Deminished Value Claim?

It varies from state to state, in NC I had a Chevy Alvalanche that was side-swiped by a guy pulling half of a double-wide, he was trying to run the red light I was stopped for and he managed to get my boat, truck and the Land Rover in the next lane. Guess he didn't understand that Law of Physics that says two objects can't be in the same place at the same time. Anyway, since the repair was over 25% of the value of my truck, he paid me $2k in damages to the value of my truck.
 
porterror said:
Why would you have to be the owner to collect on this type of claim?
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This is in the state of California btw. I'm not sure exactly why, and it may not even be true, but that's just how it was explained to me by a friend of mine who happens to be an insurance claims adjuster. My dad's A4 was hit in a parking lot when it was less than 2 week's old, and I called my friend to ask how to go about the claim. He said that because the vehicle was new, and because we owned the car(car was paid in full at purchase time) that we could go ahead and ask for diminished value penalties. All the damaged areas were replaced with new bodywork, and my dad recieved a check for $5000.



If you are going to claim it against your sister's insurance, your best bet is to call your own insurance company and ask them what the requirements are for a diminished value claim.
 
porterror said:
What do you professionals think of the damage and the estimate?



Should and how do I file a deminished value claim?
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As an Insurance Appraiser, I know these types of claims 1st hand.

1st off, from your pictures, that quarter looks totally repairable! I don't feel it is a "borderline" repairable panel. I've personally seen panels that were much worse, repaired sucessfully without the use of an excessive amount of filler. Unfortunately, this industry is running out of "old world" bodymen that know what their doing with working sheetmetal. Most people now a days just want to replace everthing, and there are more and more alternative methods being designed for repairing vehicles.

Secondly, I don't feel that you have a valid deminished value claim. The damage is minor and if repaired properly, will not reduce the value of your vehicle. Here in Florida, deminished value claims are not paid by the primary carrier, but the claimant's(your sister). You can try, but I don't think you'll be sucessful. If you hire an attorney, his costs will outweigh the amount that you will collect from the reduced value.

My advise, take the vehicle to several bodyshops and get thier opinions of the repair process. I personally would not want a panel such as a quarter replaced if I could help it. Nothing is better than the factory welds and seams. If it were a fender or a bumper it would be a different story. I wish you luck and it sucks having a new vehicle damaged. Make sure thee shop you choose is the very best because it is your choice.
 
porterror said:
Well the full story of how my brand new car got nailed is here:



http://autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/80153-sister-just-hit-my-new-audi-a4.html



What do you professionals think of the damage and the estimate?



Should and how do I file a deminished value claim?
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From your pics the damage doesn't look bad , you may be able to have a PDR guy fix those dents so you won't have to worry about bodyfiller. Then have a paint tech spray the area. I've seen good PDR techs push worse dents then that.
 
Rollman said:
From your pics the damage doesn't look bad , you may be able to have a PDR guy fix those dents so you won't have to worry about bodyfiller. Then have a paint tech spray the area. I've seen good PDR techs push worse dents then that.
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PDR isn't fixing that. If you're having it painted(which you are) bang out the damage and fill it. The key behind PDR is "paintless" and this damage requires painting.
 
David Fermani said:
PDR isn't fixing that. If you're having it painted(which you are) bang out the damage and fill it. The key behind PDR is "paintless" and this damage requires painting.
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I'm aware of the keyword being Paintless. If he doesn't want the panel filled in ,PDR and having it sprayed is an alternative. Bondo will show up if soembody checks that car with a paint thickness gauge when he goes to sell it. Like I said a good PDR tech can do wonders.



Check out some before & afters >



Extra Large Complex Dents Painless Paintless Dent Removal - Instant Door Ding / Dent Repair - The Dent Devils of San Diego also does glass chip repairs and windshield repairs & paint protection films My Mobile service to your home or office services
 
Rollman - The people in your link look like they do nice work. I'm a strong advocate of PDR and I write for it constantly. You could spend the extra money and have a PRD do his thing and then take it to the body shop and have it totally smoothed out with filler. Lots of bodymen won't straigten a panel to the max before they fill it. Bondo/filler(especially a small amount) isn't a big deal when a panel is getting repainted anyways. There's filler on every car that get produced from the factory. I'm sure that if the repair is completed properly, anyone buying this vehicle(especially of this caliber) will not notice let alone mind.
 
I don't see why I wouldn't have a good claim for Demished Value? This damage is probably documented on my CarFax Report...(if anyone has an account could you please run it)



If you were to buy my car used now vs. a car that didn't have anything on it's carfax report and it were the same exact car...you'd buy the car with no carfax report for more $$ and be able to bargain for a cheaper price for my car.....
 
Most insurance claims are documented and reported to the NICB. Whether the damage is a $1500 mirror off of a Mercedes Benz or a 1/4 panel to an Audi. This small repair(if completed correctly), will not deminish the value. Larger repairs are usually the ones considered for a deminished value claim. Alot of times it also depends on the nature of damage like frame/unibody or front clip. These are major repairs and can pose a problem with value retention. A Carfax will most likely show some history of this incident, but it doesn't mean your car is worth less money if it gets repaired correctly. Think about the millions of cars that dealers buy and resell. They don't ever run a Carfax before buying them? The best auctions don't disclose cars with a Carfax or paint work history because it doesn't make a difference in value. Most dealers and buyers look at and inspect vehicles to make sure body work isn't obvious. I've seen one occasion where a semi truck lost control and plowed through a dealership lot hitting about 10 new and used vehicles. The dealer was able to collect deminished value on the new vehicles and 1 or 2 of the used ones that that were close to being totaled from being extensively damaged. the rest were either totaled, repaired or denied deminished value.
 
