Car Fax Reveals Accident, Diminished Trade-in Value

[T4R5thGen]

Hello T4R 5th Gen Forum Friends. I just purchased a new 5th Gen. I traded in my 04 T4R Sport. It had been involved in a $12,000 rear-end accident (uninsured motorist) early in its life and I always worried it would show up on a Car Fax report which it did upon trade-in. I always wondered how much it would depreciate its value.

I did my homework before going to the dealer but I did not purchase my own $29 Car Fax report before hand. I knew my 04 T4R Sport had a blue book trade-in value of $12,000 to $14,400. It was in excellent condition otherwise but needed new tires (a fair assumption of a $500 deduct) so I was expecting to get around $13,500 to $14,000. The dealer came back at $11,000 because of the "moderate/severe" accident Car Fax reported. I was ready to negotiate a deal when this reared its ugly head and threw a wrench into the process.

We went back and forth and I finally did negotiate $13,600 because of its otherwise excellent condition. Perhaps of this they did not come down on the price of the new 4R as much? In the end I managed to get the new price down to $33,000 from a sticker of $35,200. I feel $32,500 would have been a better deal but in the end who really knows how the trade-in vs. new price actually came out in the wash in the mind of the dealer.

SO...given the circumstances, does this sound like I got out of there with a pretty good deal? AND for the actual intent of this post, what has been your experience of selling a vehicle that has been in a pretty good wreck?

 

[JBHorne]

I've never been involved in such an accident, but this is why you negotiate with the insurance company. Obviously as it was a rear end accident, the other guy was at fault. Since he was uninsured, your carrier had to absorb the cost.

Did they only repair the vehicle or did you demand compensation for depreciated value? This is something that you must negotiate with your insurance carrier about after the accident. Demand compensation for the depreciated value of the vehicle. If they don't pay up (most wont), seek an attorney. It's a hard battle, but worth fighting for as it can become several thousands of dollars later when you go to sell the vehicle as you found out.

 

[tumbler180]

Congrats on the new ride. In the future, you might consider selling your old car as a private party (eg on craigslist). Its a minor hassle to do the DMV paperwork, but much easier than seeking compensation from an insurance company after the fact, and you'll likely make a couple grand more than the dealer would give you. Plus doing transactions on craigslist is usually a fun sociological experiment. Finally, it removes the trade-in value variable from the new car negotiations.

To (sort of) answer your question, my old 2000 Pathfinder with 125,000 miles was in a couple minor accidents, and the dealer was going to give me $3k for it. Blue book was around $5500 for its condition. I sold it on craigslist for $5k in one day. Not sure that the dealer's valuation of the truck was based upon the accidents, though, as I'll bet there's not a huge market for 10 year old Pathfinders with >100,000 miles...

 

[Physgirl]

I had a 2002 Dodge Dakota that was involved in 2 severe wrecks, bent frame etc. To my horror it was not totaled on either occasion. The claims were all on other insurance companies so the Carfax came back clean. (Do not trust Carfax 100%) CarMax measured the paint with a magnetic device so they knew it had been wrecked. I believe trade in was $10k and I only got $7000 from them! I had it listed for sale at $12,500 blue book private party with only a few bites. I felt bad selling it to an individual so in the end my moral conscience made me let Carmax deal with it. I did not buy from them but you can't haggle there anyway.

The way it is supposed to work is you are supposed to get the new car's deal taken care of first, don't even mention a trade in until after you agree on a price. Tell them you are not sure if you are trading in or not when they ask you about trade prior to negotiating a price on the new car. Get the new car down as low as you can, agree on a price with options and gap insurance etc. Then move on to the trade in and get it up as high as you can. Use Carmax as a free quoting tool.

(Physgirl's Husband)

 

[1000MPH]

...

The way it is supposed to work is you are supposed to get the new car's deal taken care of first, don't even mention a trade in until after you agree on a price. Tell them you are not sure if you are trading in or not when they ask you about trade prior to negotiating a price on the new car. Get the new car down as low as you can, agree on a price with options and gap insurance etc. Then move on to the trade in and get it up as high as you can. Use Carmax as a free quoting tool.

(Physgirl's Husband)

Bingo!
Do your finance deal this way too. Ask them to match the killer deal your credit union's offering.

 

[Physgirl]

Bingo!
Do your finance deal this way too. Ask them to match the killer deal your credit union's offering.

We got really lucky with that. We told the dealership that our credit union is offering 3.5%, but not the term. It was only for 48 months. The dealership wanted our financing so they offered us 3.19% and for 60 months. I never mentioned the term but even if I did I would not feel bad as they are out to make money and I am out to save money. I don't see it as a karma issue or a lie.

 

[T4R5thGen]

Physgirl, I was just starting to have feelings for you. Your knowledge of vehicles, you drive a 4Runner, perhaps Phys meant you were physically athletic and active or perhaps you were a physician or even physicist but then I noticed the first Physgirl post was from (Physgirl's Husband) !!!!

Ha, just KIDDING guys but yes, like you said, I felt like I would leave the wrecked vehicle up to the dealer. If I sold it privately to a Car Fax savvy individual it would have brought up all kinds of questions and requests for inspections. But then a $1000 or two more over a trade-in would have been nice.

I did happen to negotiate the new price first and then introduced the idea of a trade-in to them. Who knows what little games the dealer feels compelled to play on a buyer but at some point, if the price is close, you have to concede. Also, regarding financing, like you suggested I did know what my credit union was offering and of course the dealer tried to offer a rate that was 1% higher. Those little criminals, when are they ever going to learn!!!

Thanks for the input from other users.

 

[Physgirl]

Physgirl, I was just starting to have feelings for you. Your knowledge of vehicles, you drive a 4Runner, perhaps Phys meant you were physically athletic and active or perhaps you were a physician or even physicist but then I noticed the first Physgirl post was from (Physgirl's Husband) !!!!

Ha, just KIDDING guys

Hah, sorry bro, I beat you to the punch. She is a Physicist AND good looking. She has good taste in vehicles at least. We will get pictures up soon, of the 4Runner that is. ;-)

(Husband)

 

[3x4runnerOwner]

I'd say you got lucky getting $13,600 for it with the past accident. From what I understand, dealers use black book (wholesale) values when determining the trade in amount rather than blue book values. Not sure what the black book value is for your vehicle because I dont have access to black book info, but I would assume it is less than what you got. I know on a past vehicle purchase, the dealer wouldn't meet me on the price i wanted for the purchase, but gave me a better trade in value to make the deal happen. Maybe this was the case with your purchase.