Is my car worth less now?

Greetings, On 9/15/10 I purchased a 911. Wouldn't you know that 3 weeks later (last night) an idiot at a stoplight rear-ended me. We were just sitting still awaiting the green light and his foot slips from the brake to the gas. Fortunately the angle of the hit only damaged the left side protruding bumper and seemingly nothing else. It looks very minor and I would guess even for a 911 it would be less than $500 (Having it checked out this afternoon by a body shop to be sure) But, unfortunately the guy had no license with him and his registration was out of date from 2008. RED ALERT.... Because of this I felt I had to call the police to file a report. Now I assume that this accident will show up on CarFax and other services. So my questions are: Do you think this will significantly impact my resale value when the time comes even though I will have documentation of the very minor nature of the repair? Would this affect your buying decision or impact your negotiations significantly if you were interested in the car? Would you try to get any $ out of the guys insurance due to reduced value of the car after the accident? Would appreciate any feedback and experiences you might have. Thanks in advance for any feedback!

There are a lot of used 997s for sale and for that reason alone any damage will make a specific car less desirable than an equivalent example that is non-damaged. Buyers for used Porsches on average are likely to be more demanding than buyers of other cars on the used market. Having said that, the minimal damage you describe does not mean the car cannot be sold for a price that you would find acceptable. Finally, 997 depreciation is considerable, and it is likely that whatever diminished value your accident damage may have incurred it is insignificant in the context of depreciation.

Yes it would impact my decision as a buyer but just keep good photos of the damage and you can minimize any worries down the road.

Blau_S, Sorry to hear about your "accident". Chances are the incident will not show up on Carfax due to the minor damage. It sounds like you already plan to take pictures and document the damage in the event you intend to sell the car. I doubt something that minor would have any noticeable impact on value, considering the depreciation we experience already. As far as going after the other guys insurance - definitely. Why add financial suffering to your current anguish? I'm in the insurance business and you will definitely get a diminished value because state laws normally set a formula for reimbursement. It won't be much but it will pay for the damage.

is your car a GT3? yes I'd say an accident would diminish the value, for a car that I'd heavily use on the track this history would dissuade me from purchasing it. sage advice above, take pictures and keep the write up from the shop.

For a private sale, probably yes, it'll be worth less, or you'll lose the interest of some potential buyers. For a trade-in deal, it depends on whether or not the accident shows up on CarFax. If it doesn't, no problem. If it does, you'll probably get a lesser offer.

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Well just got home from the body shop. Estimate was for $849.80 and is all labor/paint etc. No parts needed. Did get to spend some time talking to a fellow with an F360 in for repair so that was fun. Misery loves company... Thanks for the replies.

Even if it doesn't show up on carfax, dealers are very savvy about picking up prior damage. I'd get two buy bids and compare to BB value, definitely worth getting diminished value if you can. I've been burned on this twice already.

yes it gonna effect in the sell price but: Porsche gonna still Porsche to the end, so go and fix your amazing C4S and enjoy your life bro no need to be worry about the sell price

So sorry to hear about your accident. I have a 2011 911S and my car was keyed with only around 2,000 miles on it. Your question has a very easy answer. Yes it will be worth less. Your insurance company will pay for diminished value. They will try to send you very little however do not cash that check until you see a company that works with diminished value. My guy came out and I am now waiting for my check for $5,300 from the insurance company. They had sent me $392.00 the first round. These companies understand our cars and know how to give a true number for diminished value. They also will go to court with you if it goes that far. Feel free to private message me and I will get in touch and go over this is more detail.

Yes but like the other member said get photos and save the work order.

Thank you so much for this feedback. I certainly am going to go for diminished value but its great to see some actual numbers from another claim. When you say "see a company that works with diminished value" are you talking about a lawyer, someone from the other persons insurance company, or are there companies that provide this specific service? I will be glad to take this into a personal chat either via phone or in PM but I think this would be great information to share with the group if that does not make you uncomfortable. Your guidance is greatly appreciated! Oh and I am very sorry to hear about someone keying your car. That is just a bitter/sorry person to do something like that.

I am not disrespecting anyone, but I do not think bumper damage of a few hundred dollars is worth chasing at a cost of hundreds more. Bumper repaints are fairly common these days and, if done properly, would hardly affect the resale value of a four year old Porsche. Blau_S, you have a really nice car, but if was just the bumper and its fixed, you probably will have minimal loss. Might be different if it were a 2011 Veyron or F458. My rear bumper was replaced and repainted last year in a similar situation. You can't tell and I have more or less forgotten about it. Lucky, sorry about your misfortune. You had a lot of aggravation, anger and diminution of value due to extent of damage and repaint. I just don't believe a bumper redo rises to that.

