This actually happened to my brother in Seattle.

He's getting a TV delivered by Circuit City and his new Acura is parked out front. While pulling out of the area, the driver backs into his car. Rear passenger quarter panel is toast. Driver admits fault.

Circuit City is paying for the repair to the car and is paying for the rental car while his is in the shop. The car will be in the shop until 11/18.

I told him to ask Circuit City for some more money since the resale value of the car has probably decreased dramatically. I'm not an attorney. But I think you can sue up to $4,000 in Washington Small claims court.

What would you do if this happened to you? Any thoughts/ ideas?

 

I wouldn't sue. Just make sure they cover the cost of a rental car for him. If everyone sued like that for every little fender bender, our rates would be even worse than they already are.

 

 

Hmm,that might be more trouble than it's worth and I wouldn't think the value took a hit if it's just superficial body damage and no mechanical/structural damage was done (or was there) it shouldn't hurt resale value several years from now even if it shows up ona CarFax or something. Just make sure you have all the paperwork from the body shop to show the extent of the repair.

 

Just take the money they are offering for the rental and the repairs.

Having a rear quater replaced isn't gonna hurt the resale all that much. If at all.

 

I had a five ton chicken truck backed over the hood of my civic, all the way to the windshield, and he was putting boxes of fresh chicken on the roof of my car as i walked up. He was going to make the deliveries no matter what.

 

i dont think that a court will award for depreciation because there is no way of telling how much a car "could" have depreciated. Its all based on how well a car sells in the following years. If they dont sell well the depreciation goes down much quicker. if they sell well it will not goe down as fast.

 

get repairs done from a reputable shop and make sure rental is included.

on a side note, try to get some more hookups at circuit cuit I'm sure they'll be willing make some killer deals! the fact that circuit city is doing the repairs and the rental is pretty good so I'd say don't ruin it for everyone else by taking them to small court.

good luck

 

This reminded me of something similar that happened to me...
Several years ago I bought a 1990 VW Jetta from a buddy for 250$. Two days after I bought it, a newspaper delivery truck backs into it smashing up the front end. Headlights, grill, AC condenser all smashed, the hood and both fenders also suffered minor damage. Luckily the delivery guy left a note, I called the insurance company, they sent over an adjuster the next day. A week later, I had a check for 2200$. I cashed the check, went to the junkyard and bought two headlights for 68$ and drove it like that for two years. After fixing the exhaust (easy fix), throwing in two used CVs and new shocks and struts that I had laying around, I later sold the car to another buddy for 250$. That was the best car I've ever owned.

 

remind me not to purchase a vehicle from you ever.

 

Perhaps you underestimate the sneakiness!

 

If the repair is done right not even a dealer would be able to determin that the car was ever in a minor fender bender.

Carfax only reports if the car has been "totaled" (i think)

resale value of the car sucks anyway, if you dont drive it for 3 or more years your goning to loose money on the deal, fender bender or not.

The best I could expect out of it is maybee a Circuit City gift card or something.."sorry for the inconviece" kinda thing.

 

No, it will report on some minor accidents too.

 

Okay, so maybe legal action is too much, but he should at least get a gift certificate or something from Circuit City...