LordBritish

Here's what it looked like after the accident:



It's just a flesh wound. Shouldn't hurt resale that bad?

ufnavy06

Ouch.... but anyways... to my point. I had ordered my 2006 when my Mazda6 was rear ended about a week or so prior to picking up the Stang. The Mazda6 was a part of the deal I was making with the dealership (trade value). Since the accident was not my fault, I asked my insurance about diminished value of the car because I was set to trade it in but even in the event it was fixed, I was going to lose some of the value of what was an immaculate car. I ended up getting a check for much much more than I expected (enough to compensate for the damages and bring the car to private party pricing... more than the dealer would have given me had I not had the accident). You might want to try going that route. Maybe I got lucky. Who knows.

MustangLynda

Save those pictures to use if you ever sell the car and it becomes an issue. It's totally obvious it's cosmetic damage.

jimh90sc

That's $9K damage?????

RRRoamer

That's more than "cosmetic" Take a close look at the drivers side headlight assembly. It has been pushed way behind the edge of the panel. But there is NOT a corresponding (aka: as large as) gap on the other side. That tells me the fenders were also pulled in.

While I will agree that most of the damage (hood, front clip, grill, etc.) is just cosmetic, there is some definite damage to the inner fender and radiator support on this car. I can see why it cost $9k. Labor adds up VERY quickly.

My 05 was backed into when it had 6k miles on it. All of the damage (a verticle crease in the center of the door and a scuff mark on the side view mirror) was completely confined to the door skin. There was NO additional damage what so ever. The glass wasn't broke, the window operated perfectly normal, the weather stripping still sealed perfectly, the mirror still worked (power adjust) perfectly and was completely undamaged.

But even THAT little damage ended up costing $2600. This was driven up by two things:

1) I insisted on a new door! Ford original at that (only thing available anyway). The car was brand new. I wasn't going to have bondo on my brand new car! Heck, the price difference between body work and a new door was only about $300.

2) To blend the paint in properly, they had to spray beyond the door itself onto the front and rear fenders. Approximately 70% of the drivers side of the car was repainted. On the bright side, two years later and I still can't see any color differences. Or sanding marks for that matter.

All in all, I'm 98% happy with the repair. There are a couple of VERY hard to see defects in the clear coat that could have been sanded out if I had seen them in time. I didn't. And I only notice them when the car is perfectly clean and I am Zainoing it with bright lights from the side...

One thing that did go a LONG way in helping me get my car repaired the way I wanted was the person that hit me. He was an old family friend.

Heck, I even had the "privilege" of watching him back into it as I was walking out of church with my brother! I wasn't even sure he had actually hit it until he pulled forward and stopped...

When it came time to pay for the repairs, there was no insurance involved. He just wrote a check on the family trust fund... And added a few hundred bucks extra for my time and trouble.

His wife still gives him a hard time about hitting the "prettiest car in the lot."

bored out

I would say that it would definately hurt resale. Smart buyers will use car fax to realize that your GT was in an accident. If a buyer is deciding between two similar cars and prices; they will go with the vehicle that was not wrecked. It is a sad realization.

colbymh

I actually dont buy used cars, unless they are to be beat up. If i was to buy a newer used car to actually drive daily I would request the owner have a printed copy of the driving record of each person listed on the registration. Depending on the state, any accident over $1500 (in most) has to be reported to DMV.

For me, I wouldn't buy a vehicle that has had anything more than a ding. But if your smart you would have ford fix it, that way you can have all the work receipts. (not that I am saying I would really prefer ford to do the work, but most people will feel better about the mfg doing the work).

RRRoamer

That would make for a quick discussion if you were buying from me. That is in the "none of your business" category.

Of course, looking at the rate of ID theft in the world, there are PLENTY of people that don't have any issues showing anything to anyone that asks. So you would probably find a few people willing to comply with this little "request".

Just not me.

kevinb120

It will hurt resale value, any dealer would catch it right away, most buyers these days too. It also depends on what Carfax says, if it says minor damage in some form its usually not a big deal. If it says major damage in some form its a different story. The problem with Carfax is there is NO consistent way they list an 'issue' with a car, so it's a bunch of horse**** with them sometimes. The respected 'authority' on automotive history affecting peoples car's values does a half-*** job at best. Its like when some untrained kid at a bank or credit company has the power to put a mark on your credit with an errant keystroke that takes a ton of effort for the victim to fix with no recourse.

The funny thing is in small accidents, say someone bumps your rear bumper and it leaves a mark for a $300 repair with a $250 deductible. You report it to your insurance company and even though they either pay out of pocket or their insurance does, or you just leave it because you could hardly see it when you got the mark off, your car has now been 'rear ended' on a Carfax....