Hypothetical car accident

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  • atgcpaul
    Veteran Member
    • Aug 2003
    • 4055
    • Maryland
    • Grizzly 1023SLX

    Hypothetical car accident

    I'm totally jinxing myself for even writing this but my curiosity needs to be sated.

    In this truly hypothetical situation, let's say I'm driving my sub 5000 mile Toyota SUV to work. I only mention that it's a Toyota because of the acclaimed resale value. On this commute, the car to my right enters my lane, I try to swerve, can't swerve enough, and we have a fender bender.

    We pull over, there are no injuries, we exchange insurance. Let's say we get the police involved and the police report determines the other driver was probably negligent. The other driver admits no fault.

    I guess now the insurance companies do some back room deal and the other driver's insurance will pay to get my car looking good as new.

    But wait, won't that accident be reported and affect my resale value? Am I able to recoup that potential lost value in any way? Is this where small claims court comes into play?

    Paul
  • twistsol
    Veteran Member
    • Dec 2002
    • 2893
    • Cottage Grove, MN, USA.
    • Ridgid R4512, 2x ShopSmith Mark V 520, 1951 Shopsmith 10ER

    #2
    My truck has been rear ended twice in the past year and when I went to sell it neither of the repairs had been reported because they were "cosmetic". One a bent bumper and tailgate, the other a bent bumper and the truck bed. Both about $4500 in damage and different insurance companies.

    I don't know if there is a dollar threshold or some other factor that determines whether or not the damage gets reported, or whether there are just lazy insurance companies.

    In my worldview where everything is black and white, in addition to repairing the vehicle there should be some compensation for loss of value. Sadly reality doesn't always agree with my worldview.
    Chr's
    __________
    An ethical man knows the right thing to do.
    A moral man does it.

    Comment

    • woodturner
      Veteran Member
      • Jun 2008
      • 2047
      • Western Pennsylvania
      • General, Sears 21829, BT3100

      #3
      Originally posted by atgcpaul
      I'm totally jinxing myself for even writing this but my curiosity needs to be sated.

      In this truly hypothetical situation, let's say I'm driving my sub 5000 mile Toyota SUV to work. I only mention that it's a Toyota because of the acclaimed resale value. On this commute, the car to my right enters my lane, I try to swerve, can't swerve enough, and we have a fender bender.

      We pull over, there are no injuries, we exchange insurance. Let's say we get the police involved and the police report determines the other driver was probably negligent. The other driver admits no fault.

      I guess now the insurance companies do some back room deal and the other driver's insurance will pay to get my car looking good as new.

      But wait, won't that accident be reported and affect my resale value? Am I able to recoup that potential lost value in any way? Is this where small claims court comes into play?

      Paul
      The police report does not determine negligence or fault, that would be a matter for a court to decide.

      The likely outcome is that the insurance companies decide how much each party is at fault and split the cost of the repairs.

      Some would argue that the accident may affect resale value, but insurance won't compensate for that. The insurance pays to return the car to it's pre-loss condition, so there is no "loss of value" to compensate. Even if there were, it would be difficult to quantify and therefore to settle.
      --------------------------------------------------
      Electrical Engineer by day, Woodworker by night

      Comment

      • capncarl
        Veteran Member
        • Jan 2007
        • 3564
        • Leesburg Georgia USA
        • SawStop CTS

        #4
        Accidents do affect resale value. Insurance companies.... some, most or a few, don’t know which ones, but mine does, compensate the owner of the repaired vehicle for the loss of value. It’s called Diminished Value.

        Comment

        • Black walnut
          Administrator
          • Aug 2015
          • 5438
          • BT3K

          #5
          Originally posted by woodturner

          The police report does not determine negligence or fault, that would be a matter for a court to decide.

          .
          Actually depends on the details of the accident and jurisdiction of occurrence. However generally speaking with fender benders LEO doesn't assign fault. Both drivers get the accident on their license because it is thought generally that all accidents are avoidable.

          just another brick in the wall...

          Boycott McAfee. They placed an unresponsive popup on my pc.

          Comment

          • Carlos
            Veteran Member
            • Jan 2004
            • 1893
            • Phoenix, AZ, USA.

            #6
            Accidents don't always affect resale value. When I was hit on my motorcycle I was automatically offered some amount for diminished value and some amount for general "troubles" caused, I think $500 each. The bike damage was $4k which they also paid. In the end, it had zero effect on the value of the bike, nobody cared.

            Comment

            • capncarl
              Veteran Member
              • Jan 2007
              • 3564
              • Leesburg Georgia USA
              • SawStop CTS

              #7
              What’s going to happen when you trade your once wrecked vehicle in and the dealership shows you the car fax showing the repaired damage? Full trade in value? I think not!

              Comment

              • Carlos
                Veteran Member
                • Jan 2004
                • 1893
                • Phoenix, AZ, USA.

                #8
                Originally posted by capncarl
                What’s going to happen when you trade your once wrecked vehicle in and the dealership shows you the car fax showing the repaired damage? Full trade in value? I think not!
                In my case, yes, I got full trade on a truck that had been subjected to minor damage. The sort of thing the original post talked about.

                Comment

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