This is a carry over from a previous thread, so forgive me if I sound like I am belaboring the subject. I thought this question would get more attention on a new thread. My 06 coupe was rear ended and I am concerned about diminished value after the repair. Has anyone recouped any diminshed value loss and how did you go about it?

 

Varies by state.

 

Doubtful IMO...the definition of repair used by insurers is to return it to its pre-existing condition or equivalent. Diminished value would be difficult to recoup in the case of a forty year old classic Corvette, let alone a new car that you can replace today. Mental anguish, as real as it may be, won't count either.

I highly doubt that most dealers or most individuals would "value" your car any less than the appraised face value after inspecting it for evidence of collision...maybe I should read the other thread. Anyone using a report (Carmax?) to devalue a vehicle for repaired collision damage is attempting to leverage a cheap buy to steal the car IMO. My personal opinion is that use of those reports is not prevalent enough to reduce the value of cars with prior collision damage, but I could be wrong.

 

I've always been told you can only get diminished value if it's almost a NEW car. So, yes, go after it. It's especially a concern if the accident shows up on CarFax.

 

Diminished value is almost impossible to recover in court in most States. Certainly in Texas, the courts will not support your claim. Insurance industry lobby is too large and has too much money.

 

The truth is when you get ready to sell the car or trade it in you will get Screwed every single time. I don't understand why insurance gets away with this they are supposed to get you back to where you were before the accident. But if you are going to get 2k or more less at time of trade in they really didn't keep up to there end of the bargan.

 

Leeman,
Sorry to hear about the damage to your car. I had quite a few replies in my thread http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...minished+value of members who actually collected diminished value clamis from their wrecks. I though I was going to have to seek the same, but our insurance totaled the car and paid off fully to us.
You would be going after the other guys insurance for this and your company may or may not help you. There is even some companys on the web that do this service. I felt the same, most buyers of a vette would be savy enough to get a carfax report and you may get screwed unless it details as very minor.
Good luck, Greg

 

This is what we did for our lease car:

We went to a dealer and had them appraise our car (G35) after an accident. The car was perfect before the accident (1.5 yr old, 6k miles, mint), they did the servicing. We had them detail in the appraisal any reason they deminished the value of the car. Then took it to carmax, and another dealer. All three said the same thing, that repair work was evident. Appraisals were between $1.6k-$3k off of KBB top trade.

We then presented their insurance co. with the appraisals, as well as a letter explaining our concern that we could be held liable later by our lease co. for deminished value. Initially they told us to pound sand. Then said our state (VA) didnt have an accepted formula so they wanted to use georgia's formula and offered $319. Took a couple of counter offers and major strong arming before we finally settled on $1900.

Hope this helps

 

When a lady backed into my 05 lotus elise (classified as an exotic) i pressed the diminished value even though it was only part replacement and no frame damage and received nearly 8k on top of the car being repaired. This allowed me to sell the car at a reasonable deal to someone and still come out in the clear.

 

I am happy to hear everything worked out for you after that horrendous accident. The car was a mess. the main thing is no one was hurt. Thanks for your support.

 

Wow! That's basically the same thing that happened to my Lotus Elise. I was rear-ended a couple of days before Christmas. It was a minor accident but I still had to have the entire rear clam shell replaced and the body shop painted the entire car because they couldn't match the paint correctly. In the end, It cost $15K to repair the car and the insurance company paid me an additional $6K for diminished value. I did have to hire an independent appraiser to help me get the diminished value. I used a company called Collision Claim Associates and they helped me deal with the insurance company. Although, even with the dimished value payment, I still lost money on the car. I had to sell the car well below market value because it was completely repainted and no longer considered original. In the end, I was just happy to put it all behind me. The diminished value payment did help cover most of my loss.

Do an internet search for diminished value claims. There are several companies out there that can assist you. Any car that's been wrecked suffers diminished value to some degree. With all other things being equal, you simply cannot get the same amount of money for a car that's been wrecked as a car that has never been wrecked. No matter how well it's been fixed.

You do need to realize that most insurance companies will not readily pay this amount and will tell you that you're not entitled to it. So be patient and persistent.

 

All good advice here. I made a diminished value claim and won. The laws vary by state so do your homework. The other guy's insurance company will not want to pay you a dime more. So quote your state law. You insurance agent should help you claim diminished value. Threaten to sue, if you must.

