A friend's 55 plate Zafira 2.0 with full leather and lots of toys was damaged by another driver having been hit from the side. It will be repaired but he is concerned that the cars value will have dropped more than just general depreciation costs now that it will have a history of a repair. I realise its probably impossible to calculate but does anyone know how much value a car can lose with a history of crash damage?
Can he 'factor' this drop in value in his claim against the other driver or just bite the bullet?
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Is the damage to the Zafira bad enough to write it off and cause it to be recorded on VCAR?
If not, then provided the repair is carried out to a professional standard there should be no drop in value as a result.
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If not then provided the repair is carried out to a professional standard there should be no drop in value as a result.
There is a drop in value, unfortunately. Buyers are put off by cars that have been in (semi-) serious accidents.
The amount that is deemed to have been taken off the value of the repaired car is called "diminution".
I only know this, because it happened to my car, and I had the car valued by a specialist (who has credibility in the courts).
I can't elaborate too much because the courts are still deliberating. The good news is that I will get damages to the value of 5-10% of the value of the car - they are just working out the exact amount based on market rates.
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There should be no drop in value as a result
The only way there will be no drop in value is for the repair to be kept a secret. If a potential buyer had a choice between a repaired and an undamaged example of the same model, we don't need to ask which he would buy; the only real way to change his mind would be to drop the price. And I guess that unless the model is pretty rare, that drop might have to be substantial. If the car is several years old and not very valuable it may find no buyers.
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Can I ask how will anyone know? Does all damage show on an HPI check or as I thought, only a total loss.?
Cheers
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Exactly my point.
provided the repair is carried out to a professional standard
By "professional standard" I meant matching paint, panels and trim - the idea being that the repair is not apparent.
Is it any different to buying a 4-year-old car that's had £3k-worth of replacement fuel pump fitted? Do you look under the bonnet and say, "Oily fingerprints, that's had some expensive repair work, no thanks!" I doubt it.
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Say nothing when he sells it. It worked for me on two occasions.
I also bet that the main dealer who recently sold my last car didn't tell the new owner of the numerous warranty jobs it had carried out on it amounting to over £4,000 of work.
Edited by daveyjp on 06/10/2009 at 10:48
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On a 55-plate car it will have very little effect on value. Unless it is repaired to a poor standard then it really isn't an issue.
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