$23k accident claim on vehicle - how bad (or good?) can it possibly be?

[svelt]

Hi RSers, I'm looking at a Lexus that's listed for 32k, however there are a string of accidents related to it on the Carfax - a 23k, a 9k and a 9k. I plan to keep this vehicle for a while, so resale value, while important, is not my top priority in decision-making. I don't have experience with dealing with ICBC repairs, but the dealer claims all of these claims were cosmetic. I can believe the pair of 9k accidents as parts for luxury vehicles can be very costly.. but $23,000+ in damages from ICBC? How severe is that typically? Is it possible that everything mechanically "checks out" even with such a huge cost of repairs that is more than an average new economy car? I'm aware shops will gouge ICBC when they can, but I've never heard of a repair bill that high before.

Should I run the hell away? Or should I try to negotiate a massive discount? I was thinking of asking for 5k off the list price (27k) - is that an offensively low ball offer considering the accidents it's been in? Or am I even selling myself short? Blue book value pegs the car at 29k.

[nabs]

run far far away WOW. 23k accident is huge.

[cdizzle_996]

23K is pretty considerable.

The way I look at is it, how are similars cars priced? Is this a car thats market value is 45k, and its underpriced due to its claims. Or is it 4k cheaper than another similar that has 1 claim for $2500.

I'd stay away, or spend the extra few k for another one for peace of mind, and resale when the time does come down the road.

[jasonturbo]

I'm usually hesitant to buy anything with significant repairs, but then I think about the cars that I have repaired and the quality of the work being basically 99% of OEM quality… the people that bought my repaired cars got a great deal.

Even my PY ITR had a front hit that justified going to JDM front… but whoever did the conversion did a great job (I know that's a simple fix, but some people manage to really butcher it).

With new cars and the price of parts (Especially Lexus body trim parts, the prices are worse than Porsche parts), 23K could be headlights, LED ballasts, hood, hood garnish pieces, grille, bumper, fog lights, rad support, rad, a/c condenser, airbags, couple fenders and some paint/blend… 23K might not be such a crazy repair.

IMO it's the crazy Lexus part prices that made those 9k, 9k and 23k repairs… on a Honda it probably would have been 3k, 3k , and 8-10K.

Might be worth taking a peek at it, if you like it and the repairs look good to you, bring it to a body shop for second opinion.

You can snag great deals on some repaired vehicles, I missed out on an E92 M3 last year for 27K with 17000KM in immaculate condition with a branded title.. and the repairs were minimal and near perfection.

GL!

[320icar]

The fact you have to ask should already tell you what we're going to say.

[Nabatron]

Lol fuck that shit!

[Zordon]

Not worth it one bit, heed the advice of RSers and "RUN FOREST, RUN!"

[Dragon-88]

Take your time if you know what car you want. You'd hate to want to buy something(especially at that price) then have huge headaches later.

If you're looking to keep it for awhile. Try to find something with good history. IE Maintenance records, receipts, original owners. They're out there.

Maybe post a WTB thread. You never know, that's how I found my S2K. Seller came to me, all the listed cars were crap.

And yes, run away. With all those claims, it's not worth putting good money in a beat up car.

[Gerbs]

what car

[nsx042003]

it doesnt take much. oem parts arent cheap. what car? depends on the brand as well. lexus can be expensive whereas parts for a hyundai may be considerably lower

[saucywoman]

Originally Posted by jasonturbo

I'm usually hesitant to buy anything with significant repairs, but then I think about the cars that I have repaired and the quality of the work being basically 99% of OEM quality… the people that bought my repaired cars got a great deal.

Even my PY ITR had a front hit that justified going to JDM front… but whoever did the conversion did a great job (I know that's a simple fix, but some people manage to really butcher it).

With new cars and the price of parts (Especially Lexus body trim parts, the prices are worse than Porsche parts), 23K could be headlights, LED ballasts, hood, hood garnish pieces, grille, bumper, fog lights, rad support, rad, a/c condenser, airbags, couple fenders and some paint/blend… 23K might not be such a crazy repair.

IMO it's the crazy Lexus part prices that made those 9k, 9k and 23k repairs… on a Honda it probably would have been 3k, 3k , and 8-10K.

Might be worth taking a peek at it, if you like it and the repairs look good to you, bring it to a body shop for second opinion.

You can snag great deals on some repaired vehicles, I missed out on an E92 M3 last year for 27K with 17000KM in immaculate condition with a branded title.. and the repairs were minimal and near perfection.

GL!

Lexus's are fairly expensive to fix.. What are you looking at and from where?

[jshen]

It depends on the type of vehicle as well. 23k on a LFA is different than say an IS. That being said, 23k is significant damage.

[svelt]

It's a Lexus IS350C, a few years old. I've sort of already mentally moved on after stewing on it tonight - with 23K, 9K and 9K I'm surprised it wasn't a total loss. That said I've seen pretty "simple" repairs go for 10k in luxury vehicles. I just wondered if it's even possible it could be 23k and be "simple".

[nsx042003]

my 08 isf got totaled at 27k damage in feb 15. that 350c mustve had that 23k damage in its eariler life

[cdizzle_996]

At the end of the day when you do want to sell say 5 years down the road, you're going to limit yourself to probably 5% of people because of the claims

[flagella]

While $23k damage may not be a ridiculous amount for a Lexus which is relatively expensive to fix, you better have the car thoroughly checked before purchasing it.

