What’s My Car Worth After an Accident?

About Selling A Car After An Accident

Before the accident, your car was a prized possession. You cared for it. And, it cared for you. After the car wreck, you may have had it repaired.

Now, it looks good, but something is off. Or, you didn't have it repaired, and now it's sitting there as a damaged version of its former self.

Now every time you look at your vehicle, you think, “What’s my car worth? What effect has the accident had on my car’s value?” You can find out how much your damaged car worth is now, or read on for details on how much a car’s value drops after an accident.

What Is My Car Worth After An Accident?

So, how much does the car value drop after an accident? The severity of the accident question is the most straight-forward.

If your accident was more of a fender bender with a broken headlight that was replaced with a new part, the accident won't have much of an effect on the car's value as the repair won't really be visible. If your car is totaled, and you have a salvage car on your hands, you could be looking at up to a 50 percent value drop.

When the collision is more serious and a junk car removal service is needed… severely dented body panels, frame damage, broken suspension… That's a different ballgame.

From the point of view of your insurer or a car dealer's appraiser the value your car has lost after an accident is called its diminished value, which is based on the pre-accident value of your car, the nature and severity of the damage and the quality of repairs.

There's no real perfect formula to determine whether you should trade in a car after an accident. Suffice it to say, the more significant the damage, the newer the car or the poorer the repairs; the worse the diminished value. Basically, a car dealer won't give you a great trade-in value after an accident, so you won't get the full value of your car.

Is It Worth Fixing My Car After An Accident?

With an unrepaired car, it's easy to see why it has less value. However, sometimes it's not quite as easy to see why fixing your car after an accident shouldn’t bring it back to its original value. I mean, it looks like new, so it should be worth what it was before, right? Wrong.

Let's assume the repair was done by an I-Car Gold repair shop by a master craftsman.

The paint between new body panels and old matches and there are no big gaps. It looks great. Despite all that, your car still will take a big hit in terms of value, to the tune of up to 30 percent. When it's time to sell a car up to 55 percent of people won't buy a previously damaged car.

The car now has an accident on its CarFax or AutoCheck vehicle history report. Plus, if there was significant frame or structural damage, even the best body shop will never be able to get the car back to perfect.

Accident's Effect on an Un-repaired Car's Value:

  

How To Sell My Car After An Accident

Okay, so you haven't gotten your wrecked car repaired yet. Maybe you don't really think it's a worthwhile investment in time, money, and aggravation. You might be right.

Depending on the age, mileage, severity of damage and make and model of your car, your damaged car has some intrinsic value. You may be better off selling a car versus repairing it.

Luckily, there’s an easy way to sell a smashed, accident-damaged car, van, truck or SUV: go to DamagedCars.com!

Selling your accident car is easy with DamagedCars.com. All you have to do is enter a small amount of information about your car and you get an offer in under 90 seconds, and can usually get paid within 24-48 hours. Find out the real value of your car after an accident now!