superpop

Yesterday on the way home from Costco on the freeway a food truck lost a bunch of crap including a sign that hit the front of my car. Truck pulled over and I got his insurance info. Basically it broke the chrome plastic trim piece and the part it attaches too and it slightly dented the bumper in the same spot. I am putting in a claim against the food trucks insurance but wondering how this could effect the value of my car if it shows an accident on an otherwise clean Carfax car. Bummer because it is not really much damage at all. Also, if they are going to have to replace the bumper and probably respray it, does it make sense to have them respray the hood at the same time. It has a few rock chips that would be nice to get rid of and it would make the front of the car look new again. Most concerned about the value hit I will take on the Carfax though.

2012 merc amg

Sometimes those things show up on carfax other times not. If it does though count on 5 to 10k off the value of the car and a harder time selling it if you do it private party. If you can get it done for cash under 3 grand might be better off doing it that way

Jud Chapin

My understanding is that if the police investigate, it will be on Carfax.

superpop

I did not call the police as it was such a minor situation. You would not even know anything happened if you did not look closely at the bumper and trim.

Jud Chapin

I would get an estimate and provide it to their ins. co. Then I'd have any work required done by a shop that doesn't report repairs to Carfax. When I bought my '16 S coupe, there was damage underneath which involved both parts and paint from bottoming out. I told the MB dealer I wanted it repaired but not reported to Carfax. Interestingly, the sales mgr. said they never report body shop work to Carfax.

MTrauman

Not completely true! I once hit a deer with the police showing up and filling out an incident report and it was not reported on Carfax. Carfax really is a hit and miss scenario IMHO. Since his was not an accident, the police report may not show up on Carfax even if the police had been notified.

SW20S

It may show up on the carfax. I would pursue a diminished value claim.

DaveW68

My guess is that it won't show up on CarFax. And even if it did, it would likely be listed as minor damage and would be nowhere near a $5-10k hit in value on a 2015 if the repairs are done well. For something that minor, it likely would be a zero hit on value. Keep the documents from the repair just in case it does show up and I think you'll be golden.

SW20S

I had a very minor hit to my rear bumper on my Lexus LS460, did not even require a new bumper cover, it reduced the value by about $3,000 (3 times the cost of the repair). If it shows up on a Carfax it absolutely will hurt the value, and the insured party should compensate for you for that.

2012 merc amg

Ya, minor stuff like that I just pay out of my pocket, who knows maybe around a grand you can get it looking as good as new at the right body shop. Everyone seems to go by carfax it seems these days and they don't seem to care if the damage is major or minor a lot of people and dealers just dont want to deal with the car especially a high end car like the S class

SW20S

Do you pay out of your pocket when you’re not at fault though? That puts one in a tough spot.

2012 merc amg

I know it sounds crazy but yes, providing it's under a grand or so. Seems like every time I get insurance involved even if it's somebody else's insurance it ends up costing me more one way or the other.

SW20S

Yeah I wouldn't go that far, just demand a diminished value payout.

2012 merc amg

Insurance companies don’t like to pay diminished value payouts and it’s a real tough fight going after them for it is what I’ve found. I dunno maybe I need a better lawyer but by the time you end up paying all the expenses and even if you do win a diminished value case it might not be worth it.

SW20S

I didn't even need a lawyer, I requested one and they made me a fair offer and I took it.

LAWYER2

I just bought a pickup truck and it had minor damage reported on the CarFax scale( Minor <---> Moderate <---> Severe). Bumper was repaired/repainted from being scraped up. Honestly, I didn't think twice about buying it.

SW20S

Most people do though

For instance, if I were buying a used S Class I wouldn't want one with an accident reported...plenty of them out there with clear carfaxes.

DaveW68

Most people? Is that just your guess or do you have some concrete data to back up that claim?

I wouldn't give a crap about a repaired bumper scuff if the repair was done to OEM standards. I honestly don't think most people would care about something so minor.

Frame damage? Yes, I do believe you'd have a case for diminished value for something like that.

SW20S

Talk to people who buy and sell cars about this, its much harder to sell a high end luxury car with accident history than it is an ordinary car. I've seen this first hand with my own cars, I've seen what was taken off the value for the carfax history. And I saw my incredibly perfect LS460 get sent down to Atlanta and sold at a small side of the road dealer vs being sold as a CPO Lexus which is what it absolutely should have been, simply because of that small accident. Thankfully, the insurance company gave me $4,000 in diminished value and it made me whole.

The issue is...the buyer has no way of really knowing what the damage was...they just have your word for it, or the word of the people who bought it from you.

And say what you will, if you had two cars one with accident history and one without, you wouldn't pay the same price for the one with accident history as the one without. You'd be a fool to. Thats why you should get a diminished value claim from the party at fault in the accident.

hyperion667

2012 merc amg

Yes everything you say is true. My last S class was a 2017 and I bought it with a accident listed on the carfax. I did not really think much about it as I looked under the car and looked just like the bumper cover was replaced, the guy who bought the car new got rear ended when the car only had 5K miles on it. The dealer was the original selling dealer and told me this. When I went to get rid of the car as I wanted a 2018 and up every dealer I checked with wanted to give me about 5K less than the KBB price because of the accident listed on the title. Then I had a miracle happen, the selling dealer got in a perfect for me 2018 S560 and I traded my S550 back in to them, they knew the car history and knew it was not a problem. They sold the S550 within a matter of days as it was a clean as they come Lunar blue mint condition car.