But please, don't get that ugly car.

[ts14]

ihave a benz at theshop with 13-15k worth of repairs but this claim is suh that its purely parts and paint.

23k will def have frame and sheetmetal damage.

if its repaired properly, its really not that big of a deal, although i have seen some "reputable" shop spit out some questionable work.

i would seee where the repairs were done and look on the car to inspect the repaired sections. if it looks good, keep it. if not, skip it

[Gucci Mane]

Isn't the IS350C a chick car? Lol.

[AudiFreak]

Check the car very thoroughly if you get a decent offer. Where is this car listed? I can't seem to find it to compare to other local deals for a similar vehicle (mileage, year, open ions, etc). I would definitely try to go below CBB though.

[- kT]

first off, lexus parts aren't overly expensive, contrary to popular belief that they are. bmw and mercedes parts are expensive. a lexus is a toyota. parts cost a little more but nowhere near as bad as people are making it sound. matter of fact i did an estimate 2 days ago for a brand new is350, oem door skin: $500 bucks. mazda3 door skin, $380 bucks. typically if the claim is in the 20,000+ range, airbags have been deployed. i work as an estimator and i have yet to see a job above 15k that didn't involve airbags. it's definitely possible depending on the car of course, but still, i'd stay far, far away

[jasonturbo]

Originally Posted by - kT

first off, lexus parts aren't overly expensive, contrary to popular belief that they are. bmw and mercedes parts are expensive. a lexus is a toyota. parts cost a little more but nowhere near as bad as people are making it sound. matter of fact i did an estimate 2 days ago for a brand new is350, oem door skin: $500 bucks. mazda3 door skin, $380 bucks. typically if the claim is in the 20,000+ range, airbags have been deployed. i work as an estimator and i have yet to see a job above 15k that didn't involve airbags. it's definitely possible depending on the car of course, but still, i'd stay far, far away

I could provide you with a list of parts from the dealer that would 100% make you retract that statement. Especially OEM ISF parts, they are absolutely brutal.

Here's a thought for everyone in this thread that is like "OMG stay away, it has accidents"… so what do you do when someone smashes your non-accident car? You get terribly sad and depressed knowing you will one day have to sell it with a damage history at a discounted price.

In contrast, if you buy a car with previous accident history and it gets smashed again it won't really impact resale much if at all… and then if it gets wrote off, ICBC will (Experience has confirmed this) pay you out without taking the accident history into consideration… so you will get a better return in % on a total loss relative to price paid.

I'll always consider rebuilt cars, but I am very confident in my ability to pick cars/repairs apart.

Mehhhh oh well, the more people are scared to buy accident cars, the more money I will save buying the good ones lol

[Edison_Chen]

Originally Posted by cdizzle_996

At the end of the day when you do want to sell say 5 years down the road, you're going to limit yourself to probably 5% of people because of the claims

True.. It will be even harder to sell the car privately especially with the high claim amounts, unless it's very cheap and desperate to sell.

[jasonturbo]

Originally Posted by Edison_Chen

True.. It will be even harder to sell the car privately especially with the high claim amounts, unless it's very cheap and desperate to sell.

Yes, but when you buy the car with the same discount you sell it with, it's all relative.

in contrast, if you buy a clean car and then have it smashed during your ownership, you are now bearing the brunt of having to provide that discount.

[- kT]

Originally Posted by jasonturbo

I could provide you with a list of parts from the dealer that would 100% make you retract that statement. Especially OEM ISF parts, they are absolutely brutal.

Here's a thought for everyone in this thread that is like "OMG stay away, it has accidents"… so what do you do when someone smashes your non-accident car? You get terribly sad and depressed knowing you will one day have to sell it with a damage history at a discounted price.

In contrast, if you buy a car with previous accident history and it gets smashed again it won't really impact resale much if at all… and then if it gets wrote off, ICBC will (Experience has confirmed this) pay you out without taking the accident history into consideration… so you will get a better return in % on a total loss relative to price paid.

I'll always consider rebuilt cars, but I am very confident in my ability to pick cars/repairs apart.

Mehhhh oh well, the more people are scared to buy accident cars, the more money I will save buying the good ones lol

let me elaborate a little bit. when a car is repaired, insurance companies will make you take the most economical route of repairs. in most cases this means used or aftermarket parts. in the case of lexus and toyota, aftermarket can come in the form of oem surplus parts from marrand. in other words, the parts are OEM, but they're also "aftermarket". i can refute your statement by giving you comparisons of like parts on lexus' and then on regular cars like civics or mazda3's. it also comes down to supply and demand. you mentioned the ISF. how many ISF's are even on the road? of course parts will be expensive. why not take the part prices of an IS250, which is much more commonplace than an ISF, and is also a lot more similar to the car in question, and compare those prices? at the end of the day a repair is a repair. 4 hours repair on a quarter is the same on any car, regardless of make or model. the exception would be the compound of the metal but unless it's aluminum or ultra high strength steel that's a moot point as well. this is just speaking from personal experience, but i'm willing to bet that if i took a scenario of say, a single vehicle accident from impact with a concrete post, damage down the entire side on a honda civic and a lexus is250 and punched it into audatex, the final repair bill would probably have a 20% margin of difference at the most. the less parts are involved, the closer this margin would be

[- kT]

double post