nelex

I would not have started this thread if I was not serious about learning from this experience. My goal was to get an education on the supply and demand for a damaged Lexus and the concept of dimished value, which I did. Thanks who provided feedback. For those who expanded the thread to critize my financial decision to lease, thanks for the comments as well. Looking back, I would do things differently. But honestly, who has not made a bad decision, car wise, at least one time in their life? I guess I was due to stumble. And finally, I hope no one has to go through what I have been through to bring things back to normal. Repairing a car was challenging in itself. But to deal with the physical and emotional side of the accident is something I grossly underestimated. Be careful.

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. 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. 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. ← ← Geez... I am not blaming Lexus. The one that I have a beef with is the very young driver that ran into my wife when she was at a complete stop. The force of the accident pushed the car into a four lane highway - the attending officer said my wife and daughter were very lucky to be alive, given that it was rush hour and several cars had to manuver around the car at a high speed. I think I have a right to be dramatic. You must not have had an accident of this magnitude - you would be a bit light on the get over it comments. The car has some unfortunate memories attached to it. I need to let it go. And oh by the way, I was fully aware of the risks - the lease had gap insurance and I can pay it off at any time. If I keep the car for the remaining term of the lease, I will make $9,600 of payments. If I let the car go now, adding the remaining "equity" that exist from my larger capital reduction payment plus what it will take to correct the upside down position will allow me to get out of the lease for approximately $5K. I am sorry to disappoint you - I do have a bit more of a clue than what you give me credit for.

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. 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. 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. ←

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.

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.

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.

Agreed, the car will loose some of it's value due to the accident....nothing can be done. :( ← I thought that would be the case. javascript:emoticon(':(') So if it does have some dimished value, is it in the $8000 range?

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?