I just traded a 2012 Passat diesel that was wrecked at 3300 miles with air bag deploy. Lost 2500.00 on that alone. Sucked. Nothing you can do about it. Insurance co have it fixed so you can't go after it. IMO,That's bad they won't fight for you and charge the rates they do.

 

My brother is a claims adjuster for a major insurance company. They actually have a formula. Book Value * 10% * damage number * mileage = diminished value. I think your damage number would be between .75 and 1 because of frame damage. Since a frame can be repaired with new sections they may want to use .75 on your calculation. On miles you deduct .2 from 1 for every 20,000 miles (over 20,000). If you have 20,000 to 40,000 miles your mileage number .8, if you have 40,000 to 60,000 your number is .6. If book value for you truck is 40,000 the maximum you can expect is 4,000. If you can get a damage number of 1 and you have less than 20,000 miles, your calculation is 4,000 * 1 * 1 = $4,000. If they use .75 for the damage number, 4000 * .75 * 1 = $3000.
If you keep your truck for few years you can be money ahead with diminished value. If you trade it right away you lose out. As state above people shy away from vehicles that were wrecked and sold right after the repair. 2 or 3 years down the road the repair is not as big a deal. I would push for the maximum diminished value & keep the truck. The best way to prove diminished value is get a couple wholesale estimates for selling it and use that number against NADA or KBB values for a typical truck like yours.

 

it can be very significant, depending on the state.

in south dakota, any damage over $5,000 requires a "damage disclosure" on your title, which in this ***-backwards state equates to a salvage title.

a while back there was a 2 year old truck on a park-it-market for nearly 10k off book value, but it had a salvage title. would have been a great deal for someone with the cash, but no banks will loan on a salvage title ... and unfortunately, here, all that takes is a $5,000 wreck.

 

That's insane! one of the recent ones i had caused $6,500 in damage to my Expedition. Girl at fault's insurance fixed it (whole new QT panel and door) and i was on my way. it does show up as a "minor accident" on the carfax but hell its a '98! Only time in AK you get a salvage title is if you accept a total loss settlement on your car/truck.

 

The good body shops in my area all offer a life time guarantee on their work. If the paint fades or peels in the repair areas (and is still good in the non-repaired areas) they will fix it. If you have any problems with the frame they would fix that too. I've had cars that had frame damage fixed and never had a problem. It is amazing what these body men (or are they body people?) can fix. The problem always appears when you go to sell. On my 05 Mustang the Car Fax said "severe frame damage". I had one new front frame rail installed & the other straightened. I tried to trade the car at the dealer I bought it from and they would not take it on trade. I could not find a new car dealer that would take it on trade and had to sell the car myself. The car was in perfect condition, the only blemish was the car fax. People are afraid of buying a vehicle that had frame damage.

 

The formula you are referring to is the "17c" formula for determining diminished value. Unfortunately it heavily favors the insurance company by bringing in factors that have little to do with the current actual value. If my truck was worth $40K before the accident and appraises for $35K after the accident, then the diminished value is $5K. I will be hiring an appraiser this week and filing the claim. I will update the progress and see how much I can recoup.

 

I didn't know there was a name for the formula, thanks. I totally agree, you want to know what the actual diminished value is, not some number calculated by a generic formula. Getting a professional appraisal is the best way to find that real value.

 

Every time I have ever traded in a truck the question "ever had an accident where the air bags were deployed" comes up at the beginning. My feeling is, that most dealers don't want to give your much for your trade in if that's the case.
If a person wants to keep the truck for a decade or more, then the truck isn't worth much anyway so it doesn't matter that much. But if you're the type that trades it off every couple of years then it is a significant problem.
On a brand new vehicle like this where the other person is at fault. I would make them pay through the nose. So if I didn't get satisfaction via insurance then the person at fault should expect litigation to recover the difference.

 

Don't know about the F150 however in my Mustang I was told there was a computer code that showed front and side air bags were deployed and that code can never be reset. To me it seems if the code can be set it can be cleared.
BTW, airbags going off are scarier than the accident. They are loud, in your face, smokey and smelly. It took months to get that air bag smell out of the car once it was back from the shop.

 

You can replace the module, and that's probably about it. Just like the code that indicates that aftermarket programming was installed on 2011-present Super Duties, it's a hard code that you can't get rid of.

Many cars and trucks require the airbag module to be replaced whenever there's an activation.

 

Look at this thread "Would you buy this truck". The poster mentions an F150 he is looking at is about $5,000 less that other similar trucks. The Truck he is looking at had been in 2 accidents. A minor rear bumper and a front that deployed the air bags.

 

Wouldn't spark my interest. Once those bags are deployed, all bets are off.

 

Conger's previous post is exactly why the OP needs to maximize his diminished value claim. A lot of prospective buyers, including yourself, will walk away once they see "Frame Damage" or "Air Bag Deployed" on the car fax. I'm guessing most people would be turned off even knowing the vehicle was in an accident. In the other thread the poster is looking at walking away from a $5000 purchase price discount due to the accident. I don't know how much diminished value should be. Whatever the number is, it should be big.

 

Ouch that Sucks bud, Hope They do Treat You Right, had the same thing happen tho, i made it 5 days.

 

Ive bought cars and trucks that were wrecked. and repaired. I repaired the one truck and a few cars myself. if I was to buy, it would depend on what was damaged AND how new it was......I have a 2013, it has a clean car fax. but not everything gets reported to car fax either. I tend to keep my vehicles for a very long time.