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Not directly related to OP but I had my then few months old Merc rear ended a year ago. Was nothing more than a few dents on bumper itself, but now trying to trade the car in and having an accident report drops my trade-in value by 3-4 grand off the bat during appraisal. I was afraid of this at the time and did try to get a diminished value claim, but frankly it was a lot more hassle than it was worth. Have done research (although never actually got a lawyer) but I wouldn't have gotten probably more than a grand back, before lawyer and other fees. That and the headache of trying to prove that your value was actually diminished - not such an easy task. In the end, it really sucks but I think it is something that the OP might just have to live with - Unless he really wants to pursue the diminished value claim, which for me at the time was just not worth my frustration and time.
One more comment on Carfax. Many people are telling OP to have the garage not report the repair. I was under the impression the insurance company reports it once a claim is filed and they pay for it, not the garage itself. Can someone clarify this? I always thought that the only way to avoid a Carfax report was to not go through the insurance company all together, in which case OP would have to get his dealer to write him a check directly, something that I doubt the dealer would do due to potential legal issues in the future.
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