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"Diminished value depends on several factors and I've never seen any authoritative information to suggest a fixed percentage applicable in all cases."
Not a blanket statement. Thousands of conversations with sales managers at new car dealerships allow me to confidently share that number with you. There are outliers, of course, like yours, but 10%-15% back for minor damage to a late-model car is a standard deduction range.
I should add that these numbers are based on trades, not outright purchases by dealers. Without the incentive of selling you a new car, perhaps one they are trying to get rid of, that 5% would go up exponentially to maybe triple that percentage. Call your dealer and ask just to satisfy your curiosity.
Last edited by DIMINISHED; Sep 16, 2019 at 05:52 PM.
Reason: Added text
Without the incentive of selling you a new car, perhaps one they are trying to get rid of, that 5% would go up exponentially to maybe triple that percentage. Call your dealer and ask just to satisfy your curiosity.
I satisfied myself at the time because the trade value was so unexpected (I figured a 2 grand hit). This took place at a Sonic dealership. According to the used car sales manager with whom I spoke, he didn't have authority to determine the trade value - it was set by their national HQ in North Carolina based on his report of the condition of the car! He further said, "I won't have any trouble selling this car," in explained why the crash history was of so little concern.
Now, the transaction took place on the night of Monday, 2/1/16, so it's possible that day was the last of the January sales period and they were trying to hit a bonus goal. As for the new car purchased, it was a then just introduced for the RAV4 model hybrid (in high demand at the time) at an internet posted price no other store came close to matching.
Am I blind or am I seeing only the 2 tiny gouges? if so have you had any work done before? if it is only surface scratches...well I guess in the US... it would cost god knows how much to repair that... bumper.. labour costs and all that.
But for example if I am seeing it right, I would hesitate to even bother, because the damage is so minor, that it could easily happen again parking some place and whats the point of taking a hit record wise on carfax etc for something you have to squint to look at.
unless of course I am not looking at it right and there is some damage i am not seeing..then probably different story.
I agree with Benjam1n 100%. That damn Car Fax report will flag the accident and a prospective buyer is left wondering about the extent of the damage. If a similar car is available with a clean far fax the car with a clean car fax will always sell first. Any used car dealer knows this. Trust me, if you are selling the car you will be presented with the car fax report as the reason you can't get full price. One advantage of a lease is that if you do get into an accident, the residual is fixed and you don't suffer diminished value. However, if you own the car outright (like me because I'm too cheap to pay the financing cost and I travel too many miles) you truly suffer a loss associated with the diminished value.
Am I blind or am I seeing only the 2 tiny gouges? if so have you had any work done before? if it is only surface scratches...well I guess in the US... it would cost god knows how much to repair that... bumper.. labour costs and all that.
But for example if I am seeing it right, I would hesitate to even bother, because the damage is so minor, that it could easily happen again parking some place and whats the point of taking a hit record wise on carfax etc for something you have to squint to look at.
unless of course I am not looking at it right and there is some damage i am not seeing..then probably different story.
There are two little places where the paint is scraped off all the way down to the black urethane bumper cover. I'm definately going to get it fixed, for one I'm not paying for it, he is, and for another this is a very expensive car that I enjoy keeping nice.
So an update, took it by the shop today. I'm going out of town Sunday, and I brought them a key so I could just leave it on the lot Saturday night and they could work on it while I'm out of town. I'm told it will likely take 2 weeks. this shop is very slow but they're excellent.
Cost will be more than the $500 Geico estimated due to additional labor the liquid platinum paint requires.
Sorry to hear about the love tap you received from the inattentive driver. Glad it wasn't anything serious but still incredibly annoying and frustrating. Despite laws there are still plenty of distracted drivers. I still don't understand how he hit you...bad enough that he's on the phone but why is his foot off the brake? Sounds like the other driver lacks parking sensors too, which makes me wonder if the LS parking sensors would have warned you to honk and alert the other driver as he encroached too close. I recall the LS allows setting rear parking sensors to "all the time" vs just during Reverse. Not that you should have to take on the other driver's responsibilities, I was just curious about safety aids in this situation. Hope you get everything repaired to your satisfaction, Steve.
