car and a brand is unrepairable damage.

agreed

[mikefocke]

Originally Posted by BoxMann

How much do you feel your sales price was discounted due to the accident vs. the car with a clean history?

How many mph was the collision?

I came to a stop after a 55 mile stretch of road. Maybe 5 cars in front of me at the light. I'd admit to braking late. Box truck behind me slams on his brakes and swerves areound me. Young gal in a Hyundai behind the box truck couldn't have seen the light and slid into me. Her front end was all mashed up with radiator damage. Me not so much, just scratches visible. Damage underneath to the absorbers and crossbar. Replaced with new OEM. How fast was she going when we hit? Maybe 15? Guessing.

The repair was better than new, bumperettes painted by Eric to match.Paint a perfect match (AS).

Buyer paid my asking price which was $1k below comparables because I live in a small town and no way would I sell it to someone here, just not that kind of place and no way to really advertise it here. So a 3 line honest CL ad and it sold in 4 hours with full disclosure.

[BoxMann]

Originally Posted by mikefocke

I came to a stop after a 55 mile stretch of road. Maybe 5 cars in front of me at the light. I'd admit to braking late. Box truck behind me slams on his brakes and swerves areound me. Young gal in a Hyundai behind the box truck couldn't have seen the light and slid into me. Her front end was all mashed up with radiator damage. Me not so much, just scratches visible. Damage underneath to the absorbers and crossbar. Replaced with new OEM. How fast was she going when we hit? Maybe 15? Guessing.

The repair was better than new, bumperettes painted by Eric to match.Paint a perfect match (AS).

Buyer paid my asking price which was $1k below comparables because I live in a small town and no way would I sell it to someone here, just not that kind of place and no way to really advertise it here. So a 3 line honest CL ad and it sold in 4 hours with full disclosure.

Mike, the big difference there is that you know exactly what happened. This one I'm looking at, I don't know what happened, and my Seller doesn't know what happened. All we both know is that it shows "rear end collision" on Carfax and apparently it was fixed.

My Seller was told by his Seller, "it was a very low speed parking lot bump". I gotta tell ya, I bought two used cars this year, one for myself, one for my son. Several of the cars I looked at had a damage history on Carfax. Without exception, EVERY Seller said, ""it was a very low speed parking lot bump". So while I don't think they all were lying, I also don't think they all were being truthful. And in one case, it was a dealer who INSISTED it was a "very minor collision" and claimed they know this for certain because there is no record of an air bag deployment.

So yeah, I'm a little skeptical.