Gs300 Dimished Value?

[nelex]

My leased 2003 Lexus GS300 was rear ended in June. I was very impressed with how the GS handled the accident (of the $8000 of damage, only $250 of the bill was related to unibody work). And most of all, it did a good job of protecting the occupants.

I had the repairs done at a Lexus trained body shop and the car has been fully inspected by the Lexus dealer. Everything looks like it is back to normal except for one item.

The person I talked to at Lexus Credit (as well as the insurance company) says that by selecting the right body shop, the car should not have any diminished value - its value should be very close to what it was before the accident. However, when I talk to independent appraisers, they are telling me that the car has lost value equal to the damage (i.e. $8000). The appraisers' logic is there is a very limited market for a Lexus that was involved in an accident.

Who is right?

[blue06gs]

In theory the car shouldn't lose any value since it was fixed to Lexus's specifications and all.

But, when you go to sell the car and someone runs a Carfax report the accident will show up and that might hinder them in wanting to pay KBB value for the car when they can just buy another one that hasn't been in any kind of accident.

Just my 2 cents.

[Lexusfreak]

In theory the car shouldn't lose any value since it was fixed to Lexus's specifications and all.

But, when you go to sell the car and someone runs a Carfax report the accident will show up and that might hinder them in wanting to pay KBB value for the car when they can just buy another one that hasn't been in any kind of accident.

Just my 2 cents.

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Agreed, the car will loose some of it's value due to the accident....nothing can be done. :(

[nelex]

In theory the car shouldn't lose any value since it was fixed to Lexus's specifications and all.

But, when you go to sell the car and someone runs a Carfax report the accident will show up and that might hinder them in wanting to pay KBB value for the car when they can just buy another one that hasn't been in any kind of accident.

Just my 2 cents.

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Agreed, the car will loose some of it's value due to the accident....nothing can be done. :(

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I thought that would be the case. javascript:emoticon(':(')

So if it does have some dimished value, is it in the $8000 range?

[Lexusfreak]

I thought that would be the case.  javascript:emoticon(':(')

So if it does have some dimished value, is it in the $8000 range?

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Do you mean did it loose $8,000 worth of value because of the accident?

[blue06gs]

i dont think it means that its lost $8k in value...it just means that u wont be able to sell it for the same price that other GS's of your year are selling for...u'll probably get around $2k less...

i know i wouldn't want to pay full price for a car thats been in an accident..

[lexus411]

once it has unibody repair it then considered frame damaged which could cut the value of the car in half depending on the severity. Either way the car defintely takes a hit in value.

[Lexusfreak]

i dont think it means that its lost $8k in value...it just means that u wont be able to sell it for the same price that other GS's of your year are selling for...u'll probably get around $2k less...

i know i wouldn't want to pay full price for a car thats been in an accident..

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Agreed, in the 2k - $2,500 range would be my guess....but not $8k B)

[nelex]

The appraisers are saying that my car before the accident was worth $32K or higher - mint condition, 15K miles, nav, ML sound, not driven in the winter... After the accident, I will be lucky to get $24K in a market where there is a limited number of people interested in buying a damaged Lexus.

This is a shame. My wife was at a full stop when a 17 year old boy ran into her at 35 MPH. As noted in my first post, most all of the damage was cosmetic - the pickup luckily ran up on top of the frame, damaging the rear quarter panels and the trunk lid.

[LexKid630]

My wife hit a deer in her 03 gs430. It was fixed and looked fine. when we tried to trade it in, i got the hint that the dealer was jiping me a few K.

[SW03ES]

The independent appraisers are definately right. Once the vehicle is involved in an accident that extensive the resale market for it becomes very difficult. One reason for that is there are SO many nice, never wrecked, Lexus vehicles in that age range that come off lease people need an incentive to purchase something thats been near totalled. I'd say 8k off is a low estimate of the value its lost.

I would talk with your insurance company about suing the kids insurer for a diminished value claim. He should pay that extra $8,000 you lost in value.

[Lexusfreak]

My wife hit a deer in her 03 gs430. It was fixed and looked fine. when we tried to trade it in, i got the hint that the dealer was jiping me a few K.

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How was the deer? lol ;)

[SW03ES]

I bet the last thing that went through his mind...was his butt.

Anyways lol, I had a close encounter of the deer kind the other night. I was on my way home, late and in the rightmost lane of a 12 lane highway when a deer jumped right in front of me and then lept out of my lane and over the jersey barrier right before I hit her. I'll probably never forget how close she was...

[briggs400]

i hit a full grown male moose in my bmw when i was 18. i had the car lowered and every mechanic i talked to said that if the car hadnt been lowered and that if there wasnt 4 people in the car to weigh it down a little more, i would have been toast. it was almost like we took his legs out and he kinda flew over us. when we stopped we were teetering on the edge of a wet slope that went down about 50 feet, then was a cliff dropping off into the middle of nowhere in the rocky mountains. it was by far the scariest thing that had ever happened to me.

ahah anyways i remember peolpe used to ask how the moose was...who cares...hahha its his fault for jumping out.

