Rear ended in traffic - will it hurt my car’s value?

[Blackmagic71]

New experience today - while driving home the vehicle behind ran into me. At the time I was slowing down for traffic in front of me and was only doing 25-30mph, the guy that hit me was probably doing 10-15mph faster than that.

My car is a 2021 WRX (non-STI) with 12,xxx miles. The only damage I can tell at this point is the rear bumper which will need to be replaced.

My question is this: I’d assume once the bodywork is done this will show up on a car fax or vehicle history report of some kind. Will it reduce the value of my car when I trade it in or sell it ? (Probably in the next 2-5 years).

(My daily driver before this was a 2015 WRX that I bought new, that held its value surprisingly well, and was one of the reasons that I got another WRX when I replaced it.)

[Blackmagic71]

Picture of the innocent victim.

[maggot]

Unforuntely I'm no help on the question at hand, but wasn't there a other fellow here who was in a bad WRX rear-ending accident not too long ago? I remember video being uploaded. Just a strange coincidence.

Carry on.

[MrKittyCatMeowFace]

It will be marked as a minor accident (only if insurance pays out, not if you DIY repair it out of pocket). Take pictures now of the damage so you can show them to a potential buyer.

[Alexndl]

Yep, always take a lot of pictures before the repair. It might help you later

[Marauder_Pilot]

I've passed on buying vehicles because the CarFax has showed accident damage. I'd say absolutely, if only because CarFax and similar services are very nonspecific about the damage, just to say what was replaced.

I'm sure your car is actually completely fine but it's a potential red flag going up to a future buyer.

That being said, AFAIK those reports only go in if you take it to a professional body shop. If you bought the bumper yourself, had it colour matched and installed it at home, ironically it wouldn't hurt your resale because there'd be no record, even if the actual repair is possibly inferior.

[goofyman23]

Like anything else, depends on who you sell it to and what their level of concern is over something like that. Personally, I find Car Fax to be shit and wouldnt worry about it.

[Agglet]

Wife just had someone rear end her Kia back in the fall and it didn't get reported. The body shop said they only reported structural work or anything that would be repainted and all they had to do in my case was replace the bumper and a light . Your mileage may vary. Not that I was all that worried about the resale value of a Sportage. 😂

[Grendel]

The moment a police report is filed with your tag number and is reported as an accident your cars value decreased because it was in an accident (according to insurance companies and the used/trade in market). Pay it off and drive it into the ground won't matter then. If no police report then no one is the wiser "caveat emptor".

[Blackmagic71]

The moment a police report is filed with your tag number and is reported as an accident your cars value decreased because it was in an accident (according to insurance companies and the used/trade in market). Pay it off and drive it into the ground won't matter then. If no police report then no one is the wiser "caveat emptor".

No police report was filed.

[Axel]

If there were two identical cars for sale, same price, same mileage, but one had been in an accident, which one would you buy?

[Jonnydread]

The one with more memories

[Axel]

You sentimental old fool, you

[Memornix]

Here's the skinny, I have been through this a few times. Yes, as others have said, it will be on your carfax and will lower your resale no matter what anyone or any insurance company says. That being said, since the accident was not your fault the other person insurance company is "required to make you whole as you were before the accident" this means there should be no out of pocket expenses or hidden costs to you as a result of this. To make this a reality, insurance companies are required to pay what is known as "diminished value" which is the difference in value from before and after accident.

With that being said, they will not just offer this up and will fight you tooth and nail if you bring it up but it is important to make it known that you intend to pursue diminished value and you will not allow them to close the case until it is paid.

Unfortunately the burden of proof is on you to determine the true lose in value. This can be done through a kbb, Edmunds or other online resale calculator by entering your cars details with and without the accident or you might be friendly with a dealer that is willing to appraise it. I have found most dealers aren't willing to do this but some are and that is the best proof I have found.

In my experience, it is the insurance agents job to turn down your proof several times before escalating you to someone who is going to try to intimidate and lie to you while turning you down, then they will offer you $500 to go away. Stick with it and you can get a reasonable payout. I once got a $3600 payout on a 5 year old outback with over 100,000 miles. Once they do start offering payouts, the ball is in your court to keep getting them to raise it to match the loss in value you have proven. At some point it will require a court room to get it any higher and the goal for me is generally to get the highest number I can without getting and legal involved then move on with my life.

It is a frustrating road but keep reminding them that this was not a magical accident that won't lower the value no matter what they say and that they are required to make you whole which includes covering the loss of your cars value.

As a side note to anyone reading this, diminished value only really works when the accident is not your fault.

[William the Third]

As Memornix stated, what you want to research is "diminished value". Different states have different laws, but in most you will be able to collect the difference in value of the car from pre-damage and post-damage. About 10 years ago I went through this with an Audi that was hit by someone turning left without paying attention, crashing into the front left bumper/finder area.

As typical, the insurance company of the other driver won't tell you about diminished value, and when you bring it up, they will try to ignore or lowball the shit out of you. After that the process typically is both parties hire their own appraisers who deal with diminished value cases. The appraisers come up with their numbers, and then negotiate from there. If that fails, then attorneys and courts get involved. In my case, I wanted $3,000 (but would have settled for $2,000), Geico wanted to pay $0. Got my own appraiser who was recommended to me by someone who works in the insurance industry. That appraiser came back with $2,800. Geico had their own lowball appraiser who came back with a laughable $112. Lots of arguing with the Geico adjuster was getting nowhere, so I got an attorney. Once the attorney got involved Geico came up to $1,250, but my attorney was able to get them to agree on $1,750. The attorney wasn't actually that expensive, as I'd already done all of the legwork.

In the end it took about 6~8 months. I'm pretty sure I contributed to the mental breakdown of the Geico adjuster, as a year or so later I'd learned that he was banned from all bodyshops in the area after losing his shit in one shortly after this whole ordeal. Not going to lie, that brought a smile to my face.

[mueller]

I just closed a Diminished Value claim on a 2020 vehicle with 900 miles that took $3000 in cosmetic damage (half that was a headlight, ack!) and I settled on $1750. That felt right to make me whole, and I'm driving this to the ground so whatever.

Ask the bodyshop if they have anything for you. Mine gave me a couple pages of damage scoring to determine claim value, simple stuff

Viability of DV claims is HIGHLY dependent on what state you're in.

[Deltasteve]

Viability of DV claims is HIGHLY dependent on what state you're in.

This. You need to try and find something tangible to show how much your cars value will be diminished. You need to prove that you have a loss or the insurance company will not be interested in what you have to say.

I have used KBB difference between "Good" and "Fair" to get a guesstimate before, however if you think that isn't enough you may want to seriously consider hiring an auto damage or property damage "expert" or lawyer to take your case. Usually these cost about $200 because it really isn't that much work for them and more negotiation than anything for them.

[Seajay]

I think what everyone has said makes sense... and largely doesn't matter in today's market. The value of the car for superficial damage that is easily repaired will be entirely set by the local demand in your area. Cars are selling today with actual damage to paint, door panels, rubs, very high mileage, etc... and they are selling at inflated prices

In 5 years... who knows. The natural market may balloon and your car will be worth much less damage or no, or it may be worse and you'll sell for more than you bought it.

The only thing I would do is keep very good records so you have evidence that the damage was superficial and did not compromise the vehicle.