Whether it happens bit by bit like this, or all at once in a collision, body damage affects your truck’s value. It might be just a scratch but professionally repainting just one panel can cost $400 to $700, and that doesn’t account for any dent or rust repairs!
Perhaps you’re looking to fix your truck, or maybe you’ve given up on keeping it in good shape. You want to know, “What’s my truck worth now, and is the cost of repairs worth it?”
How Much is My Truck Worth?
Determining how much is my truck worth is easy. Anyone can do it. There are used car values found all over the place – Kelley Blue Book, NADA Guides, Trader, just for examples. You can also compare your vehicle’s year, make, model, trim level, and mileage with others that are for sale in your area.
Take your pick and determine the value of your pickup. With Kelley Blue Book, you’ll receive Fair Market Value with a range of high, low, and average. If you take the average price, you’re in pretty good shape to sell it for near that dollar figure.
How Does Body Damage Affect the Value of My Truck?
But if your truck is beat up, wrecked, damaged, dented, dinged, rusty, or a combination of these things, that valuation won’t be accurate. Those prices are meant for trucks with average wear and tear, not vehicles with body damage.
So, how do you calculate your truck’s value when it’s in below-average condition? One trick is to determine how many panels are damaged, multiply it by about $600, and take it off the Fair Market Value for your truck.
Will Repairs Restore My Truck Values Too?
You’d think that paying to have your truck fixed or completing an insurance claim will restore your truck values to pre-accident condition. Unfortunately, that’s not quite true. When body repairs are done, especially on an insurance claim, it’s reported on its vehicle history report like Carfax. When someone is looking for a used vehicle and checks the Carfax report, they’ll see that significant body repairs have been done.
Repairs might bring up the selling price somewhat, but not the same amount as you’ll spend to fix it. Think about it as a comparison between your repaired truck and one that’s never been in an accident. They might look the same and drive the same, but if you know one has been fixed and the other hasn’t, which one would you choose?
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Who Will Buy My Truck As Is?
Instead of fixing the body damage, you might think, “Forget the repairs. I’ll sell my truck fast as it is.” That can be a good way to go about it, knowing when you sell it, you won’t get the money back that you pay for repairs. But who’s going to buy my truck as is?
List your truck online on Craigslist or on Autotrader as your first option to sell your truck online. You might get some interest but not nearly as much as if your truck was in good shape. The people that email, text, and call at all hours want to haggle you down to almost nothing, thinking they’re doing you a favor. There are a few buyers out there, but they’re looking for a home-run deal.
Where to Go to Price My Truck Out
Setting a price for your damaged truck isn’t easy. It still has worth to you and there’s probably lots of life left in it. You want to get a fair price for it, but not give it away. What do you do?
You can get your truck appraised by a manager at a local dealership. They’re going to try to sell you a new vehicle, so beware of their sales tactics. Plus, they aren’t overly interested in damaged vehicles so when you ask them for the value of my pickup truck, you might get a very low quote.
Another option is to calculate truck values by subtracting the amount of damage from the Fair Market Value price, like we did earlier.
How Can I Sell My Truck Fast?
Most truck buyers want a truck they can drive right away, not one they need to sink time and money into before it’s roadworthy. Unless you hit the jackpot, it could take weeks or months to find the right person to buy your truck with body damage. Selling it online is a great option to sell it fast.
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