A minor car accident can cost you $$$ years later.

16 years ago

Three years ago I was rear ended while stopped at a toll booth. The toll taker called the Bridge Police and he wrote up the other fellow for the accident. The damage was minor, under $1000 and the other driver paid for my repairs.

Well it's now 3 years later and I go to trade in my car. Because of the accident it now has a 'dirty Carfax'report and the dealers are low balling me with a trade in value. I even showed them the repair invoice so they could see how minor the damage was and 2 of the 3 dealers told me they couldn't even tell there had been any repair - and they put it on a lift to look underneath.

I finally found one new car dealer who offered me a really good price because he was going to buy the car for his family. I just happened to walk in at the right time. And he's getting a good deal too - a luxury SUV - 3 years old and only 21,000 miles. The car's been garaged and babied and it shows.

I thought I'd pass this along to alert you. I doubt there's anything I could have done differently but it really irks me that the other driver's mistake (he was on his cell phone) almost cost me another $4000 three years after the fact.

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Comments (8)

socks
16 years ago
That's too bad, but as you say, there isn't much else you can do. My car has been rear-ended twice.
marilyn_c
16 years ago
My truck was rear ended a few weeks ago. But, I guess we will drive it until it falls apart. That is what we usually do. Heck, I'd be in line to buy your SUV. At least in a bigger vehicle, you are less likely to suffer whiplash.
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So sorry to hear about this - how frustrating! This sounds like my kind of luck. May of this past year, we hit a deer, which totaled our van. We searched forever for a good used van (since the insurance company didn't give us much for ours - it was older, but in mint condition). Our financial situation is not in a position to add another monthly payment. Finally in August we found one that "worked" - although we weren't sure about buying a Chevy. But I needed one by fall, when my craft shows started, so we decided to get it. We got it on Sunday afternoon and Monday I drove it to town and got whammed in the rear end. We hadn't even had the title work done yet. I was sick. But it was fixable and I wasn't hurt - so it all worked out. So glad Carol wasn't hurt anymore than she was - been there done that - triple Advil every 4-6 hrs. was the dr. advice for me - that is prescription strenth. We got hit with 8 or more inches of snow this weekend and as we were shoveling/clearing the drive/sidewalks, I asked my husband if he could imagine climbing on the roof and shoveling it! We just replaced that roof 2 summers ago and I will attest that it was SCAREY being up there when it was dry, let alone snow covered and slippery! I can't even imagine. Hang in there - spring is just around the corner! Arlene
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Sorry about your luck, things like this happen. You should feel good about yourself for stepping up to the plate and doing the right thing. But...you wrote. "But I'm scared of getting ripped off by these car body shops who'd take down and repair a car in a way that's more costly than it should end up being." What more needs to be said? Fixing the car right, which means doing what is necessary to restore it to pre-accident condition means the shop does NOT cut corners to save on cost. If there is one thing that needs to be addressed here it is the near impossible demands of making the car right, and trying to do it "cheaper". The other party deserves to have the car repaired correctly. You, doing the right thing have taken the proper steps to see that this is getting done, and you should be commended for that. But then right away starting to fear a rip-off, when you have never seen the shop, or met the people that work there is an attitude that needs some correction. The other party wanted to file a police report, but have taken your word that would not be necessary. Treat the shop they choose with just as much respect. Now as far as the cost. Accidents happen, we all (well all of us that know we need to do the right thing) pay for and have insurance to help us out during these (hopefully) rare events. Get the estimate, and then decide if it's to your advantage to turn it into your insurance. If it is, then do so. If not, then rely on the shop to fix the car correctly, and then pay them for doing so. Then move on. Besides, you never know you just may have found a good body shop that you werent aware of previously. You never know when that information could come in handy for you, or a friend or relative. The bottom line, if my car gets damaged, and I am going to have it repaired by a pro, I know several that I would take it to in a heartbeat. They have the correct tools, the high tech paint booth, and the color paint blending equipment etc. right on site. These guys, everyone of them are easily NOT the cheapest I could go to, but then again doing the job right is what counts. They will do that without question.
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The insurance company compares the repair cost to the value of an un-crashed vehicle of the same vintage and pays the lesser of the two amounts. In my opinion, if this were a collector and show car, he would entitled to getting it back to the same condition as before the crash, however, it is not. Is very unfortuante: I see two options: Total the car and take the appraised value, or keep the car and accept the cash settlement and have it repaired on his own. However, he should first get an estimate of the repair. I see $4000 to $6000 or more repair cost. There is something more wrong under the hood since it will not start. You did not say what that damage was. Was the engine damaged, say a cracked block? Maybe a bunch of busted accessories and brackets on the front of the engine? Cracked manifold? The visible damage is front bumper, bumper cover, probably 2 radiators (engine and air conditioner), left fron fender, hood, grill, front headlamp assembly, running lamp in bumper, possible frame and steering links, 2 shock absorbers (if there is any age on these, these are replaced in pairs to keep the front suspension action balanced), possible front suspension spring and spring brackets, There could be distortion of the sheet metal under the windshield, Possible wiring harness damage, battery and battery pan depending on where the battery is located, possible battery acid damage if the battery was cracked, The right front door may have scratches that will have to be fixed and included in the paint job, and front end alignment after everything is put back together. The paint job will be over $1000 for color matching and fairing the paint into the old paint. The front wheel should be checked for damage and replaced if there is any dents or distortion. The front brake may need rebuilding and any damaged brake lines replaced. As you can see, the repair is extensive, and that's unfortunate because your vehicle appears rust free, rare for an Explorer that age. There will be no settlement until the police report is available. You did have the police survey the scene, didn't you? Expect about 1 week before the report is available from the police station. The police report and witness statements are used to determine fault or percentage of fault of each party.
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sheilajoyce_gw
16 years ago
You do better to sell your used car yourself than to sell or trade it to the car dealers.
mimi_boo
16 years ago
Something similar happened to my mother. Someone t-boned her new (900 miles) car in 1996. It was "fixed" - a $26,000 car now had a $15,000 loss of value.

