How much will a crash resulting in deployed airbags affect its resale value?

Question

I crashed my car and it deployed my airbags and it was the other party's fault. Now I have a record on CarFax saying I have been in an accident where the airbags came out. How will this affect the resale value of my car? What if I sell it privately vs. selling it to a dealership? The car is a 2004 Honda Civic LX Coupe with 40,000 miles. Kelly Blue Book says the "Good Condition" value is just under $10k.

Answer 1

An airbag costs about $800 to put right.  Some more, some less.  If you buy a used one, you can pay alot less.

If a buyer is sophisticated enough to check CarFax, they're not even going to look at your car.  So just having an accident entry is going to shrink your potential market.

Even a car that has been professionally repaired isn't as attractive to a buyer that knows about it as one that hasn't had an accident at all.  

Sorry about the bad news.  Bad stuff happens to good people too.  

In the final analysis, Zachary is right.

Answer 2

It depends on how much damage was done. If you were driving about 20 mph, the repairs were not too costly. You won't take a bad hit when you sell it or trade it in. If you were driving 40 mph, the repairs would be significant. That will cost you in resale value.

If you had frame damage, sorry, but that's the kiss of death. No dealer will want to take it in trade unless they have a wholesaler who will immediately take it off their hands. A car with frame damage incurs way too much liability risk. So even wholesalers who own used car lots tend to shy away from them too.

If you sell the car yourself, you must disclose the accident and the true extent of it. If you don't and something happens to the car or the new owner has it inspected and they find hidden damage, they can sue you. You could be forced to give them back all their money, take your car back and even be liable for punitive damages and other claims if the car was involved in another accident.

If you have a copy of the body repair, bring it with you when you trade it in. Make it easier for yourself. If the sales manager thinks you're trying to intentionally hide the damage, that will work against you. If you're upfront about it, that will work in your favor ... unless the car had frame damage.

As for giving you a price on how much value it's lost, nobody here can do that without knowing exactly what was damaged, how much the repairs cost and where it was repaired. Some body shops have stellar reputations. Others are known as butcher shops. if it was a butcher shop that fixed it, expect to take a beating on your trade-in value, even if was minor damage.

Answer 3

good news you are alive bad news you are screwed

Answer 4

keep it ur not going to get half of that 4 it maybe 3000 4 it

Answer 5

your screwd