 

Agree, states and insurance policy language vary. I'd ask for DOV and if the company says no, ask them to explain why not. Also, you might be able to check with your state's dept. of insurance altho some of the people who work there wouldn't know their a-- from a hole in the ground.

 

Diminished value claims may still be allowed for third party claims (against the "other guys" insurance company, not yours).

 

Timely information, as my C6 is in the body shop right now. Had a Safeway BIG RIG crunch me, as he was trying to squeeze into my lane at the last second to make the exit.
The bastich runs this route all the time and knew there was a constant monster backup for that exit and waited until the very last second to squeeze the rig in. The lane stopped dead and he kept coming across.

I was thinking about going after Safeway for the "Diminished Value"

 

I've noticed an Allstate advertisement on TV that mentions "new car replacement" if you upgrade to a higher level of coverage. Anybody know more details?

 

Leeman, does vary by state, but recouping diminished value is definitlly possible and worth going after.
Here's my quick story. Owned an 02 Z06, worth (before the accident) about30 to 33K ..got hit, 15 thousand dollars in repair later, car was appraised in the low 20's ..two dealers offered 20K only due to the accident, frame damage included. Hired a local diminished value company in Georgia, cost about 300 bucks, walked me thru the process of demanding diminished value from the insurance company of the party that hit me. Ended up settling for 46 hundred bucks, which was certainly better than nothing, we asked for 65 hundred and the insurance company's initial offer was 12 hundred, so definitly go after it. Here's the company I used and they can help.
http://www.collisionclaims.com/

doug

 

this is a big issue and as we can tell by some of the posts we are at risk of loosing quite a few dollars if we get hit. I thank all of you for your kind words and advice. I still have a few questions. Do all accidents show up on CarFax? If the paint does not match do I have a right to refuse to settle the claim until they get it right?

 

If they can't match the paint you absolutely have the right to refuse it. It took a total of 4 1/2 months to get my car close to being right. The paint didn't match and the only way they eventually made it match was to paint the entire car inside and out. Then I had to keep sending the car back to have that paint job cleaned up. Let the insurance company know up front that you will not accept the car if it is not in the at least the same condition as before the accident.

Also, insurances companies will usually try getting out of liability at every opportunity. Be careful about cashing any checks they give you. Sometimes they will put fine print on the check stating that once you cash it you release all liability from the insurance company. This happened to me and luckily I caught it and refused the check. Because that initial check they gave me would have only covered about 25% of the final bill. Had I signed it, I would've been hosed. Insurance companies have all kinds of sneaky ways of getting out of taking care of business. So, be patient, persistent and read everything throughly before signing. Remember you're in charge of what happens to you car, not them.

FWIW, I was also able to get the insurance company to pay my monthly car payments and insurance payments during the 4 1/2 months my car was in the shop. Also not everyone has the right personality to be confrontational with the insurance company and others may not want to deal with all the stress that can be involved. If that's the case, find a good lawyer. At one point, I told the insurance company if the didn't take care of business I was going to turn everything over to a lawyer and then they could pay my legal bills in addition to all the repairs, car payments etc. They really started taking care of me after that. But, you should not make a threat like that unless you are willing to go thru with it. I had a lawyer sitting in the wings waiting to pounce if needed. Luckily, I didn't need him.

 

That's incorrect DV does not vary by state. See my earlier thread...

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1437212

I collected it. It's not something insurance companies are very forthcomming with, but it's a valid and collectable item.

Here are the ground rules:

It must be a third party claim. Meaning someone has to hit you and they have to be 100% liable for the accident. It can not be a 1st party claim (comp or collision) - this is the area where various states have rulings. There is no state that has statute or precedent law regarding 3rd party claims. Further some state insurance commissioners have even issued bulletins recognizing 3rd party DV. There is also a possibility for DV under un-insured motorist section.

Be very clear there is no DV if your trying to collect from your insurance (contract law), it has to be the other fella's insurance (tort law) - actually it doesn't have to be the other fella's insurance, the key is what a judge would award if you sue the person who caused the accident and that's a broader brush than insurance wants to discuss to include loss of use, etc.

Lastly, you may be told you have to "realize the loss" (sell the car) for it to be a valid claim - that's BS.

If my thread doesn't give you all you need to get started, pm me.