After a car wreck, you may find yourself with a damaged car that will have you wondering "can I sell my car after an accident?".
Depending on your location, and the status of your vehicle's title, you may want to consider selling your car after an accident as opposed to repairing the damage.
“What’s my car worth? What effect has the accident had on my car’s value?” All valid questions that are worth understanding to better comprehend your selling power. Immediately, you can find out how much your damaged car is worth by filling out our form below or simply read on for details on how much a car’s value drops after an accident.
So, how much does the car value drop after an accident? The severity of the accident question is the most straight-forward.
If your accident was more of a fender bender with a broken headlight that was replaced with a new part, the accident won't have much of an effect on the car's value as the repair won't really be visible. If your car is totaled, and you have a salvage car on your hands, you could be looking at up to a 50 percent value drop.
When the collision is more serious and a junk car removal service is needed… severely dented body panels, frame damage, broken suspension… That's a different ballgame.
From the point of view of your insurer or a car dealer's appraiser the value your car has lost after an accident is called its diminished value, which is based on the pre-accident value of your car, the nature and severity of the damage and the quality of repairs.
There's no real perfect formula to determine whether you should trade in a car after an accident. Suffice it to say, the more significant the damage, the newer the car or the poorer the repairs; the worse the diminished value. Basically, a car dealer won't give you a great trade-in value after an accident, so you won't get the full value of your car.
With an unrepaired car, it's easy to see why it has less value. However, sometimes it's not quite as easy to see why fixing your car after an accident shouldn’t bring it back to its original value. I mean, it looks like new, so it should be worth what it was before, right? Wrong.
Let's assume the repair was done by an I-Car Gold repair shop by a master craftsman.
The paint between new body panels and old matches and there are no big gaps. It looks great. Despite all that, your car still will take a big hit in terms of value, to the tune of up to 30 percent. When it's time to sell a car up to 55 percent of people won't buy a previously damaged car.
The car now has an accident on its CarFax or AutoCheck vehicle history report. Plus, if there was significant frame or structural damage, even the best body shop will never be able to get the car back to perfect.
Depending on the age, mileage, severity of damage and make and model of your car, your damaged car has some intrinsic value. You may be better off selling a car versus repairing it.
Luckily, there’s an easy way to sell a smashed, accident-damaged car, van, truck or SUV: go to DamagedCars.com!
Selling your accident car is easy with DamagedCars.com. All you have to do is enter a small amount of information about your car and you get an offer in under 90 seconds, and can usually get paid within 24-48 hours. Find out the real value of your car after an accident now!
You can trade in a car after an accident. However, be aware of how much value your car loses after an accident, and the fact that most dealerships don’t specialize in accident-damaged cars. Your car’s valuation after an accident may be significantly lower than you expect.
An easier way to get a decent amount of cash for your car is to use a service that specializes in buying damaged and totaled vehicles, such as DamagedCars.com. We buy cars with problems every day, and can make an offer on your vehicle in just 90 seconds with free title transfer and free towing included!
Yes, cars will lose value after an accident. But how much does a car lose in value after an accident? That depends on the severity of the accident and the condition of the car prior to getting in a wreck, but you can typically expect it to drop in value by at least half.
The easiest way to find out what your car is worth post-accident is to get an offer from DamagedCars. We can calculate its value in just 90 seconds and issue an offer that’s guaranteed for seven days, with free towing and title transfer included.
Yes, you can sell a car that was involved in an accident, but not to the usual car buyers. While a handful of dealerships may be willing to make an offer on a damaged vehicle as a trade-in, the majority do not specialize in accident-damaged cars and will not be able to truly figure out how much less your car is worth after an accident.
Instead, you should turn to services that specialize in buying cars that have been damaged, such as junkyards and online car buyers. There you can get a better offer for your vehicle, and the business will typically be prepared to think about necessary arrangements such as towing your car to the lot.
We will! DamagedCars is happy to make a fair market offer on your crashed car, no matter what year, make or model it is. It takes just 90 seconds to get an offer, and all our quotes include FREE towing and title transfer!
Get an offer from us today and you could get paid in just 24 to 48 business hours.