Vehicle Rear Ended - How do I avoid accident history?

[Prail]

Hi all,

Long time lurker, finally got around to making an account due to having an interesting incident happen to the Mrs.

Long story short the person behind her was rear ended and pushed into our vehicle, there is some deep scratching to the rear bumper but nothing much more than that. :banghead:

I reckon it will just warrant a bumper replacement, around $1,000-1,500 - thing is we don't want this showing up on an accident history on the car, and thus losing another $4,000-5,000 in resale value.

Curious if anyone knows how this information winds up on accident reports - is it only when the vehcile is repaired through insurance? If we simply go to a bodyshop of our choice and pay it out of pocket will we avoid this dilemma?

Curious if anyone knows!

Thanks kindly.

[shakalaka]

If you don't go through insurance then it won't shop up on the carfax report.

[nytrydr89]

thats not true. when body shops give you estimates they grab your vin for a reason. those estimates show up on a carproof report when registered properly.

[JustinMCS]

There's no way around it unless you try to be shady about it. Vehicle history is there for a reason, why do you want to try to hide it? If you can provide pictures to the next buyer of what happened, most people won't even bat an eyelash that you've had the bumper resprayed.

[beyond_ban]

What you are trying to do is unethical. If I am to purchase your vehicle, I want to have full disclosure of what happened to it. If it's properly repaired, and the damage is well documented, then the eventual new owner shouldn't have an issue with it.

[Prail]

The vehicle is leased, we tend to trade every 3-4 years, and I'm just expecting the good ole' dealer to say "Whelp, it's been in a collision, blah blah blah, and have them offer another 3-5K less as a result.

That really sucks.

I'd have no problem with disclosing a collision that actually did meaningful damage to the car... don't get me wrong. Selling privately this time around might be the way to go if the dealer tries to give the screws over it.

:thumbsdow

[NoMoreG35]

I really don't think a bumper replacement would matter. If it's a $5000 D&R, that's a different story.

[JustinMCS]

Originally posted by Prail
The vehicle is leased, we tend to trade every 3-4 years, and I'm just expecting the good ole' dealer to say "Whelp, it's been in a collision, blah blah blah, and have them offer another 3-5K less as a result.

That really sucks.

I'd have no problem with disclosing a collision that actually did meaningful damage to the car... don't get me wrong. Selling privately this time around might be the way to go if the dealer tries to give the screws over it.

:thumbsdow

Well a leased vehicle is a whole different story. You have to inform the lessor of the vehicle because usually there are rules as to where they want to get it fixed and it won't affect you come trade in. Some contracts are different and will say different things, sometimes there are penalties for accidents, etc.

[Prail]

Good to know.

Thanks for the thoughts/advice.

Cheers,

[300zxfairlday]

Lots of places will redo the bumper without it ever showing up on the history. Just gotta do some searching. Pay cash and there wont be any record of it whatsoever

[CapnCrunch]

I wouldn't worry about it with a lease. Besides, a small accident like that won't hurt resale that much assuming its fixed properly.

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by Prail
The vehicle is leased, we tend to trade every 3-4 years, and I'm just expecting the good ole' dealer to say "Whelp, it's been in a collision, blah blah blah, and have them offer another 3-5K less as a result.


This post confuses me. If it's properly repaired through insurance, and it's leased, it's not like the dealer can demand money from you when you return it. They can only charge you for un-repaired damage.

That's one of the advantages of a lease.

However if you repair it under the table, and they find out it was in an accident, whoah boy, have fun in court, lol.

[sputnik]

Take lots of pictures of the damage prior to the repair.

If it is minor damage you will be able to show that to prospective buyers should you sell it later.

[Masked Bandit]

Have the damage repaired at the dealership you bought the car from that way when the lease is up they can't question the quality of the repairs.

[ExtraSlow]

Coles:
- Car is damaged
- I want to pretned the damage never happened and not disclose this to anyone
- How can to do this shady deal?

[ercchry]

not all shops subscribe to accident reporting...

[Mitsu3000gt]

If the damage is as minor as you say, what's the harm in having it on record? Extremely minor damage does not affect resale for the most part. I would be pissed if I bought a car and found out later it had a replaced bumper without that accident being disclosed to me.

[BrknFngrs]

Originally posted by ExtraSlow
Coles:
- Car is damaged
- I want to pretned the damage never happened and not disclose this to anyone
- How can to do this shady deal?

:werd:

[CanmoreOrLess]

Frankly, I'd look at a front and/or rear bumper replacement as a bonus if I was buying a used car. New paint, no marks from the wear and tear of daily Calgary use. I've been lightly rear ended about every 2.5 years in Calgary, always in the winter and always by a vehicle without winter tires. I noticed on the last repair the body shop over sprayed (not that I care) the inside of the bumper (it was a used part), so beware as this might happen to your lease vehicle and set off alarm bells.

[Redlyne_mr2]

If it's truly a lease then you're in the clear. That's the nice thing about leasing, the finance company is eating the depreciation, not you.

[Prail]

Oh, didn't mention we only had the car for 4 months.

I know I can return the lease at the end, thing is we typically turn in a little earlier as the vehicles we lease tend to be ahead of the deprecation curve.

We are talking about a scratch on the bumper, not like we are trying to hide a huge collision here... ;)

In the end it's just upsetting to lose value on a vehicle due to someone else!

[FraserB]

Originally posted by Prail
In the end it's just upsetting to lose value on a vehicle due to someone else!

You're not losing value on the vehicle though.

[jdmXSI]

If it really is a couple thousand, you wont suffer any real depreciation at all. Even police reports upped the dollar value to 2000 before you have to get a police sticker. I would make sure that the car is repaired at a certified body shop for the manufacturer though. That way you don't have to worry about voiding any corrosion warranty.

[Zero102]

You aren't paying for the repair, get the dealership's advice on where to take it to avoid a hit on the value when you trade it in and you should be fine. Seems simple enough to me and this way it isn't shady at all :dunno:

[beyond_ban]

Why don't you anonymously call the dealer and pose a "hypothetical" question about the situation you're in?