Damaged MY02 - Resale value and options? - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

Dallas Spikes · 29th June 2004, 07:17

In the interest of brevity, I'll just outline the end results. My car has been in 2 accidents. The first was fairly significant - slammed into a curb sideways doing damage to the left front and rear suspension and running board and destroyed both wheels and front left fender leading around to the front bumper. Both driver's airbags deployed (steering wheel and head). The second accident was essentially cosmetic, but it was a rear ending necessitating a new rear bumber and exhaust (aftermarket - SuperSprint). Both accidents repaired by the original dealer to an undetectable level (at least by my feel and eyes).

My questions basically concern advice regarding resale when I decide to go that direction. Should I trade it in at an official BMW dealer, trade it in at a non-BMW dealer, or sell it myself? Overall, will this kill my trade in and/or private sale price, and if so by how much? If I trade it in at a non-BMW dealer or do a private sale, how much should I disclose? I'm not trying to hide anything, it's just that the car has been repaired to OEM standards and there's been no change in performance?

One of my thoughts is that I would do better going through BMW because they know the specs of the repair and they can CPO the car on their used lot. The flip side to that is that they know all the details of the repair and can use that to bargain against me.

Any and all advice/comments would be welcome as this is new territory for me. Thanks in advace!

aznxstunna · 29th June 2004, 07:26

, if you selling, i probably intrested, how much?

Dallas Spikes · 29th June 2004, 07:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by aznxstunna

, if you selling, i probably intrested, how much?

Well, jeez ... I hadn't really planned on selling right now, but I guess it's always for sale. But, my problem is finding out the market value. Edmunds quotes basically $54K - 62K trade in to dealer price.

Just for the record, here's the specs/options:

2002 Carbon Black/Carmel Luxury
15100 miles
M-audio
park distance sensors
SuperSprint exhaust
SSR-GT3 wheels (scratch free)
Dunlop tires with about 4K miles

The only reason I was thinking of selling is I'm kind of changing my life (read investment) priorities. I figure that I've had my fun, now I should sell and use the money to invest in something with a positive (financial that is - it's a great personal investment!) cash flow. Any decent car can get me around and later in life I can return for my supercar. (BTW - I'm on the list at my dealer for an M6 and I just can't bring myself to take my name off the list, so we'll see how long this phase lasts!)

Woogie Daxel · 29th June 2004, 10:02

If you trade it in, it will not matter to the dealer. They are making thousands off you anyways.

If you sell private party then it will matter if you disclose the accident info to them, or it is on the carfax. If not on the carfax, informing the new buyer is right thing to do. IMO and from what I have seen, there are many carfaxes out there w/o accident information and the carfax comes up clean.

ALEV8 · 29th June 2004, 18:28

I have some advice: DISCLOSE the reapirs and previous damage exactly as it occurred and was repaired. DO NOT sugar coat it. No matter what Classic says or you think/feel, the car was extensively damaged and repaired subsequently. This M5 will NEVER be the same car it was and I would accept this fact, discount it for a expeditious sale, and move on. I'm not saying take a bath on it, just be very fair. If I were buying it, which I would not as there are a lot of M5s out there to choose from, especially in TX, I'd beat you to ***** with the fact that it is NOT in original condition, as will Classic, no matter what they tell you now.

I'm not trying to be mean to a fellow BMW nut here, just realistic. Once you damage a super car, super car buyers start to shy away from it. That's just reality. Calculate an acceptable discount for these issues and handle it in a straightforward manner. Classic would not, so you should.....

Just my $.02........

MPressed · 29th June 2004, 18:49

Well,

Disclosing all information on the accident, providing copies of repair orders, and photos will show the buyer you stand behind your car in the sale. Selling the car yourself will yield you the MOST return. I just received my dealers license from the state of Texas, so if you need help finding another car or buyer, I could probably help you there. I am an Accountant by trade and a dealer (car) by hobby.

I used to wholesale cars to other dealers and if you don't want to go through the trouble of a private sale, take the car to CarMax. They give maximum money on cars. Just a suggestion.

Also, keep in mind...Carfax doesn't show all accident history. The best thing to do is ask your insurance company or the insurance company of the used car you're buying for a history of claims on that VIN. I kind of got sidetracked...but wanted to share this info.

doug · 29th June 2004, 22:07

There's been a fair amount of discussion on the Board regarding diminished value-- sorry to say, but it seems like this is a prime candidate for such a case. As such, I don't think kbb or edmunds pricing would be quite accurate-- perhaps even far from accurate. Hopefully you were able to make your insurance company consider this when they paid your claim(s).

Dallas Spikes · 29th June 2004, 23:15

Thanks for all the responses.

No, I didn't expect to get the "full boat" price for my car considering the history and like I said before, I have no intention of "non-disclosure". I was just trying to get a feel for how much the history was going to hurt me in the sale and if it would hurt me more going through the dealer or private sale. I don't want anyone getting lawsuit happy down the road and coming after me saying, "but I never knew the car had been in an accident".

I still don't know what to realistically expect to get for the car, though. Whatever the number, I can handle it. I just don't want to unload it for $40K when I could get $50K. Or, expect to get $50K when reality says $40K.

(BTW - I get a little worn down by the frequent comments by people about how they can't get someone to give them a "fair" price for their car. "Fair" price is what the market will bear - i.e. what someone ELSE is willing to pay. I accept that in my mind, as disappointing as it may be.)

doug · 30th June 2004, 04:58

I guess what I'd do is start with a dealer-- or three to give yourself a point of reference. You can at least be reasonably assured that this is probably the low end of the spectrum, and then work from there. Good luck.

jeeperjohn · 30th June 2004, 09:12

Dallaspikes,

I would ask myself what I would pay for the car if I was in the market to buy it based on the amount of repair damage in dollars. If the repair was significant and lots of dollars, I would feel the car should be discounted from a similar car that did not have any damage. What was the cost to do the repair? I think the dealer tradein and workup from there is a good scale to go by. Although, I don't think that a dealer will CPO a car with collision damage. Good luck with the sale.

John