Loss in value after accident??

[airmanhoward]

So i got rear ended on 7/10/2018 by an old guy in a grand marquise he was 103 yrs old luckily he did have insurance. My question is i have 138,xxx on my M (2006). I was looking to trade it in a coupe months ago and was offered 4k. I owe about 5300 on her. Now that i got rear ended the accident should be showing in a couple months. Whats my best option? Just pay it off or try and trade it in? I will inquire with my lawyer if i can claim the depreciated value I have lost in my vehicle.

[Ilya]

How much did it cost to fix? Did you pocket any of the fixing money?

[airmanhoward]

[airmanhoward]

They have had my car since the 17th. Im getting a little upset they have had it this long. Loving the gas mileage out of this Camry. The tried to stuff me in a Kia forte.

[EdBwoy]

Ok, so it's getting fixed and you'll be left with no money in hand. I tried but can't read the details of the estimate, but based on the relatively low # I assume it's minor like the rear bumper cover?

Accidents don't automatically lower the value of a car especially a common commodity car at this age. If the repair isn't up to par, reject it until they make you whole, because that is where you lose value. Improper repairs and prior salvage titles are what get you.

If funds and your time allows, I'd just buy the other car and try to sell this one off in a private sale. What are they going for in your area?

[airmanhoward]

It was a minor accident I was rear-ended at about 30/35 mph. Just wasn't too sure if or how much the valve would be affected.

[Ilya]

Looks like the repair was for $1,400? Image is tiny so hard to see.

I personally would try to sell it private sale for what you owe on it or as close as possible to that. Otherwise your new car will cost you more due to you being 'upside down' on the loan. Otherwise, just keep paying the car off and in a year or two you should be able to get $3k for it on trade and it'll go right into your pocket...so that coupe will be $3k less, not $1,500 more.

[Larz]

I'm with Ilya. Don't feel like you need to dump the car now that it has body work done. With over 125k miles, you aren't going to get what it's worth anyway. All you should be concerned about is going into another car without carrying over any debt from this one. Bite the bullet, cinch the belt, even lick a frog if you have to ... just get the remaining balance on this car far as possible below what the trade will bring you. Don't go into another car loan that includes a balance of the old car loan. People who do that condemn themselves to forever being upside-down in their loans and they never catch up.

I have had two accidents - one car hit me in the rear door and wing panel, the other accident was me hitting a huge Toyota SUV - i went right into his rear bumper. It cost thousands to replace the headlamps, grille, bumper and inserts, radiator support, etc. However, there is NO evidence of the accidents just looking at the car.
The point is, I will always get less than I could after a car report is run. My car is paid for, so whatever I get is cash in my pocket. You need to quelch that urge to trade or sell until what you will be paid is MORE than the bank is waiting on.

Another tip: Sometimes loan companies have what is called a 'payout' price that is lower than the actual loan amount. Call, your lender and ske about a pay-out amount.
That is the minimum amount you need to sell your for the get out of the loan and start fresh with a new car.

[airmanhoward]

Thanks for thinking input fellas.
I got a well welcomed call today from my lawyer. Let's just say in a couple months I will be a very happy man. I (may) more than likely pay her off and keep her. I have been looking at the new Civic Si ( waiting for the 2019), Q50 red, Titan XD Diesel or a used Tesla models s. Im really feeling the Civic due to what is.

[Larz]

Glad to hear that the future is looking better for you. The Honda Civic is a brilliant choice. The 6 speed manual gear box makes it very tempting! And Honda's manual transmissions are even more bullit proof then the automatics. And the build quality is second to none (minus the use of plastics, of course).
The Tesla is an intriguing car too, but I have lost my desire to own one. Tesla have developed a reputation for poor build quality and I can't get used to that giant vertical monitor taking up most of the space in the center stack. Then there is the dodgy, bleek door panels and the big plastic black thing that they put where the grille would be. They could have done something much better than a black panel.
We now own a Q60 coupe as well as my M. The coupe is a well made, has good build quality, but it's not worth 30k more than the Civic Si. Fetucini was looking at the Civic coupe and the Toyota 86-GT coupe (which I loved) until I brought a Q60 home as a loaner. One drive and she was 100% sold on it. So ... even though the Q60 was more expensive, we got one.
Of all the cars you mentioned, I'd rate the Civic Si tops in my list but I highly recommend you test drive the Toyota 86-GT.