Diminished Value on a Z4

[airmarc]

Hi all,

Would love your opinion on this. If you were in the market and found a Z4 which had been in a collision (verified by carfax), but was in absolute pristine condition with low miles, what would you think would be a reasonable deduction in value?

Side note: the car was fixed by a certified BMW collision center..

[Lambobimmer]

Does it have a salvage title or not? What did they fix?

[jparnes1]

If the frame was damaged, it has NO value.

[hyper1]

Originally Posted by Lambobimmer

Does it have a salvage title or not? What did they fix?

Good question
what was fix

[airmarc]

The frame was not bent. There was damage to the drivers side front fender and bumper, and the drivers side rear fender. All panels in affected areas were replaced, the ac condenser replaced, steering column and steering wheel.

[airmarc]

It does not have a salvage title

[fisherman]

It's a tough one...one of the first questions people ask when buying a car is " has it ever been in an accident ? " When the answer is yes, the car had major collision damage and panels were replaced, etc, the desirability of the car goes way down. Most folks assume they will have problems down the road.

[2011CrazE89]

Personally I would stay away. What model/year are we talking about?

[Lambobimmer]

I would probably stay away too unless you can get it cheap. I always try to put myself in a position that I can get out of a car if I want to get out of it without getting crushed. It is a big risk when you buy a wrecked car.

[BMWZ4RIDER]

Originally Posted by airmarc

The frame was not bent. There was damage to the drivers side front fender and bumper, and the drivers side rear fender. All panels in affected areas were replaced, the ac condenser replaced, steering column and steering wheel.

That's an extensive collision list. How did the front and rear get so damaged as well as the steering column WITHOUT THE DRIVERS DOOR AND SILL being effected? For the steering column to be replaced the impact must have been extensive. If someone told me about this list of replaced components after an accident, I would say thanx but no thanx.

I would rather pay more for an accident free car.

Resale will be an issue to any real enthusiast.

[pete_z89]

Originally Posted by 2011CrazE89

Personally I would stay away. What model/year are we talking about?

I would definitely stay away, after hearing that list of what was affected.

Originally Posted by jparnes1

If the frame was damaged, it has NO value.

I agree, and so do other "enthusiasts," but there are always those buyers out there who don't care. However, in a market for this kind of car, I would definitely agree that it's value is significantly lessened.

Originally Posted by Lambobimmer

I would probably stay away too unless you can get it cheap.

Yup. Real cheap.

Originally Posted by BMWZ4RIDER

That's an extensive collision list.

I would rather pay more for an accident free car.

Resale will be an issue to any real enthusiast.

Couldn't agree more with these three statements. Stay away!

[nicknaz]

It was fixed by a certified BMW shop (presumably) with OEM parts... if the discount was deep enough, maybe?

Probably from way out in left field, but this might be the perfect car if you were looking for an example to turn into a track rat, or to do some really radical modifications to (like a widebody kit)

[Kessler35is]

If I was looking for a track car, I would want it in perfect condition. I would hate to find out later that the suspension is out of line and all the work to get it straight enough to make it perform.


But I am a snob when it comes to my Auto's. I wont buy a car that has ever been in an accident and if mine gets in one that I do not like I sell it and buy another. It's silly, but it's how I am.

[airmarc]

Ok, I will come clean, its my car. Want to know what kind of hit to expect dollar wise when I go to sell. But it sounds like (from your posts and opinions) Ill probably go ahead and pay it off and keep it.

[mbetoni]

Originally Posted by airmarc

Ok, I will come clean, its my car. Want to know what kind of hit to expect dollar wise when I go to sell. But it sounds like (from your posts and opinions) Ill probably go ahead and pay it off and keep it.

Dude, why be shady? You would have gotten the same answers from this community if you had said as much in your original post. It's a fair question - just seems odd .

[2011CrazE89]

Originally Posted by airmarc

Ok, I will come clean, its my car. Want to know what kind of hit to expect dollar wise when I go to sell. But it sounds like (from your posts and opinions) Ill probably go ahead and pay it off and keep it.

So how bad was the collision? Obviously you're ok.

[Rafale]

I would say roughly 50% of the blue book given that your direction column has been hit. that's what I got estimated by professional appraisers on a VW.

[tab380]

On that same question, I bought a 2012 z4 with 14000 miles on eBay with a Branded Title "Manuf. Buyback/Lemon because it was a Lease and had the HPFP and Battery Cable issues, and BMW took the car back before the lease was up. What do you think my hit was? It was a $65000 sticker and I paid $40000.

[Fripp64]

I've purchased three BMWs branded as buyback/lemons and I'd say around 10-20% depending on car, location in the U.S., how long you keep the car.

I got a great trade in on my 335i at the local BMW dealership and it had a buyback title.
The ones I've purchased are coming out of Cali and they seem to be pretty aggresive with enforcing the lemon law there.

My 2 cents

[Vintage]

Originally Posted by airmarc

Ok, I will come clean, its my car. Want to know what kind of hit to expect dollar wise when I go to sell. But it sounds like (from your posts and opinions) Ill probably go ahead and pay it off and keep it.

Its okay - look, it just has to be cheap enough to entice a buyer. I would keep it because you know that the frame was not bent and that it was not totaled; so for you, nothing is wrong with the car.

[RecycledTeen]

Originally Posted by airmarc

Hi all,

Would love your opinion on this. If you were in the market and found a Z4 which had been in a collision (verified by carfax), but was in absolute pristine condition with low miles, what would you think would be a reasonable deduction in value?

Side note: the car was fixed by a certified BMW collision center..

Originally Posted by airmarc

Ok, I will come clean, its my car. Want to know what kind of hit to expect dollar wise when I go to sell. But it sounds like (from your posts and opinions) Ill probably go ahead and pay it off and keep it.

LOL, good play!

To me, it wouldn't matter. I've bought and sold several cars in the past with accident histories without issues. I think some people (mostly "enthusiasts" who appear to know the product) put way too much significance on a vehicle that had a reported accident to the point of not recommending it or attempting to significantly de-value it. That's all good and fine if the accident was in fact so bad that it caused enough major damage where the Title had to be rebuilt or marked as salvage, but then, there are differences in opinion as to what "major damage" means, plus some Title's are rebuilt/salvage for not-so-major repairs made, so its a crap shoot.

Then there's the vehicles that have had accidents or major repairs that were NOT reported and thus CarFax or AutoCheck reports are useless. In fact, I've seen vehicles that had one report clean and the other told a different story.

In both cases then, if a car has been expertly repaired cosmetically and mechanically to the point of being virtually undetectable to even the most critically demanding buyer, it shouldn't matter, right?

So if it were me looking at your car, I'd give it equal consideration provided it was in fact in "pristine condition" in its post-repair state, something a PPI by a trusted/qualified tech could also verify. In fact, (again, to me) a seller would get extra kudos for being up front about the history if it had a non-reported accident! So price your car accordingly when it comes time to sell, and negotiate as you normally would. Sure, expect to get a little less than an accident-free one, but don't think it has to be "cheap enough" off the bat for someone to be interested.

{my 2 cents}

[nicknaz]

You never know until you go to sell.

List it and see what happens. No need to resign yourself to keeping it if that isn't what you want.