In some states (now Georgia) you can sue not only for the repairs to your car, but for the loss of value. It's worth keeping in mind.
mcmann
Original Author
16 years ago
While that is usually true it wouldn't work in my situation. I didn't want to negotiate a private sale with a complete stranger. I didn't want to give out my name and address and have strangers come to my home. Plus there's no way I'd get in the car with someone I didn't know for a test drive and I couldn't just hand the keys over and let them drive it away.

So for me trading it in at the dealership was the safest - and I was fortunate that this salesman not only wanted to sell a new car but really wanted to purchase mine. I did my research and knew the value of my trade in before visiting the dealers.

3 years ago it just didn't occur to me that such a minor scrape could have cost me thousands of dollars. This could easily have been a real lose of money and value and one which the insurance companies wouldn't reimburse me for. I thought I'd relate this in case it might help someone else.
mcmann
Original Author
16 years ago
Mimi - Sorry I missed your post - but that's really interesting about Georgia's regulations. It's something to keep in mind.
tami_ohio
16 years ago
We found this out 2 years ago. We were at an event, parked in the lot. It was windy and the group parking people had the e-z up canopies in the area for shade. They were not tied down and one blew across the lot, hitting cars. We were driving a Ford Focus at the time, and out of all the body panels on the car, there was only one that did not get scratched when the canopy blew thru and hit it. It cost us $3000 in trade in value. Next time, we'll ask the insurance company paying for the damages for the loss in trade in value, also! Sorry to hear about your similar problem.
alisande
16 years ago
That's interesting, and certainly unfortunate. My 4Runner was rear-ended, too. Minimal damage, but the outcome would probably be similar if I tried to trade it in.

A minor car accident can cost you $$$ years later.

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A minor car accident can cost you $$$ years later.

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socks

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