PLEASE HELP, Need answers.. new accident victom.

[Need4Speed]

Today is one of the worst days of my life. I have a red 2001 RT in MINT almost concours condition that has been my garage queen. Only 9000 miles on it. I never use it because I absolutely love this car for the 10+ years I have owned it and never get tired of looking at it. It litterally had no scratches on it and sat under a cover in climate controlled garage, never seen rain even. Have not used for about 1.5 years other than around my neighborhood once every 2-3 weeks to keep tires in check.Well I did a stupid thing today, I DROVE IT. The Guys at work have been begging to see it and its a perfect nice sunny day in Florida so I drove it to work. There was some usual stop and go traffic on the highway. Of course I came to a complete stop. Woman behind me was texting or something and did not. SLAM!!! My mint unblemshied RT got rear ended. I did hit the back seat headrest, nothing seemed to hurt at first, later I started to stiffen up and have some neck and back pain so going to the doctor to get Xrayed. The car actually does not look that bad. Bumper is scratched badly and the rear deck lid (trunk) is pushed in and up. Some paint has been chipped off as well but there is absolutly no frame damage or fender damage. I was at a standstill and hit at about 8-15mph is my guess by a jeep SUV that suffered scratches to the bumper. I will post pictures here if I can. The car is an easy fix and like I said the damage looks minimal, rear deck lid and new bumper (which is not cheap I know). Police report has assigned 100% of the fault to her.

My questions:

1) My perfect Mint no questions asked car that I was planning to keep for a show car now has an accident on its title/carfax and now will be a difficult sell (even if I am the second owner). My insurance company has advised me I can sue her insurance company for this Diminished value of the car. How do I determine what that diminished value will be? I checked haggerties and they report values of these cars are rising... I would rate mine between Concours and Excellent. Has anyone done this?

2) How do I document the accident history and repairs the correct way (other than pictures) to show any new perspective owner the damage was fixed and was cosmetic and he should not be concerned about potential issues?

3) How do you now sell a vehicle like this that has been in an accident?

4) If anyone lives in the North Florida area can you recommend a repair shop that has top notch no worries work for a car like this?






[h=3]Current Values[/h]

• #1 Concours$46,400
  Condition #1 vehicles are the best in the world. The visual image is of the best vehicle, in the right colors, driving onto the lawn at the finest concours. Perfectly clean, the vehicle has been groomed down to the tire treads. Painted and chromed surfaces are mirror-like. Dust and dirt are banned, and materials used are correct and superbly fitted. The one word description for #1 vehicles is "concours."
• #2 Excellent$43,200
• #3 Good$39,100
• #4 Fair$32,800

• About Hagerty's Condition Ratings
• |
• About Our Prices

 

[Steve-Indy]

Sorry about your accident. I would suggest that you start by calling JonB at Partsrack as he has helped untold numbers of Viper owners with these types of problems.

 

[Free2go]

Wow. My condolences.

 

[Kala]

+2 for calling JonB about the diminished value. Any Viper or higher end car with an accident history becomes suspect... If you are keeping the car, take lots of photos of the damage... Basically build your case to show the next owner what actually happened.

 

[Need4Speed]

Contact John B... thanks!

 

[Bonkers]

Well I did a stupid thing today, I DROVE IT.

It pains me to think that you feel the worse thing you could do
with your Viper is drive it... its a car. In my opinion the best
car ever built, arguably the prettiest car every built, but at the
end of the day its still just a car.

Also, from your post here it seems to me like youre more
interested in collecting money than enjoying the car. If the
frame isnt damaged the rest is VERY easily repaired. You
love the car? Who cares if its (omg) "blemished."

To answer your questions though:

My perfect Mint no questions asked car that I was planning to
keep for a show car now has an accident on its title/carfax
Personally I dont think you're gonna see a radical departure from
the value of a "blemished" 2001 and an unknown "mint" 2001.
It all depends on the generocity of the insurance company, but
I think you're looking at hundreds of dollars as opposed to
thousands.

and now will be a difficult sell (even if I am the second owner).
If you document the accident and repairs in a professional manner
I dont think youll have any difficulty selling it off. Sure, if I were looking
for a perftect example the accident icon on carfax might sway me, but
if I were looking for a perfect example it wouldnt be a 9,000 mile car...
so six one way, half dozen the other...

