[Reggie335]

Recently my car was involved in a hit and run accident, where someone decided to scratch/dent the right side my car when it was parked at my local grocery store. I had insurance replace the front right door panel and back right quarter panel and they decided to do the bumper as well. There was no structural, mechanical damage done to the car and it was cosmetic.

I have been trying to sell this car and did not think cosmetic damage would show on carfax but it does.

Yesterday, I had my car checked out at one of the best shops in Chicago, and everything checked out with flying colors as I expected.

Its very unfortunate because now every buyer sees accident on the report, and they decided to offer abnormally lower offers than I asked for, and I understand thats the name of the game, but realistically, for cosmetic damage that has been completely corrected and for a car which a very reputable shop considers to be in perfect exterior/interior/mechanical condition, how much less would be acceptable from my asking price because of this blemish on the cars record?

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=739861

Appreciate your expert opinions!

[GetSomeE92]

Do you have pictures of the damage? If so, put them in your for sale add so people can see that it was only minor cosmetic damage.

[cmyk]

I think the price you're asking is fair. Many buyers use any accident or body work history as an easy excuse to haggle. In some cases this is reasonable but if I was an interested buyer, minor cosmetic repairs would not affect my decision. I do agree that sharing photos of the extent of the damage might help. Best of luck with the sale -- I'm sure the right buyer will come along.

[GChase]

Do you have it posted on autotrader/cars.com/Craigslist as well? It may take up to 2 months to sell.

[Bimmer Nerd]

Originally Posted by cmyk

I think the price you're asking is fair. Many buyers use any accident or body work history as an easy excuse to haggle. In some cases this is reasonable but if I was an interested buyer, minor cosmetic repairs would not affect my decision. I do agree that sharing photos of the extent of the damage might help. Best of luck with the sale -- I'm sure the right buyer will come along.

I agree with cmyk. One of my neighbors backed up into my E46 M3 the other day and the passenger fender/headlight needs replacing. But since its an 03, it does have a lot of rock chips so in order for the part to match rest of the panels the whole front end is getting repainted.
Of course this will show up on carfax, but i have a ton of pictures of the damage and it is purely cosmetic as i still drive the car. Dont take more than $500 off your asking price and provide repair bill to the potential buyer as a peace of mind.

Good luck with your sale.

[jvsxn]

Originally Posted by cmyk

I think the price you're asking is fair. Many buyers use any accident or body work history as an easy excuse to haggle. In some cases this is reasonable but if I was an interested buyer, minor cosmetic repairs would not affect my decision. I do agree that sharing photos of the extent of the damage might help. Best of luck with the sale -- I'm sure the right buyer will come along.

That goes for salvage cars as well. It sucks when your car is given a bad title because then it's like that one girl at school that everyone wanna take for a ride but will never commit to.

[John 070]

Just put yourself in a buyer's shoes, would you want to pay top-dollar for a damaged car? If not, how much less? Many of us want to avoid dings, let alone repairs from accidents.

imho it matters a ton on Porsche and above...does it matter on BMW? It's up to the buyer...