I had a similar repair done to my car at a Lexus dealership. No problem repairing some gouges and scratches in the bumper cover and the paint match was perfect without any blending anywhere (bumpers are not like doors and fenders, for some reason). Took them a couple of days.
just keep it as it is, a repaint will diminish the car value plus the color wont match with the rest of the car, just take the check and go on a vacation
Sorry to hear about the love tap you received from the inattentive driver. Glad it wasn't anything serious but still incredibly annoying and frustrating. Despite laws there are still plenty of distracted drivers. I still don't understand how he hit you...bad enough that he's on the phone but why is his foot off the brake? Sounds like the other driver lacks parking sensors too, which makes me wonder if the LS parking sensors would have warned you to honk and alert the other driver as he encroached too close. I recall the LS allows setting rear parking sensors to "all the time" vs just during Reverse. Not that you should have to take on the other driver's responsibilities, I was just curious about safety aids in this situation. Hope you get everything repaired to your satisfaction, Steve.
Glad to see you still lurking here, FT1! I don't mean to hijack this thread, but I wanted to say that I hope all is going great with your cool new Tesla Model S! I'm still on the fence about the Model S... A part of me is totally enthralled with the technology, and another part of me knows I wouldn't be as happy with the actual luxury amenities I would lose if I switched to a Model S... I traded my SC430 in on a newer IS350C a couple of years ago to get more of the latest technology, and immediately regretted it (and am now back in a classic SC430). Please do keep us posted as your Model S experience matures.
Sorry to hear about the love tap you received from the inattentive driver. Glad it wasn't anything serious but still incredibly annoying and frustrating. Despite laws there are still plenty of distracted drivers. I still don't understand how he hit you...bad enough that he's on the phone but why is his foot off the brake? Sounds like the other driver lacks parking sensors too, which makes me wonder if the LS parking sensors would have warned you to honk and alert the other driver as he encroached too close. I recall the LS allows setting rear parking sensors to "all the time" vs just during Reverse. Not that you should have to take on the other driver's responsibilities, I was just curious about safety aids in this situation. Hope you get everything repaired to your satisfaction, Steve.
I don't think honking from the front would have made any difference. Just one of those things.
Originally Posted by lextout
just keep it as it is, a repaint will diminish the car value plus the color wont match with the rest of the car, just take the check and go on a vacation
LOL, I'm not going to keep it as is. I want it repaired, whether it impacts the value or not (it won't). I'm just not one of those people who is going to drive around in a damaged car.
Just an update, car should be done Tuesday or Wednesday. They had to submit to Geico for additional paint labor to get the color to lay down right (the painter that's doing it specializes in Lexus liquid platinum) and they didn't get that approval until Friday. Drove by there today, she's sitting out there in the yard with no bumper looking sad.
The 4 cyl Camry rental has me appreciating the LS lol. I drove the Pacifica today and it felt like a Mercedes in comparison!
Got the car back, finally...9 business days. 4 of those were spent waiting for Geico to send an adjuster out. Final bill $1,031.56. Looks great! You would never know, paint match is perfect. I do have to take it back for them to redo the Lexus rear bumper applique, its noticeably crooked. Surprising for a shop that is otherwise so meticulous. They ordered a new one and will swap them for me next week.
Got the car back, finally...9 business days. 4 of those were spent waiting for Geico to send an adjuster out. Final bill $1,031.56. Looks great! You would never know, paint match is perfect. I do have to take it back for them to redo the Lexus rear bumper applique, its noticeably crooked. Surprising for a shop that is otherwise so meticulous. They ordered a new one and will swap them for me next week.
Quick picture-
Did they blend within the bumper itself. Liquid Platinum is hard to butt match if the whole bumper was repainted. Also what's the name of the shop?