[bartkat]

15 to 20% off the normal selling price would be about right.

[SW03ES]

ahah anyways i remember peolpe used to ask how the moose was...who cares...hahha its his fault for jumping out.

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He actually might have been allright believe it or not. I've seen people hit deer and the deer roll up over the windsheild and get up and walk away. The exterior of a car is designed to minimize injury if a pedestrian is hit.

Now...a moose is a tad bit bigger than a deer so I dunno lol

[nelex]

Update...

Based on what my Lexus dealer will give me on a trade, my 2 year old GS 300 with 15K miles is worth less than 50% of its original sticker (due to the accident described earlier). He can't sell it as a certified. So instead of a trade in value at nearly $30K (what the dealership quoted me 2 months before the accident), we are looking at $21K.

Nebraska does not have a dimished value law. As was suggested, I could try to extract the lost value through the courts. But no one here is optimistic that I will succeed. It is just like me trying to get 401(k) money out of my former employer for 24+ years (a famous bankrupt company that starts with an E).

I purchased a Lexus thinking that it was supposed to hold its value. Ha! My pursuit of excellence has ended. I'll let you guys own them going forward. It is Kia time for me.

[SW03ES]

Oh be fair.

Its not Lexus' fault you got the car rammed into. That diminished value would happen to ANY car, Lexus, Mercedes, Rolls Royce, OR a Kia.

You got it wrecked, not Lexus. The accident may not have been your fault but thats life. Once somethings been broken and put back together its not worth as much as it was before it was put back together.

[SW03ES]

And I just noticed...the car is leased. What do you care what its value is now? Its not even your property.

[nelex]

And I just noticed...the car is leased. What do you care what its value is now? Its not even your property.

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Under normal circumstances, you would be correct. However, we put a large amount of money down going into the lease with the thought that we would purchase the car at the end. When you compare what KBB shows the value of the car without the accident with the current payout, we would have over $5,000 of equity in the Lexus. Now we are upside down on the lease by about the same amount.

Many of you would say we should just keep the car until the end of the lease (the equity part would be gone). However, for the sake of the two occupants that were in the car during the accident I must bring closure to the event.

[91L3xus]

I bet the last thing that went through his mind...was his butt.

Anyways lol, I had a close encounter of the deer kind the other night. I was on my way home, late and in the rightmost lane of a 12 lane highway when a deer jumped right in front of me and then lept out of my lane and over the jersey barrier right before I hit her. I'll probably never forget how close she was...

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270?

[indiasfinest]

huh?

[91L3xus]

Lol, I'm assuming that I-270 is where he almost hit the deer. In general, that road is a !Removed!.

[ptownTSI]

my 93 gs300 has been in two small accidents, neither show up on carfax. both were fixed at a Lexus owned body shop. sucks for you, try selling it private party. when cars are fixed at bodyshops they are put back together better than new in most cases. it shouldnt take away value at all.

[SW03ES]

I-270 and yes, its a !Removed! LOL. Not as bad as 66 in VA though ;)

Under normal circumstances, you would be correct. However, we put a large amount of money down going into the lease with the thought that we would purchase the car at the end. When you compare what KBB shows the value of the car without the accident with the current payout, we would have over $5,000 of equity in the Lexus. Now we are upside down on the lease by about the same amount.

Well you should have consulted a financial planner before you did that, that was a mistake. You should NEVER put ANY money down on a lease its too risky. As you've now realized you're handing money to the leasing company and if something should happen to the car you won't get any money back. If you'd totalled it you would have been out your downpayment money. Much smarter to put the money in a savings account and then use it to make payments for a year or something like that.

You never had any equity in the Lexus because its not your property, you rented it for the lease term and it belongs to whoever you leased it through. All you did was pay them some of the payments up front. If you were planning on buying it you should have bought it in the first place instead of leasing it. When you lease then buy you wind up paying for the car twice.

Again, not Lexus' fault.

Many of you would say we should just keep the car until the end of the lease (the equity part would be gone). However, for the sake of the two occupants that were in the car during the accident I must bring closure to the event.

Don't be so dramatic. You were in a car accident, happens to everyone at some point. The car was damaged, now its repaired. Drive it until the lease is up and get a new one.

You're not going to be able to get out of the lease unless your lease company offers some sort of yearly buyout program but thats really rare. The only way out would be to pay all the payments left and turn it in. That would be another foolish financial decision.

when cars are fixed at bodyshops they are put back together better than new in most cases. it shouldnt take away value at all.

Thats only true if you make sure the purchaser doesn't know the car was in an accident. The second they put it up on a lift and someone checks it out with a paint gauge and a thorough frame inspection they'll know its been in an accident and they won't pay you as much for it. Plenty other Lexus around that have never been in an accident to pay you for one that has.

Of course that changes the older the car gets, but a serious accident like this will definately effect the value of a 2003 Lexus greatly.