Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Automotive
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 03-19-2009, 09:38 PM
 
375 posts, read 1,571,355 times
Reputation: 113

Advertisements

My car was involved in an accident. The repair estimate is about $9500. Kelly's Blue Book value (for what it's worth) ranges from $11K trade in to $14K private sale. Here is more detail on the accident if you care to know.
http://www.city-data.com/forum/autom...cident-my.html

I am getting $9500 from my insurance, and I can do one of two things.
(1) take the money and fix the car or
(2) pocket the money and do as I would like with the car.

I'm inclined to go with option (2) because I'm thinking I can take the money and try to sell the damaged car and get whatever I can get for it and buy another car that will be more maintenance friendly. But I don't really know what I can get for a damaged car like this.

So I'm thinking it might also me worth it to just fix it since I'm almost done with the payment and the car has relatively low milage on it. But I'm afraid of the future maintenance cost.

So my questions are

(1) What would you guys do, considering the extent of the accident?
(2) If I wanted to junk the car, what is the best way to try to get the most money for it? Anyone want to buy it?
(3) If anyone has any experience buying/selling a damaged car like this, what would you estimate the value to be?
Attached Thumbnails
fix it or junk it?-dsc_0116.jpg   fix it or junk it?-dsc_0117.jpg   fix it or junk it?-dsc_0118.jpg  
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 03-19-2009, 09:42 PM
 
Location: Columbia, California
6,664 posts, read 30,529,479 times
Reputation: 5178
Same advice as your previous thread. Let it go.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-20-2009, 07:18 AM
 
Location: Charleston, SC
5,615 posts, read 14,747,872 times
Reputation: 2555
What are they going through your insurance for? That doesn't make any sense.

How much in diminished value are they giving you? You can see why several of us were talking about it - it should be pretty obvious that the car with $9,500 in collision repair isn't worth as much as the one without it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-20-2009, 07:24 AM
 
375 posts, read 1,571,355 times
Reputation: 113
Quote:
Originally Posted by scuba steve View Post
What are they going through your insurance for? That doesn't make any sense.

How much in diminished value are they giving you? You can see why several of us were talking about it - it should be pretty obvious that the car with $9,500 in collision repair isn't worth as much as the one without it.
At first I didn't contact my insurance because the dealer was working with between its insurance and the other driver insurance. Since the other party was at fault, a settlement came back from the other party for something like $7500. That's when I had my insurance take a look and my insurance came back with $9500. That's why I'm thinking of taking the settlement from my insurance.

My insurance isn't giving me any diminished value, and any time I bring it up with anyone (the dealer, the insurance) they look at me like I'm trying to fleece them.

So, now I just want to be done this, but not sure what the best course of action is. Like many have suggested, I am leaning towards taking the money, but I also want to try to sell the damaged car for what I can.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-20-2009, 10:25 AM
 
Location: Southern Arizona
9,593 posts, read 31,581,668 times
Reputation: 11709
Ddefinitely, a NO BRAINER, McQueen . . .

WALK AWAY . . . if it were a Classic or Specialty Vehicle, my advice may be different but in this case . . . NOT WORTH THE RISK. The $9500 repairs may bring it back to perfect, however, you may be opening the door for long term GRIEF and a significantly reduced resale value when you decide to sell.

You may want to consider selling the "unique parts" online.

Once again, NOT WORTH THE RISK.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-20-2009, 01:36 PM
 
Location: Charleston, SC
5,615 posts, read 14,747,872 times
Reputation: 2555
After looking at the pics, I could see offering a couple grand for it... it's hard to gauge what kind of damage or frame twist there is hiding under there. Replacing the dash to got at the airbag (and working on these newer Audis in general) looks like a bear. It looks like it can at least roll.

I've repaired similarly damaged cars before but the repairs weren't this extensive.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-20-2009, 10:22 PM
 
375 posts, read 1,571,355 times
Reputation: 113
Quote:
Originally Posted by scuba steve View Post
After looking at the pics, I could see offering a couple grand for it... it's hard to gauge what kind of damage or frame twist there is hiding under there. Replacing the dash to got at the airbag (and working on these newer Audis in general) looks like a bear. It looks like it can at least roll.

I've repaired similarly damaged cars before but the repairs weren't this extensive.
Update on the situation. I decided to take the insurance money and try to sell the damaged car. The engine starts and there is no leak. The car does roll, but obviously wouldn't drive this way. Some guys took a serious look at it and I may be able to get it sold at a reasonable price.

Combine that with the insurance money, I should be able to get into decent car. Thanks for your responses.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-26-2009, 07:08 PM
 
Location: Todds Rd. area
969 posts, read 2,809,666 times
Reputation: 292
Dump it. You never know what kind of damage there is that you can't see. My dad had a car that had been hit pretty hard, but not totalled. Things like the cable to the speedometer and electrical things started happening right after he got it back. Once they have been hit hard, things get loose. It is not just an issue of putting on new body panels and getting a new air bag.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-26-2009, 09:21 PM
 
3,743 posts, read 13,650,850 times
Reputation: 2787
I don't understand why you're only getting $9500 for your car. You mean $9500 plus the wrecked car? If the value of the Audi is $11-14k, thats what you should be getting. Don't bother with buying the car back, let it go.

Also, in a case like this, use your insurance company and you will have an easier time. Whatever they settle with you for is what they will pursue with the dealer's insurance company.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-26-2009, 09:24 PM
 
Location: Middleton, Wisconsin
4,229 posts, read 17,564,588 times
Reputation: 2315
Dump the car, it could cause lot's of headaches in the long run.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Automotive
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top