Minor car accidents and scraps to your car are very common even though it is a driver’s worst nightmare. If you are ideally wanting to sell your car but have damaged it in an accident, this damage may affect and even reduce the value of your car. In this article, we will explore the different factors that could affect the value of your car after an accident.
Different Types Of Vehicle Damage
First of all, the biggest factor that may affect the value of your car after an accident is if the vehicle has undergone any damage and if it has, what extent of damage the vehicle has. Any kind of surface damage such as minor dents and scratches will have the least amount of effect on the value of your car as these are cosmetic flaws that can easily be repaired and restored. If your car has any structural damage or any damage affecting the engine, this could mean that your car has lost a lot of value.
When your vehicle is inspected, any structural or mechanical damages that have occurred to your vehicle will show up in the report and this will then mean you could be offered less for your car if you are trading it in or selling it privately. The insurance company may label your car as either salvaged or rebuilt. This means that the repairs to the car have cost more than the car was worth, making the car worth less. If the insurance company has labeled your car as either salvaged or rebuilt after an accident, you may find that the damage caused by the accident has been significant enough that your vehicle has lost its value.
Auto History
The history of your vehicle may also play a part when working out the value of your car. If you are planning on selling your car through a trader, the buyer will be able to view the car’s history on websites like AutoCheck or CarFax. The accident and damage will show up on the car’s repair history and this may turn off a potential buyer. Accidents will scare off potential buyers as buyers will doubt if the car will be reliable or will need more work in the future and how skilled the mechanic was when working on this particular repair.
Repairing Your Vehicle
The quality of the repairs after the accident will also determine if your car has lost any value. If your car has experienced a large amount of damage, it is worth your investment to take it to a reliable garage and make sure that the repairs that are done are correct. This is a sure way of holding on to as much of the car’s value as possible. If a new buyer wants to purchase the vehicle and look up the repair history, having an established garage linked to the repairs will help the buyer’s confidence in the vehicle’s safety and the work that was done.
It is also important that when you are having repair work done to your car that you use OEM parts where possible as this will help the repairs to remain undetectable and the value of your car to remain as high as possible.
If you have a large amount of damage to your car and your car has been labeled as salvaged, your car’s value will decrease. It is important to make sure that all repairs are done before attempting to sell your car as this will give you a higher chance of keeping as much of the car’s value as possible. A buyer will not want to purchase a car they will need to work on or deal with underlying issues and therefore it is best to get all repairs out of the way before selling.
What Kind Of Car Do You Own?
The other large factor that will determine how much your car is valued at after an accident is what kind of car you own. Even if your car has suffered some minor damage if your car is a good make and a popular model then the value of your car may not decrease by as much as you expected. If you are selling to a car dealer, the dealer may even pay you more than what you expected for your damaged vehicle as they will be able to complete the minor repairs and still sell it for a good price. A car can have minor damage from an accident but still have a lot of mileage left and be very sellable depending on the model.
Every vehicle’s beginning value is different depending on the year, make, model, color, and even features of the car. Therefore, after an accident, the value of the car will decrease depending on how popular the car is and how in demand the car is.
Aim To Recover The Value Of Your Car Before Selling
It is always best to aim to try and repair the damage to your vehicle after an accident in order to recover some of the lost value. There are several ways you can help recover the value of your vehicle. Using a reliable and trustworthy garage for your repairs will help a buyer trust that the car has been repaired safely and is fit for use. It is best to use original parts in order to keep the car as close to new as possible. If you need any repairs to your car after an accident call Elmer’s Auto Body today. Our teams at our auto body repair shops in South Jersey are ready to repair your vehicle back to its original form. Read more about our service here.