snagitseven

Ok, fair enough. I'll try and provide a more thoughtful response to your original post than than my previous throw-away question.

Your premise with this bumper damage was to sell the repaired car right away to avoid a bigger value hit later. If the car is sold privately (or traded in to a dealer), I can't see how it would make a difference whether it was sold or traded now or later. The repair is the same regardless of when the car is sold and would be noticed (or not) either way. The biggest hit to depreciation occurs in the first year or two and it reduces annually, so disposing of it now would cause the biggest percentage value reduction, the repair not withstanding.

The AW Forums are an opportunity to share ideas and different points of view and you are certainly welcome to contribute anything you wish at any time (so long as we members don't engage in personal attacks). At the same time, when advice is given that doesn't make sense or appear to be financially sound, as in the context of this relatively minor repair, it's also permissible to challenge it.

If you believe this is a valid method to maintain maximum value in this situation, by all means, feel free to go that route if the situation arises. As for me, I'd fix the bumper and keep driving the car as originally planned.

feralc

I do not agree with the fix it sell it statement, a lot of cars are involved in accidents and being part of one (bad luck) does not mean you need to get a financial hit, obviously the accident might show in the carfax report (sometimes they do not) but dealers are really good at spot repainted panels, what I have done with two similar scenarios when two idiots crashed two of my cars, was to document the crash with pictures so I can show in the future it was not a big deal and it was perfectly repaired.
Irenesbob said he was amazed how expensive the repair is vs what it shows from outside, so I do not think it will be a problem to sell it in the future at the same price than non-accident vehicles. Lets put it this way I take care of my cars that much than my two cars involved in accidents looked WAY better than the cars with clean reports. Problem with reports is they do not show minor or major accident, only accidents so go figure.

irenesbob

I agree 100%. This is a largely cosmetic repair and the damage did not involve anything structural, mechanical or electrical – no wheel alignment, no airbags set off, not even the trunk lid or surrounding areas involved. With my leased 2008 Audi A4 I had the dealer re-paint the trunk since they damaged it when it was in for maintenance service. About a year later they bought out 9 months of the lease because they wanted to have the car to sell because “it was pristine, in and out” per the used car manager and I wanted to get into a 2010 A6 with the then-new 3.0T supercharged engine.
What jmgard58 may not realize is that all these European brands have tons of shipping damage (rocking ships at sea, storms, salt - you name it – maybe Godzilla escaping a container and vandalizing Audi’s) that is fixed at the port before the dealer even gets the car and before you (the buyer) even sees it. I have been told that the amount of repairs needed on some cars is multiple times what I am having done, yet these are sold as “new” and the buyer doesn’t seem to take a hit on trade-in because the paint, etc. are not original to the factory or in that regard “virginal.”
FWIW – I lease the car I am ranting about.

jmgard58

wow...I thought this was a forum for all opinions, not just one for the majority opinion.
I am really glad you guys had such good success on trading your previously repaired vehicles. Maybe I'll hire one or two of you to trade mine in 7 or 8 years...

manishaudi

On any forum, you will always find people feel strongly about one issue or another.

I hope you will still feel comfortable sharing yours in the future.

snagitseven

It certainly is for all opinions. You have yours and others have theirs. The others just happened to be the "majority" opinion this time. The next time, it could be the other way around. I've made plenty of posts over the years that others didn't agree with but, hey, that's the way it goes sometimes. My wife and I don't always agree either but we're still married after 37 years. (Frankly, I don't know how she's put up with me all this time - I'm too high maintenance with expensive car tastes).

irenesbob

I am the OP, so my opinion is just mine, not a majority's. I commented again after snagit7's last post to set the record straight about the extent of the damage. My neighbor looked the car over for ten minutes and said "I don't see any damage."
Also, I do disagree with you that in all instances body repair will diminish the resale value of the car. I hope you took note of my comments on the amount of repairs many absolutely new cars get before they reach the dealer. The body shop told me that unless the damage is something that requires cutting and welding on new sections, it is increasingly difficult to spot cosmetic repairs such as I have encountered. Computerized paint matching for one eliminates a lot of the old tell-tale signs.
Don't hire anyone to trade your car in 7-8 years - the quality of the repair at the time of damage is what needs to be top notch.

jmgard58

has been subtly missed....I really don't mind having the minority opinion...what I do mind is the manner in which the majority treats the minority opinion 'haver'.
You're free to disagree with me (of course) but I would have been happier had my opinion been treated with a modicum of respect instead of talked down to as if I didn't know that cars depreciate, accidents happen on ships and some painters are better than others.
But then again, I'm reminded that this is a 'internet forum' and often the common rules of decorum don't apply. I've been on several forums and am amazed at how many frequent posters will often eviscerate the less frequent posters while at the same time complain about 'lurkers'. Maybe I should just remain a 'lurker' and keep my guts and soul. Thanks for that reminder. I'll keep my opinions to myself in the future and therefore will rob you guys of all your fun .
Good day.

feralc

Somebody is having a bad day today, I think that everybody reacted this way because if the OP follows that advice he will get financially hit, it is not like "which tires should I get" or "which color should I buy" everybody could have an opinion, but advise something that could result in thousands of dollars down the drain is the reason people raised their voice and disagreed with it.
Let's have an example, taking advantage of tax season, you go into a tax forum and ask something like " should I claim my dead second cousin as a dependent?" And somebody says " yes go for it" a lot of people will say NO, because they don't want fellow members to be in trouble either financially or with the government.

NJ A6

I dont know that I would go to the same lengths as Jmgard, but there is a lack of appreciation on the part of insurance companies to address to full impact of an accident. I was hit in almost exactly the same manner and I used my time without compensation to
obtain estimates, rent a replacement(non-Audi) car with a reimbursement cap, and continue to make lease payments on a $54,000 car while driving a $25,000 car. When returning the car at lease-end, the inspector used a gauge to determine my car had been hit. Audi Fin Svcs took the hit on value in this case, not me. But with Carfax disclosing all incidents now, should my current owned A6 suffer the same fate, the hit will be mine. The knock on the value is real. think about when you are ready to buy. Given two identical vehicles, one with an accident, one without, which would you choose?