while parked waiting for my kids from school a school bus made a sharp turn and the rear of the bus hit my car, what a way to start the new year... it's my very first accident, I just need some advice on what to do regarding carfax and the value of the vehicle I read somewhere here that accidents like this will decrease the value of the vehicle incase we decide to sell it in the future, talked to my insurance, I don't know if they don't wanna tell me this or they don't know anything about this.

thanks in advance

 

Oh man that looks painful. Sorry bro.

 

I feel your pain. I have lived through this. If you file it with your insurance it does get reported to carfax, and yes it does affect the value of the vehicle, it's called 'diminished value'. It varies in relation to the amount of damage. The longer you keep your vehicle the less it matters but if you are going to trade it in a couple of years you will be affected.
If you pay for it out of pocket most body shops do not report to carfax.

Good luck.

 

I did that a few years ago when I was backing my truck out of my 'long and curvy' driveway. The dammed pine tree just jumped into my path w/o even honking .

I took it to a local body shop I had recommendations on. Bondo craftsmen and good painters are still around. When they were done you couldn't even tell the bumper had been straightened and the dent filled and sanded and painted all for about $500. The insurance would have replaced the lamp assy (minor scratch only), the fender, the bumper, and it probably would have cost $5k minus my deductible and carfax would have known. I wound up trading the GMC to a Lexus dealer who bought it for his son and everyone was happy. Sometimes lack of knowledge is bliss.

So if you can get a sufficient amount of funds from the Dept of Education or county or whoever is responsible .....

Good luck.

 

Ouch. That brings back bad memories. Pretty much the same spot, in the same color... Got smacked by an out of control sport bike.

Bumper, light, bent rear quarter, and paint job. Make sure the body shop does a good job blending in the color. Bumper on mine had to be redone twice. Otherwise, mine looks as it was before, even better - less scratches on the bumper.

As for diminished value. Sorry, but true. That's the main reason I lease. As long as damage is not permanent, I don't have to worry. Although, it did hurt when my dealer offered to buy out my lease and get me into a new RX just last week. Carfax report lowered resale value by 2G. The good thing RX holds resale value very well, so I don't think you looking at a huge loss.

 

thanks I'm thinking about filing a claim for the loss against the insurance company my problem is I do not know the exact amount yet I might bring the car to a lexus certified body shop and ask about the diminished value claim

 

Ouch, sorry to see your RX that way. I hope the bus driver gets punished. A child could have been hurt. Scary thought.

That light assembly alone is going to run over $1K, don't know about the rest. Paying for the repair out of the pocket will be painful. I'd get a few estimates with rental car costs and present it to their insurance company along with a report concerning the diminished value. Good luck.

 

Having read the original message again, was a police report filed at the accident scene? Do you have the bus driver's info? If yes, you should be filing the claim through his insurance. Your car was parked, not moving. Having accident report filed will put your car on Carfax, though.
If no police report, I don't think by you going through your insurance to repair the damage will put you on the Carfax record. Did you ask your insurance agent about this?

 

I would get the insurance $ to get it fixed up as it should be. Painting to "blend" will likely require painting the entire rear quarter panel and bumper. I had an accident very similar to that in the past and it was a few $ 1,000 to get fixed. Even if this is reported on carfax, I do not believe it would be a deterrent to sell to a 3rd party in the future if you take pictures of before and after along with the repair invoice. This is not a major accident like in many instances. It will look like new with a good body shop repair. As a side-note, my previous accident was not put on carfax when the other insurance company paid the claim, as it was not reported as an accident to the State DMV.

 

I called 911 but they told me I don't need to file a report to the police since it happened in a parking lot. I got all the info from the driver and the bus insurance, took some pictures, yes the car was parked (stupid bus driver), told my insurance about it since they think it's not my fault I have to deal with the other insurance company

 

That's a major bummer, a similar situation happened to my IS when it was only a few months old. I agree with JimH2 that you should get it fixed at a proper body shop. It'll come back looking like new vs taking a chance with a shotty repair job that won't look right.

 

In this case, I don't think you need to worry about Carfax, although I would confirm this with your insurance agent. Going through the bus company's insurance, make sure they reimburse you for car rental as well. Good luck!

 

That's odd that your insurance company is not handling the incident despite it not being your fault. When my accident occurred, I paid my deductible and my insurance company handled the claim with the other driver's insurance company. It took a few weeks for me to get my deductible back but I didnt have to make any calls besides the one to my insurance company.

 

If you have full coverage, your insurance will handle everything. If not, you are on your own, need to attack the bus driver's insurance company.

 

I just want to share in my condolences. I had an accident in my IS 350 last year when someone made a turn in front of me with no time to stop. When I traded in my IS 350, I was hit with major diminished value. It is a very painful pill to swallow especially when it wasn't your fault. I now have insurance to cover diminished value on my RX 450h.