Diminished value

[deangtp]

A guy left his turn lane into my lane as I was approaching him. I stood on the brakes, tugged the wheel and almost got away from him, but there were cars on my other side to so. He was in a honda civic, his bumper/fender got my front bumper, wheel, fender, rocker panel. His mirror ran down the doors, rear of the cab, bed, fuel door. Pushed the bedside in and scratched the rear wheel too. I called the police, got a report that says it's his fault. He was cited for failure to yield. When I called his insurance, they said the field adjuster would talk to me about diminished vale. Field adjuster said I had to call some one else. I'm not to upset about it, but I'd like to get as much information about it, so when I have to get upset,I know what to expect. 4500 in damage. I got to choose the shop, and I have a Nissan Altima rental. 7500 miles on the truck

 

[mtofell]

Every state has different laws. Diminished value is a term insurance companies don't want to talk about so you're unlikely to find much information from them. A good friend of mine (ex body shop manager) makes a good living doing auto appraisals and diminished value claims. Look around your area for someone similar.... talk to some body shops. Again, you're unlikely to get any information from insurance companies. They are still plugging their ears and trying to pretend there is no such thing.

 

[MikeG]

Went trough the same crap two years ago. This will help you understand it a little better

DIMINISHED VALUE FAQS | Insurance Consumer Advocate Network

 

[w6pea]

Went trough the same crap two years ago. This will help you understand it a little better

DIMINISHED VALUE FAQS | Insurance Consumer Advocate Network

Thanks for posting the link.

 

[coolidge]

These days when your vehicle has a bunch of damage its black flagged and nobody wants to give you squat on trade due to the history in hence diminished value.

As a public service announcement some states have rules where you cannot file a claim for diminished value against your own insurance company, weird but I ran into this last month. The body shop estimated my diminished value at $5,000 minimum, repair was going to be nearly $18k on top of that. They totaled the truck instead and ended up paying out nearly $40k.

 

[NYCruiser]

There's no such thing as "fixed good as new" since the invention of CarFax.

 

[Kowalski]

I was in the same bind. Here is a good Q & A. AUTOMOBILE DIMINISHED VALUE APPRAISER 772-359-4300
Had to get an attorney involved but he said that without the appraisal I got we wouldn't have stood a chance of changing their minds at the insurance company. Good luck!

 

[Kowalski]

Pretty soon, it's the salvage buyers who will benefit most from diminished value because insurance companies will soon tire of paying for repairs + DV and end up totaling everything.

 

[dkmesa]

I had an accident last year where i was not at fault. thankfully the other party used teh same insurance company, so that made it easier. But they offered about $1200 in diminished value. I ran a autotrader trade-in valuation with exact specs of vehicle, first saying no accidents, next saying it had been in an accident. It came back about $4000 less, so I told my adjuster I wanted $4000. She went to her boss and offered about $1400 more for a total diminished value of about $2600. Just keep in mind when you're talking to the appropriate person that their assessment is negotiable.

If you are really unsatisfied, their are appraisers who will seek additional diminished value and charge you as a percentage of the additional diminished value they get you. I had a coworker who did that, I believe he got at least $2500 more and paid the appraiser less than $300 for his service.

 

[mtofell]

These days when your vehicle has a bunch of damage its black flagged and nobody wants to give you squat on trade due to the history in hence diminished value.

This is usually true but not always. With a one car accident and an insurance company that doesn't report to Carfax or the DMV a vehicle can have an s-load of damage and have a squeaky clean Carfax.

Carfax is a good tool but should not be relied upon as the absence of any damage to a vehicle. Before spending any money on a used vehicle it's best to get a set of eyes on it from an experienced body shop guy. It just takes them minutes to spot a car that's been wrecked/repaired. No matter how good the repair work is there is always a sign of any moderate to large repair.

 

[RyanJM]

Go by a dodge dealer you got it from. If they has good Cs and want you to come back ask them how bad the hit to your Carfax will affect your trade in value down the road. Most of the time they will give you a idea. I know whenever we take a trade with a mark on the Carfax it determines the value we resell for and sometimes is enough to send the car to the auction rather than keeping it. Just tell them your thinking about trading it in when the Rebel comes out. If they want to keep you coming back they will give you idea on how much you'll lose on trade.