My insurance company has advised me I can sue her insurance company
for this Diminished value of the car. How do I determine what that diminished
value will be?
Thats were a friendly relationship with JonB becomes worth its weight in gold.

I checked haggerties and they report values of these cars are rising...
Haggerties lies. Values have been holding steady for almost a decade now.
Exceptionally rare models are increasing (GT2, 96 GTS, 92 Rt, ect) but the
non side-pipe RTs are some of the least desired of the Gen1-2 crowd.

2) How do I document the accident history and repairs the correct way
(other than pictures)
Easy, with pictures. Lots and lots and lots of pictures. Have the work done
with a reputable shop who will keep receipts for you. The most important
pics will be of the initial damage and shots of the car with the panels off
before repairs begin. This shows how deep the damage goes. For most
viper buyers, a seller who has gone the extra mile to explain a potential
defect makes the car more sellable than a seller who tries to hide the
damage. Id ALWAYS consider a car with heavy repairs done right than one
with no information at all. Always.

3) How do you now sell a vehicle like this that has been in an accident?
Ebay, Craigslist, Autotrader, Viperclub Classifieds, Newspaper Classifieds...
Theres no such thing as a "damaged viper undermarket" - you'd sell it
exactly the same way you would have before. Be up front about the repairs
before the potential buyer finds out for himself.


I understand youre emotionally hurt by the accident, but at the end
of the day its better the car get banged up than you. It did its job
and kept you alive - even if it was a fender bender. If you genuninely
love the car it sounds like its suffered VERY minor injuries. Patch it
up and get back out on the road. Its meant to be driven - not driving
a viper is like staring a the most perfect firework *** ever made
but not bringing yourself to light it...

 

[broomrider]

Listen, the best and I mean best thing you can do for yourself is to get an independent appraisal service that values exotic cars. they will photograph everything and research everything you could possibly imagine for you and your car. Also, as far as diminished value this will go a long way if you
do decide to file suit for diminished value. By getting an independent appraiser, insurance can try to argue but the appraisal will speak for itself. Trust me do this first before trying to get the car fixed. once its back to new, have them do it again for your own records.

 

[Bobpantax]

See interlineations below:

today is one of the worst days of my life. I have a red 2001 rt in mint almost concours condition that has been my garage queen. Only 9000 miles on it. I never use it because i absolutely love this car for the 10+ years i have owned it and never get tired of looking at it. It litterally had no scratches on it and sat under a cover in climate controlled garage, never seen rain even. Have not used for about 1.5 years other than around my neighborhood once every 2-3 weeks to keep tires in check.well i did a stupid thing today, i drove it. The guys at work have been begging to see it and its a perfect nice sunny day in florida so i drove it to work. There was some usual stop and go traffic on the highway. Of course i came to a complete stop. Woman behind me was texting or something and did not. Slam!!! My mint unblemshied rt got rear ended. I did hit the back seat headrest, nothing seemed to hurt at first, later i started to stiffen up and have some neck and back pain so going to the doctor to get xrayed. The car actually does not look that bad. Bumper is scratched badly and the rear deck lid (trunk) is pushed in and up. Some paint has been chipped off as well but there is absolutly no frame damage or fender damage. I was at a standstill and hit at about 8-15mph is my guess by a jeep suv that suffered scratches to the bumper. I will post pictures here if i can. The car is an easy fix and like i said the damage looks minimal, rear deck lid and new bumper (which is not cheap i know). Police report has assigned 100% of the fault to her.

My questions:

1) my perfect mint no questions asked car that i was planning to keep for a show car now has an accident on its title/carfax and now will be a difficult sell (even if i am the second owner). My insurance company has advised me i can sue her insurance company for this diminished value of the car. How do i determine what that diminished value will be? I checked haggerties and they report values of these cars are rising... I would rate mine between concours and excellent. Has anyone done this? Jonb can help you with this.

