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Value Loss in new crashed car

  • 10-10-2025 05:26PM
    #1
    HeadlessChicken
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 21 ✭


    Good Evening.

    Help needed with insurance question please. My car was in an accident recently. The other driver was at fault and liability is not a question.

    The car was only purchased a couple of months ago brand new for just under 60k.

    I can see that the damage will run into several thousands because the rear of the car was struck hard enough to bend the quarter panel closer to the rear door on one side, leaving a larger gap on the other side rear door. So the body is twisted a bit I think. The boot hatch is not aligned properly anymore and has a gap of maybe half a centimetre on one side. Car still drives.

    If I sell the car in 2 or 3 years it will be worth a lot less as a repaired car than one that hasn't been in an accident. It will make it harder to sell too at any time. I have no estimate, but for arguments sake, I will put a 10k repair bill on it (just a guess). The insurance company says they only pay 25% of the EX-VAT repair cost. EX-VAT, that is €8,130 and 25% of that is €2,032 which would be a kick in the teeth and nowhere near the actual depreciation I would suffer in that event. Going by these figures there is no number for repair cost where I would not be at a loss. No matter what, I am losing money here.

    Does that seem right? They say it is industry standard but online I see mentions of percentage of market value which seems a more accurate and fair way of doing it. If I sold the car last week, it would probably have been worth 3-5k less than it was when I picked it up a couple of months ago through normal depreciation of a brand new car. It is a 252 plate. If I were to sell it after this repair, it would be worth at least 10k less, right? I know I would want a hefty discount if buying a repaired car and rightly so if the repairs included anything more than bolting on a new bumper or panel.

    How do I square this circle? Do I have to accept this ridiculous rule and potentially lose thousands in value? Is my only other option going legal? I am absolutely gutted this has happened and this news has kicked me while I am down. Any and all help please.

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