Have you been thinking: is my car worth less after an accident? Have you ever shopped for a used car? If so one of the questions you ask is “Has it ever been in an accident?” And if it has what is your reaction? Consider this. You want to purchase a used 2011 BMW 335i and you are lucky enough to find tow identical used BMW’s for sale…both identical except one of them has been involved in an accident and was repaired at the highest quality auto body shop in town. the repair cost was over $12,000. Same car, same mileage, even same color. One was never damaged and one was damaged and fixed. Which car would you pick? The repaired BMW is not worth the never repaired car so the repaired car has a diminished value.
Is may car worth less after an Accident?
Answer: YES!Diminished value occurs when a vehicle is involved in an accident and, as a result, incurs physical damage, whether it is structural or cosmetic. Even if the vehicle is repaired, it is still worth less money than it was worth before the auto accident occurred. When selling or trading a vehicle, some states require disclosure of all damage caused by prior accidents that the vehicle has been involved in. Thus, most customers would favor a vehicle with a clean record over a vehicle that has been involved in a prior accident. This means that individuals end up receiving less money for their vehicle than if their vehicle were not involved in an accident in the first place.