Unfortunately the real issue is not so much the cost of repair but the fact that there will in all likelihood be an accident blemish on Carfax type reports. Also unfortunately Carfax does not say an accident with minimal damage below 1000 it just says Accident 10/6/10. This will immediately deter a potential buyer from even allowing me to explain the minor nature of the incident. This thread supports that thought process and is one of my reasons for asking the questions. I take nothing personally from your comments and to some degree agree with you. I personally detest frivolous lawsuits, excessive claims etc and I have no desire to "stick it to the insurance company" etc. But a reasonable compensation for my loss would be nice. This would likely have never been an issue if not for the insanely irresponsible nature of the other driver. (Forgetting him simply being incapable of holding his foot on a brake pedal for 2 minutes) I would have preferred to just handle it outside of police and insurance but the fellow had no drivers license with him, his only legitimate document was his 2008 (yes 2008) registration card, and his car was a complete mess. Lights busted out etc from previous issues. I'm not bashing him for having an older car but there were red alerts flashing all over my head. In fact I quickly began to wonder if there was a scam of some sort going on. Its rush hour traffic, cars everywhere and the bright red porsche gets hit while 100 cars sit still at a light. I often trade cars about every 2 years so it perhaps bothers me a little more than someone who keeps cars longer or takes it to the track etc. I traded in a 2006 Boxster S with 25k miles in pristine condition and I know that I got a good trade in value for the car because it could be marketed as a CPO etc. Anyways off of my soapbox. I do appreciate your and everyones feedback. Regards.

Sorry to hear about the accident. It seems the damage is minimal and cosmetic so I don't think you have anything to worry about. I had a small fender bender in my other car, someone rear ended me at a stop light. There was about $800 in damage and it did not show up on Carfax. Mainly because it was minor scuffs and paint with no structural damage. I cound not tell at all after the repair, so pick a good body shop. Good luck.

I'm guess the other person had insurance? If so, then go after them. If not, some states don't allow you to claim DV from our own insurance company. A keyed car, in terms of DV, will get you a larger check. Painted bumpers are not that rare. The insurance company you are going after will ask you to substantiate your claim so you're going to have to figure out a number and have some logic/paperwork for that number. Stick to your guns, you should get something.

We did ultimately conclude that the other driver has insurance and proper title and is all around legal. Really unfortunate that he was nonetheless very irresponsible and it took police to figure all that out. You are correct and NC is one of the states that will not allow DV with your own insurance company. So, I have to follow the claim through his insurance representative. Hopefully I will get enough to do a small Mod or 2 and everyone will be happy... Thanks.

Thanks, this is encouraging. I think the big black hole in this process is not having a clue where carfax gets its information and how it determines what is recorded. I'm not sure if the body shop reports it based on severity, if the info comes from the police report, if it comes from the insurance agency or all 3... This carfax thing is about like paying taxes. You can't begin to understand the rules you are playing by... Thanks.

Sure it'll affect re-sale. Take high quality pictures of the damage to put any potential buyers at ease. It's the best thing you can do right now.

Blau_S FYI I did speak with Richard and they do cover all 50 states if you still want to file a diminished value claim. Just thought I would let you know.

Thanks Lucky, I appreciate you doing that. I will definitely be calling him. Had my adjuster come out this morning and then he will be forwarding all the info to the other drivers insurance... I did have a nice chat with the guy and asked him about how CarFax gets its information. He said that the insurance companies send the info to CarFax when the damage exceeds $3000 or if its frame related. He said it used to be that they sent pretty much everything but that just replacing bumpers has gotten so expensive on some cars that they changed the limit. I sure hope that is true. Thanks Again.

Your accident is really minor, but I've heard 10% for any accident. Slid on black ice and took the nose clip off my old 996 cab by sliding it under an Impala's rear - certainly cost me 10% on resale - and limited my options.

I had a Ford Edge rear bumper damaged due to some idiot pulling through a parking place and cutting too sharply. Called the police. Repair cost $380, loss of trade in value $4,200. Even with the repair order and pictures, still lost value. Prosecuted the guy for hit and run. So yes even a minor accident reported devalues the car.