I've sold multiple cars to dealers/privately and yes dealerships and private purchasers DO run carfax reports and DO use this in the negotation process. Your living in la-la world if a used-car cant' be better negotiated when your dealing with



No carfax recorded damage vs. Car Fax Recorded damage.



This is a joke. if you think someone in their right mind would pay the same amount of $ for the same car...but one had a reported carfax accident...They'd be out of there mind. I'd buy the non-accident recorded car anyday over the other one..



Deminished value is not about...how well they repair it. It's about "is my car worth the same as a car that didn't have this happen to it". And the clear answer is no. When buying used cars people are warry as it is...expecially when buying a car worth $40k...they don't want some car that have recorded damage.
 
FWIW, our mini van was in an accident when it was just about a year and a half old. There was nearly 4K in damage and it never made it to Car Fax.
 
porterror said:
I've sold multiple cars to dealers/privately and yes dealerships and private purchasers DO run carfax reports and DO use this in the negotation process. Your living in la-la world if a used-car cant' be better negotiated when your dealing with



No carfax recorded damage vs. Car Fax Recorded damage.



This is a joke. if you think someone in their right mind would pay the same amount of $ for the same car...but one had a reported carfax accident...They'd be out of there mind. I'd buy the non-accident recorded car anyday over the other one..



Deminished value is not about...how well they repair it. It's about "is my car worth the same as a car that didn't have this happen to it". And the clear answer is no. When buying used cars people are warry as it is...expecially when buying a car worth $40k...they don't want some car that have recorded damage.
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I've worked at and with several dealers for almost 20 years and I never seen one that runs a Car Fax before you trade a vehicle in. They pay their Used Car Managers to be competent enough to inspect a vehicle to see if it's apparant that the vehicle has been repainted, in a significant accident or has structural damage. Yes, private purchasers do run Car Fax reports(I do), but just because a vehicle has history doesn't mean that it's worth less. There's not an adjustment in a NADA, Kelly Blue Book or The Black book given when a vehicle has had a prior repair. It's estimated when it's done improperly and it's is appearant. I never stated that you can't attempt to bargin with someone when purchasing a vehicle, but there's not any rule that says a car is worth less, just because of a Car Fax? I seriously doubt a used car dealer will ever say that your car is worth less because they ran a Car Fax and a $1500 repair came up, unless the car is off so much that's it's hurting the value and appearance.



For example, if a vehicle you were looking at had a window, a mirror or a bumper cover replaced you would offer that person less for their car?. I would if it had an aftermarket part on it or if the paint repair was crappy, but not if you couldn't tell. If I looked at a car and easily noticed that the frame rail was sectioned in or the core support had an R-Dot label on it, I'd walk away from it fast unless it was a steal. Those types of claims(as well as many others) could show up on Car Fax



Deminished value is about how much and what kind of damage the vehicle suffered. So, according to your standard, if a car has ever been touched, it's worth less. Not true. It's all about the extent of the damage in relation to the value and age.



Every state is different with respect to how they acknowledge deminished value. The hardest part with determining if a vehicle's value is deminished is proving it. If that can't be determined, the insurance company will tell you to go pound sand.
 
You use the word "worthless". This is not the word that I would use. More like "less-than" a non-damaged car. The job of the insurance company is to restore you to what it was before the accident. This is not happening when you have this problem:



If you were shopping for a used car and you saw two identical vehicles on the lot, and the salesperson told you that one of them had been in an accident and the other had not, which one would you choose?



Even though...yes you can't see the damage and yes...it was a only a small accident and $1500...Which one are you choosing? The answer is obvious and that's why insurance companies should be paying out deminished value claims.
 
porterror said:
You use the word "worthless". This is not the word that I would use. More like "less-than" a non-damaged car. The job of the insurance company is to restore you to what it was before the accident. This is not happening when you have this problem:



If you were shopping for a used car and you saw two identical vehicles on the lot, and the salesperson told you that one of them had been in an accident and the other had not, which one would you choose?



Even though...yes you can't see the damage and yes...it was a only a small accident and $1500...Which one are you choosing? The answer is obvious and that's why insurance companies should be paying out deminished value claims.
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Yes, an insurance company is suppose to pay to return your vehicle to "pre-accident condition". How is this NOT happening with a $1500 repair? I consider myself pretty anal about cars, but I would not split hairs over a $1500 prior repair. Especially on a $30 - $40K vehicle. After all, the vehicle isn't going to stay inside of a bubble. It would not make one difference to me(and many others) which one I choose if they were perfectly equal. BUT, if they were brand new vehicle on the dealer lot, my answer would be totally different.
 
This isn't happening with $1500 repair, because some dood at a body shop is now rubbing paint and banging out a dent in my brand new 2 month year old car. No one would consider this restored to pre-accident condition. It's called a "restored" condition....pre accident no way. Pre-accident I didn't have any reports on my carfax and $1500 worth of body work being done to the car. If insurance companies wanted to restore me to pre-accident they would get this removed from my carfax record. Unfortuntaly, in the days of information exchange...that wasn't around 20 years ago...information flows free and gives power to the buyer to make better and smarter decissions. NO ONE would buy the accident car...over a clean car for the same price. Your living in la-la world.



Insurance companies are bringing in billion dollar profits each year and are making a killing. They take away thing from us in jersey like "window replacement insurance" and increase premiums.
 
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