I got rear ended the other day while headed to the local dealer to get an oil change. Almost shed a tear. Minor damage to rear fender but I am worried now that my re-sale value has significantly declined as I'm sure it will show up on the vehicle history report.

In addition to fixing the car, I am trying to get the insurance company (of the guy who hit me) to reimburse me for the diminished value, which is an actual additional claim you can submit.

Anyone have experience selling a 997 Pcar that has been in an accident? Am I going to take a big hit or should I just keep it forever?

Oh yea, they guy who hit me was texting...and driving a Hyundai Santa Fe...

Thanks

 

When you take it to the body shop, ask them if they report every car that comes in for body and paint work.
My bet is not.
A minor fender problem should be fixed to undetectable standards by a high quality shop.

 

if you got rear ended simple accident & want "diminished value" thats going overboard! This wont effect the value- When you sell the car just explain & keep all paper work and receipts thats it-

I hit a chair on FWY with my 996 & on auto check said "collided with guard rail" lol...but i had pics & receipts of repair & buyer didn't even haggle price once he saw this stuff

 

It is a bit more than a dent....the bumper got pushed in pretty bad but there was no damage to the engine, air box, belts etc. Looks worse than it actually was so I guess I am overreacting a bit.

I just remember when I was looking for my first Pcar (this one) I wouldn't look at anything that was hit.

Thanks for raising my spirits!

 

If it was enough to be reported and shows up on a car fax report there would be significant diminished value. You are definitely entitled to reimbursement for this. If the insurance company doesn't cooperate there are always legal options to ensure you are reimbursed for the drivers negligence. I am not one to condone frivolous lawsuits but sometimes insurance companies, who profit by ensuring they give you the least amount possible, need to be "convinced."

 

I say go for it. Maybe ask your dealer what the diminished value would be if they were to sell it or trade for it.

 

There are no two ways about it - the damage WILL put SOME buyers off.

It may well not end up on a CARFAX but anyone conducting a PPI would run a paint meter over the car and they will find wherever the damage was and the repair was.

Good luck.

 

Just how much "significant diminished value" can you claim on a 7 year old production car, that required a new plastic bumper cover and some paint ?

 

I believe any accident damage over $750 is automatically reported.

I had the same experience last year around this time (seems like around the Holidays people are less careful with driving), slight tap in the rear, it cost $5,500 for the repair and 3 weeks at the body shop.

I had never heard of asking for diminished value but something I will surely look into next time, but hopefully not for a long long time.

 

In my case, I got hit in my 2007 Cayman by a guy in a parking lot. I was stopped and he backed-up into me looking for a parking spot. Hood, bumber, & R fender were replaced. He had State Farm.

Repair was 5.5K. The shop did NOT report the repair to carfax (this was later verified when I traded the car for my 997 about 3 months ago..) However, when asked directly by the sales guy if it had ever been in an accident I disclosed the fact it had been repaired. (by one of the best body shops in town)

Anyway, back to the diminished value - of course the ins. company did not offer this as an option. I brought it up to State Farm and they said they would look into it AFTER the repair was complete - they would send somebody out to inspect and provide a report back to what they considered a fair amount.

As I recall, they offered $2,500 & I accepted. (This was in 2010, and I paid 32K for the car in 2009 so I was satisfied with the amount.)

And as others have said, when I was shopping for my P-car I would almost immediately eliminate any car that had paintwork done from consideration, and I know there are others out there that are like me. Your pool of potential buyers does shrink.

You don't get what you don't ask for.

 

I went thru a similar situation with my wife's 2 day old Touareg. She got hit by a old man, that didn't see her coming on the streets, and came out FLAT OUT from a plaza, and tried to cross the road.
He hit her on the passenger side, so rear door, suspension, wheel, quarter panel, and bumper.
Car had 80 miles and VW had no parts for it. Waited 3 months, for parts, a total nightmare.
His insurance company was Geico. Took us a full year to get 5000.00 for diminishing value, and with a lawyer.
Total rip off. Go for it, make sure you get what you want and fight for it. Insurance companies will do everything to rip you off !!!

 

Not sure if they are any good but there are a bunch of services available (Google "diminished value") that claim to help you get money from the insurance companies.

 

I went through this when I went to go trade in my 06 Cayenne S that I bought 18 months before from my pcar dealer under their cpo program. Went to go trade it in on a 997 at a different dealer and he checked paint with a meter. Paint was perfect but a car fax incident(reported Feb 2011 for an accident that occurred in Jan 2010) report had been filed. I bought the car in oct 2010 so it wasnt on the report when I bought it. Needless to say I got an immediate 25% reduction in trade in value due to the accident. I went to my pcar dealer and he made me whole on my trade on the 997 I ended up buying.
It if gets on car fax it will costbyou 20-25% on trade in. Sorry

 

I believe the laws for diminished value claims vary by state. I'd check with your insurance company first.

 

I went through this exact exercise not too long ago. Rear ended by a monster pickup. Most of the damage was on the decklid but there was a small wrinkle on the right quarter panel too. Total repair bill came to just over $5K. Just looking at the car it's impossible to tell it was hit even for a professional auto appraiser who checked it out.

As for diminished value, the rules vary from state to state. My insurance company which is one of the best in the business (USAA) wouldn't get involved in that at all which I think is pretty typical. So I fought that battle with Geico on my own. Credit where it's due....I think they handled it as well as one could expect. I made my case, they took a week to ponder my claim and then offered to settle. I got $3,200. That's close enough to what my dealer said they would deduct if I traded the car with them and the story showed up in Carfax.