2) how do i document the accident history and repairs the correct way (other than pictures) to show any new perspective owner the damage was fixed and was cosmetic and he should not be concerned about potential issues? Get the police report; the insurance company report; a detailed body shop estimate and, of course, photos.

3) how do you now sell a vehicle like this that has been in an accident? If what you say is accurate, and the damage is miner and cosmetic, and you have it fixed by a body shop that does high end cars like ferraris. So that a potential buyer can see that it was fixed perfectly, you should not have any problem selling it.

4) if anyone lives in the north florida area can you recommend a repair shop that has top notch no worries work for a car like this? If there is a ferrari, mclaren, or lambo dealer near you, find out who they use and use that shop.






current values

• #1 concours$46,400
  condition #1 vehicles are the best in the world. The visual image is of the best vehicle, in the right colors, driving onto the lawn at the finest concours. Perfectly clean, the vehicle has been groomed down to the tire treads. Painted and chromed surfaces are mirror-like. Dust and dirt are banned, and materials used are correct and superbly fitted. The one word description for #1 vehicles is "concours."
• #2 excellent$43,200
• #3 good$39,100
• #4 fair$32,800

• about hagerty's condition ratings
• |
• about our prices

 

[Solid Red 98]

What a bummer....My advice to you is to: 1) Get your Viper fixed. 2) Get a fresh set of tires and/or wheels. 3) Drive it, look at it, drive it, look at it, and drive some more. Since it is no longer pristine, just drive out the pain and fill your soul with pleasure. My two cents.....

 

[denniskgb]

Well fix it it and drive the balls out of it. The concours days are done and over with, my friend. So may enjoy it now....Things happen for a reason, no one got hurt (except a mental bruise) and that's the most important thing

 

[GTSSSSS]

Totally agree with denniskgb. Now's the time to drive it.

 

[Dirk Pitt]

You never have to accept what an insurance company offers you for repairs to your vehicle. That is negotiable. All the above advice is very helpful and I'd argue from the start the diminished value in addition to ensuring the car is repaired to your satisfaction.

The insurance company can't tell you what repair shop to use. I'd find the best possible shop to do the repairs and stick to your guns on what you want from the insurance company. Having to go the route of suing is time consuming and will likely cost you money that may offset whatever the diminished value is.

 

[AviP]

Take pictures when the bumper comes off as well, especially along the frame rails.

As to your garage queen, well she's not a ****** anymore. So have a lot more fun driving it now.

 

[DJ'sviper]

I put very little milage on my 93 However, I have a blast with it. Some great advice from above. This is a car, not stock market. If the car is in excellent shape and you can prove it was a minor accident then it will have no effect on its value. If you take the car and track it it won't have any effect on its value. Do you want to sell the car to another guy, make a few bucks and watch him track it, drive it for 50,000 miles and have a blast with it and wish you would have had more fun with it? Do you think just because you have 9,000 miles on it the guy being your car will believe you if you said you didn't track it. These cars were built for racing. My car has about 23,000 miles on it and I have a blast with it. I can sell it for the price I paid for it or maybe more in the future but I'm not going to deny myself of a good time going to shows, club adventures, or down the track for fun. I quit putting on the regular track as the new vipers have such an advantage. Although it give them a run for their money. Parts are getting to hard to find. Never had a problem with it other than the alarm andI replaced that. Fender scrape and means nothing. Get it to look like new again. I feel I made a ton of money with mine with all the fun I'm having and have not lost a penny in its value. How many of you bought a 50,000 car and what value its it after 10 years? This is probably the best thing that ever happened to you. Enjoy your ride. How many car collectors are out there looking for your car? The cars value is going up because they aren't making them. If someone wants my car I have a price. It would come with an amount that I can use to buy another viper, maybe. The car is worth what you want to sell it for or what someone is willing to give you for the price you want. Otherwise keep it.