Diminished value

cardawg · July 29th, 2010, 05:41 AM

Dont know if I spelled that right,but anyways,a quick question to you guys on the zone,My wife was sideswiped on I-10 by a 18 wheeler,thank god shes not hurt ,but the cars gonna need alot of repairs,The driver of the truck was cited for the accident,my question is this ,will they compensate us for the diminished value of the car now that its going to have a bad carfax? I do know that if we try and sell it or trade it in,it will be worth less because of the bad carfax,thanks in advane for any info.

2Dogs · July 29th, 2010, 06:46 AM

If it's leased they won't pay you. If you own it, you should get the diminished value, on the vehicle you can pretty much take 2.5k to 6k off the trade in value of a vehicle that has been involved in an accident. If you are using a lawyer they should alredy know that. Save the middle man and handle the claim yourself you'll come out a lot better.

beats-workin · July 29th, 2010, 01:38 PM

Most of the claims I see end up with a settle amount of 10% of the repairs.

catch'n · July 29th, 2010, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2Dogs

If it's leased they won't pay you. If you own it, you should get the diminished value, on the vehicle you can pretty much take 2.5k to 6k off the trade in value of a vehicle that has been involved in an accident. If you are using a lawyer they should alredy know that. Save the middle man and handle the claim yourself you'll come out a lot better.

As an insurance agent I will respectfully disagree, depends on the company but you are not there customer (I assume you are going through his insurance company). If you go through your insurance you'll be subject to your deductible and they will "try" to get it back for you, wich dosen't usually happen. I would wait and see what they come back with and if your not happy don't sign off on it and get a lawyer! If you need one I have a great one I have refered lots of clients to,... not an ambulance chaser so his take is less.

JMHO- well actually just what I have seen from years in the business

RickMan · July 29th, 2010, 03:05 PM

I haven't personally known anyone who came out ahead against an insurance company on their own.

Get an attorney.

jacktipsy · July 29th, 2010, 03:10 PM

as a collision repair shop manager for 16+ years i disagree with "diminished value" itself.our job is to repair vehicles to "pre-accident" condition which,to me,means there is no loss of value when the vehicle is repaired properly.i will also say that 90% of the vehicles i've done estimates on that were involved with 18 wheelers ended up being total losses.i don't know if you have an estimate yet but,i would like to know what kind of vehicle we're talking about and what the estimate amount is.also very glad to hear that there was no injuries.

RickMan · July 29th, 2010, 03:30 PM

"pre-accident" condition doesn't mean anything when comes time for resale. Try and sell a used car with a Carfax report that shows that vehicle was in an accident and get full book value. Unless the buyer is dumber than a box of rocks.

Joey · July 29th, 2010, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickMan

I haven't personally known anyone who came out ahead against an insurance company on their own.

Get an attorney.

Me... Probably would've done better with an attorney however.

jacktipsy · July 29th, 2010, 04:46 PM

my understanding is that not all insurers report to carfax. i don't think there is any law stating that they have to either. actual diminished value only comes into play when the claimant or insured does NOT settle and probably when a claim goes into subrogation with another isurance company .i do agree that if a vehicle has a major accident on it's carfax it will cause either a dealer or private party buyer to give less for the vehicle.that is in part of what i dislike.not to say there aren't shoddy repair shops but more to say there are high quality,professional and well trailed repair facilities that can and do high dollar and technical repairs everyday that produce "pre-accident" repairs.

cardawg · July 29th, 2010, 04:51 PM

Thanls for all the input guys,the car is a 2007 Corolla with 22000 miles on it,we have had 3 est. on it and they are all in the 3000.00 range.I bought the car new and paid cash for it,just trying to protect my investement,not trying to get rich off somebody

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July 29th, 2010, 05:41 AM	#1
cardawg Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 144 Images: 1	Diminished value Dont know if I spelled that right,but anyways,a quick question to you guys on the zone,My wife was sideswiped on I-10 by a 18 wheeler,thank god shes not hurt ,but the cars gonna need alot of repairs,The driver of the truck was cited for the accident,my question is this ,will they compensate us for the diminished value of the car now that its going to have a bad carfax? I do know that if we try and sell it or trade it in,it will be worth less because of the bad carfax,thanks in advane for any info.

July 29th, 2010, 06:46 AM	#2
2Dogs Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: mesa Posts: 884	If it's leased they won't pay you. If you own it, you should get the diminished value, on the vehicle you can pretty much take 2.5k to 6k off the trade in value of a vehicle that has been involved in an accident. If you are using a lawyer they should alredy know that. Save the middle man and handle the claim yourself you'll come out a lot better. __________________ A Veteran is someone, who at one point in his or hers life wrote out a blank check made payable to "The UNITED STATES of AMERICA' for an amount up to and including his/her's LIFE. That is honor "Author Unkown"

July 29th, 2010, 01:38 PM	#3
beats-workin Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: CHANDLER, AZ Posts: 65 Images: 4	Most of the claims I see end up with a settle amount of 10% of the repairs. __________________ Give me a jig, I'll show you a pig.

July 29th, 2010, 03:05 PM	#5
RickMan Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Far East Mesa Posts: 710 Images: 1	I haven't personally known anyone who came out ahead against an insurance company on their own. Get an attorney. __________________ Why do I carry? For lions, tigers, bears and assholes.

July 29th, 2010, 03:10 PM	#6
jacktipsy Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Winslow Posts: 818 Images: 81	as a collision repair shop manager for 16+ years i disagree with "diminished value" itself.our job is to repair vehicles to "pre-accident" condition which,to me,means there is no loss of value when the vehicle is repaired properly.i will also say that 90% of the vehicles i've done estimates on that were involved with 18 wheelers ended up being total losses.i don't know if you have an estimate yet but,i would like to know what kind of vehicle we're talking about and what the estimate amount is.also very glad to hear that there was no injuries. __________________ perfection is the enemy of good enough. '95 ranger 372v 150 merc xri

July 29th, 2010, 03:30 PM	#7
RickMan Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Far East Mesa Posts: 710 Images: 1	"pre-accident" condition doesn't mean anything when comes time for resale. Try and sell a used car with a Carfax report that shows that vehicle was in an accident and get full book value. Unless the buyer is dumber than a box of rocks. __________________ Why do I carry? For lions, tigers, bears and assholes.

July 29th, 2010, 04:46 PM	#9
jacktipsy Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Winslow Posts: 818 Images: 81	my understanding is that not all insurers report to carfax. i don't think there is any law stating that they have to either. actual diminished value only comes into play when the claimant or insured does NOT settle and probably when a claim goes into subrogation with another isurance company .i do agree that if a vehicle has a major accident on it's carfax it will cause either a dealer or private party buyer to give less for the vehicle.that is in part of what i dislike.not to say there aren't shoddy repair shops but more to say there are high quality,professional and well trailed repair facilities that can and do high dollar and technical repairs everyday that produce "pre-accident" repairs. __________________ perfection is the enemy of good enough. '95 ranger 372v 150 merc xri

July 29th, 2010, 04:51 PM	#10
cardawg Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 144 Images: 1	Thanls for all the input guys,the car is a 2007 Corolla with 22000 miles on it,we have had 3 est. on it and they are all in the 3000.00 range.I bought the car new and paid cash for it,just trying to protect my investement,not trying to get rich off somebody