Even after perfect repair, your vehicle's resale value drops because Carfax and AutoCheck show the accident. This tool runs the 17c formula (the insurance industry formula for diminished value) as a floor — insurers default to it because, by design, it produces the lowest of the recognized diminished-value calculation methods. An independent appraiser using market comparables often arrives at a substantially higher figure.
Source: Property Damage Gap §7.4.
