I was recently in an accident, I was hit from behind and pushed into a car in front. My car is in the body shop and I'm all right but I have a question. I am trying to figure out what the depriciation of the car will be now that it has been in an accident. I am hoping someone here might have some insight on this kind of situation. Thnxs


2003 Focus ZX5 SVT
CD Silver

i'm pretty sure its been blown to hell, sorry. fortunately mine was totaled so now i'm getting a 01 zx3 to replace my 00 zts

This is a hotly debated subject in the collision repair/Insurance world. The ins companies when paying for a repair use language such as "pre accident condition". What they are saying is the repaired vehicle should be in the same condition as it was before the accident, no better, no worse. But, there are many factors to consider. Are they paying for OEM parts, or demanding that the shop use "like kind and quaility" replacement parts. (LQK) Are the parts salvage, or aftermarket?
What I always told my customers is this, your car will not be the same as it was before the accident, it will always be a car that has been damaged and repaired. That is a given. But, we (and most shops today) as well as the Ins co's warranty the repairs for the life of the car.

There really is no concrete answer to your question, but remeber this. If a part has been repaired rather than replaced, will that part still have the same impact absorbing quailities? The uni-body if damaged and repaired may loose some of the energy absorbing abilities, esp if hit in the same place. Remember the uni-body construction is engineered to collaspe and absorb the energy of the impact.

Bottom line in my opinion, is this. If after the repairs are complete, and you can not tell it has been repaired, then is the some depreciation of the vehicle.............. I say no.
I hope this helps you put it in some proper perspective.
bfocused

The reason I ask is because now, if I want to sell it down the line, people can look up the history of the car and see it was in an accident. I will be going by tomomrrow to talk to the shop because I want to make sure they use SVT parts expecially for the exhaust, and not regular ZX5 parts. The shop I am going through has an awesome reputation the even did 12,000 worth of repair to my inlaws vehicle (yes the insurance of the person that hit them paid for it) and you cant tell even down to pin stripping and stuff. I was just trying to get a basic figure to go to the insurance company with. The car before the accident would have been worth 16k roughly to sell. Thanks for the insight.

If you're selling private party there probably won't be any loss unless they run the vin. If no part of the powertrain is affected it is a huge plus.

Everyone here is offering great advice. Listen to it.