Impact of Accident on Value

[MikeW]

I have identified an E36 M3 I really want. The guy wants full NADA retail based on it being in very good condition.

I think he will come down in price to account for person to person sale, and a few condition issues I will make.

However, the big uncertainty I have and need input on is the affect a past fender bender has on the value. The accident did not make it on Carfax and apparently only included replacement of the front right quarter panel. It wouldn't be noticeable accept for a slight gap in the fitment between the hood, quarter panel, and bumper cover. It's so slight I probably would have missed it had the honest person selling the car not pointed it out. Well, maybe 50/50 chance anyway, but I'm pretty OCD.

Understand this fitment issue doesn't bother me in the slightest. However, I will probably sell the cat in two years and will also be honest about the issue with the next buyer. Therefore, I have no desire to overlook this if it is a material cost (more than $100).

Does anyone know a standard discount to apply to the cars' value for this issue? The car is otherwise a 7/10, or maybe 8/10 with a really good detail and $300 of repairs.

Thanks everyone!


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[MikeW]

If I had a cat I would sell it too, but I intended to write car. The current NADA retail value is $10k.

Thanks again!!


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[ThatOneEuroE30]

personally since its not the original panel I'd take 500-1000 off the price it may not be bad but it still caused body work to be done on the car and the fitment isn't 100%. How many miles are on it?

[JasonC]

I think you mean fender and not 1/4 panel.

[Fleksta]

Full NADA retail should mean that the car is immaculate and comes with a warranty.

Since this is a private sale, show him private book and start there with negotiating.

Its not like "7/10" e36 M3's are hard to find.

[mkcman17]

Huh? I think you're being too demanding of a 15 year old car. If you like it, negotiate.

[lukeADE335i]

Full NADA retail should mean that the car is immaculate and comes with a warranty.

Since this is a private sale, show him private book and start there with negotiating.

Its not like "7/10" e36 M3's are hard to find.

Surely book value would indicate average condition & mileage for age, not something that is "immaculate".

If the repair was done properly, I can't see why a minor fender bender would impact on the value of the car.

[MikeW]

ThatOne, it is under 90k miles.

Is the panel over the front right wheel actually a fender and not a quarter panel? If so, I guess I mean fender.

I am comfortable placing a value on the vehicle based on its condition. The question is more in terms of all things being equal how does a replaced panel that has a very small fitment issue affect the price of a car. I'm sure it wouldn't make it "poor condition" since everything else is better than average.

Maybe I should just consider the car in good condition and go with that valuation?

Alternatively, I was thinking of taking an approach like ThatOne suggested, where I place a value on the car based on the condition and then a $500 to $1000 discount for the fact that it has a panel that has been replaced with flawed fitment.

Another way to ask the question is lets say you have car A and B. They are the same year and model, and have similar mileage. To the eye both are exactly the same condition. The only difference is that one has had a panel replaced due to a very minor collision. How much would you discount the car with the history of damage, or would you?

Thanks again for all the responses.

[MikeW]

Now that i think about it, that's all I'm really asking. Would you discount the price of two identical cars because one had a history of minor body work?

If the consensus is yes and its, for example, 20%, than I can factor in the fitment issue on my own just based on the same way I would if it was a ripped seat or whatever.

Any professional estimators on board that could render a professional opinion on the A/B example?

[MikeW]

Here's what Edmunds guy responded with to essentially the same question:

"It's hard to know. Some members on the Edmunds Forums say that having an accident simply show up on a Carfax or Autocheck report will lower the trade-in value of the car by 15%. That's with a well repaired vehicle with no visible evidence of the damage, at least none to an untrained eye.

And that's just from a note on the Carfax/Autocheck - doesn't matter if the accident was major or minor."

[MikeW]

So this article on the AAG website was pretty helpful.

http://www.autoappraisal.com/value.htm

Although they made it sound very complicated so you are willing to pay them to perform an assessment, so I still don't have a good answer. They suggested the impact could be 15% to 50% based on sales data and depends on the year, make, model, and type of repairs.

So basically I still don't know anything…

What I really need is a rule of thumb or some industry standard to negotiate with. Unfortunately, I think I have decided this is going to be like trying to convince someone to reduce the price of their car because you don't like the color… A reduction for the fitment is easy, beyond that its pretty much just what the guy is willing to let the car go for.

Comments welcome. Thanks.

[MikeW]

Sorry for talking to myself so much, but thought a few might benefit from my google study.

Wiki as usual gives a great no-nonsense definition for diminished value:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diminished_value

If anyone knows of a free and respected free diminished value calculator that would be cool. No way am I paying for an assessment since it will probably just piss of the seller and be waste of time. haha

[MikeW]

There appears to be thousands of these sites:

http://www.dvassess.com

This one would charge me $15 to run a report. I might do it and take it to the guy, but since he is a lawyer my guess is he will laugh at me and call me silly names…

So after wasting about an hour on this topic I will share all that I know: Diminished Value is real and nobody agrees on what it is. It is different for every vehicle on the planet, and for an old car like an E36 just go with your gut. Yeah, it affects the value, but there are probably 20 other things that impact the value more. The first one being who you sell the car to!!! Good night.

[ST1G]

I almost feel like making a video to show you how to edit a post instead of just bumping the thread 6 times with more information that's not going change how any one feels.

Why don't you just make an offer on the car like everyone else? Are you normally crippled by life's choices?

Huh? I think you're being too demanding of a 15 year old car. If you like it, negotiate.

This.

[MikeW]

Last post - this is a really good thread on DV with some numbers that are useable in the context of an older BMW:

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=499259

It appears that $1000 is the magic number!