Kia Optima resale value question...
I have a 2012 Kia Optima SX. It is in excellent condition. I have a question relating to the resale value as a result of the following events:
The car has 30,0000 miles. A few months ago it was in a rear ending accident. The front end of the car was rebuilt. I received a brand new engine. Long story short: The car as a whole has 30,000 miles on it. A month ago, when the rebuild was complete, the engine had 0 miles on it. Now I have a car in beautiful condition with 30,000 on the body and approximately 1,000 miles on the engine. I owe $19,000 on it. Would having the rebuild and the brand new engine allow me to sell it for excellent KBB value or does it not matter at all? I know the CarFax dictates things but its literally brand new. I'd like to sell it soon.
I'd like to hear your thoughts. Thank you
Comments
Unfortunately, your comment about CarFax is accurate. A major accident is going to be a turn-off to any potential buyers, and therefore, not attractive to the dealership. Very few vehicles - and I mean VERY FEW - are truly in the "excellent" range for trade-in values. A vehicle basically has to appear brand new to merit that rank.
If you want to get an idea on the value, you can post details in our Real-World Trade-In Values discussion, and someone with more expertise can give you advice: http://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/1212/general/x/real-world-trade-in-values#latest
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I don't understand what you meant by "rear ending accident".
Was it hit in the rear end or did you rear end another car?
If you hit another car hard enough to ruin the engine that must have quite an accident!
The fact this work was done does NOT increase the value of your Kia. Quite the opposite!
You are calling it "literally brand new". In reality, it's a car that has been wrecked and repaired.
That and given the dismal resale value of Kias, you seriously may want to consider just hanging on to it.
As the years go by, the effects of a dirty Car Fax will lessen. On a two year old car, it's a deal killer but on a ten year old car that isn't worth much, a lot of buyers won't really care all that much.
If you owe 19,000 I don't think you will like what a store offers you.
Yes, it's important to know if you were at fault in this accident or not, because if it was not your fault, you have the option to hire an appraiser to do a "Diminished Value Appraisal" on your car, and with that you submit a claim for additional loss of value to the other party's insurance company.
If it was your fault, you cannot make a Diminished Value claim on your own insurance company, as per insurance laws.
Isell is correct--your car is going to take a big hit in value once the nature of the accident is revealed, either by you or by CARFAX (you never know if and when it will show up on CARFAX).