[SamuelSeiders]

Hey Guys,
So I basically had the worst thing I could imagine happen last night. Pulled about a quarter mile down my street which the speed limit is about 40 miles an hour. Someone was driving over the yellow lines on my side of the road I tried to swerve around them, the tires were not warmed up yet so as I made an evasive maneuver to avoid the other driver the car started to spin out on some gravel/ wet leaves and as I attempted to stop the vehicle the brakes skipped for about 20 feet where then I lost control and the car hit its quarter panel on a telephone pole and this was the result. I was told that overall it’s really just aesthetics that need to be repaired unless more damage is uncovered when it’s looked through. The control arm on one or two of the tires will need to be replaced as well as the suspension, tires rotors and all of that . And obviously the body is going to need to be redone in multiple places. The engine seems completely unscathed there’s almost no damage near that part of the car so that was reassuring. But I was told that the car will not be totaled most likely unless they find additional damage. What do you guys think the value of this car will be after depreciation when it is repaired, the facility is the nicest in the area and they specifically do luxury vehicles. They also provide lifetime warranty on any repairs done to the car. I’m just so upset I only owned the car for about three days and owned a normal challenger hellcat for the last year or so and never had any situation like this where I lost control. Looking for some professional opinion because I feel pretty lost right now about what my next steps should be. Appreciate everybody’s help

 

[Reaperhwk]

Sad to see. Looks like it can be repaired and there is no frame damage which is good. As far as depreciating value since it was a single car accident I don’t think you’ll get anything.

what were your plans for this car? If it and still is a daily driver that you’d put miles on I’d just keep it and drive it as long as the repair is good. Once that car is 5 or more years old with 60k miles the depreciated value shouldn’t be significant.
If you are a collector and we’re going to store or only drive it 2k a year or something then I’d probably think about getting rid of it for a new one?

 

[Big Swede]

Sorry to hear. I know it doesn't make you feel any better but at least you're ok. Running off the road and hitting a telephone pole can turn really bad really quick they never lose.

With a single car accident I don't think you will get any diminished value type of things and getting rid of it for a new one will have you losing way more money in the long run than just keeping what you have and driving it.

 

[Robs16Hellcat]

Man that is hard to look at, So Sorry....
Thats a decent amount of damage and the way it shows on Carfax will play a big part of it's loss of value. In your case; Front Bumper, Front Wheel, Side Skirt, Rear Door, Rear Quarter, up the Rear Roof Side, Rear Wheel & Well, Suspension, (and who knows what else). Maybe a Rear Bumper and of course Wide Body Parts, Paint / Body Work.... They will probably list that more than a minor accident and most likely show Disabled, (which means the car was not drivable), they may even list it as Severe Damage

As for Value loss some say 10%, others claim trade in value (with accident on record) could result in getting 30% less than its pre-accident value. Of course Make, Model, Miles, & Damage all play a part. Example if someone has a pic of a cracked Bumper and thats the reported accident, no big deal, if the accident shows as major damage on the report that's surely going to de-value it more.
Good Luck and hope it works out

 

[PHX396]

You can not file a diminished value claim against your own insurance policy. If you don’t like that the car has been wrecked get it fixed and trade it in right away before it hits carfax and dealer will not know it has been in an accident yet.

 

[vrwebster]

Looking at pictures, it is impossible to determine frame damage, for sure it will never drive as before, move on.

 

[furious70]

They stitch 2 halves of unibodies together for 50 yrs, seems that should be fixable. You really have no choice with the market so tight on these cars. Fix it and enjoy it and just carry on.

 

[Rockster]

You can not file a diminished value claim against your own insurance policy. If you don’t like that the car has been wrecked get it fixed and trade it in right away before it hits carfax and dealer will not know it has been in an accident yet.

That's horrible advice. Besides my experience is the dealer would require the OP sign a document that no body or paint work of other repairs were done to the car.

Might mention when I went to trade in my Scat Pack -- which had been hit while parked but expertly repaired -- I had pics of the damage, and a copy of the repair paperwork. Before the used car appraiser even touched the car I told him about the accident and handed over the pics and the repair paperwork. He looked at the pics just really glanced at them then handed them back. Eventually he test drove the car -- I was a passenger -- and when we got back he accepted the car and I got a pretty good trade in allowance for the car.

And now that I think about it I don't recall having a document submitted to me to sign that the car had no body/paint damage.

But recently I got a trade in estimate for another vehicle of mine but before I got it I had to check boxes that it had not had any body or paint work, which is true, it has not had any body/paint damage and repairs.

 

[Sarna March]

I decided long ago to brake smoothly and pull over as far as possible to avoid someone in my lane the wrong way. If he hits you, it's on him, not you trying to explain you didn't just drive your car off the road like an idiot.

 

[juanagofast]

It's alot of car

 

[1FastKitty]

Sorry to see. Glad you're OK!
Interesting to see how those wide fenders are attached.
The "Widebody" truly was an afterthought.