Diminished Value claim...an Autopians worst nightmare.

B

Buck-O

New member
Last weekend i got backed into at the local Home Depot.

I had just detailed my car, and my velcro backing palte for my PC was a little worse for wear (i had gotten it used from a friend), so i decided to go buy a new one, and he had said he got this one at Home Depot. They didnt have it, so i headed back to my car.

Im in my car, backed out of my parking space...at about a 50 degree angle to the spot, all ive got to do is put the car in 1st, and pull forward to exit the lane. Well, as im waiting for a person in a cart to get their act together, the guy on the other side of the lane, in the spot behind me, and one to the left, puts his car in reverse, and accelerates right into the side of my car. Never looked, never checked, nothing. I even saw him getting into his car when i was backing out, and he never saw me...

Of course it seems to reason this happend RIGHT after my car was fully detailed (literally countable by minutes).



Anyway, my car is a 2003 Nissan Sentra GXE, fully loaded (synergy package), Blackout, and just rolled 6250 miles as of this weekend.



The guy impacted on the left hand drivers side door, destroying it (window intact), and slightly creased part the left rear quarter panel where it extends to teh running board, and the front drivers side door (minor flattening on the doors edge at teh B pillar). ANd while on the outset the damage looks purely superficial, the car will still be registered as having an "collision" on the title.

With my car blue book/NADA at $13,650 right now, including the accident damage redces it to about $7000. Or about half of the value of my car.



Has anyone here filed for a Diminished Value claim before, and if so, what did it take, and how much crap did you have to go through to get it resolved?



Anyhelp would be appreciated.

TIA
 
In the past I have filed and recieved two diminished value claims. All I needed was an appraisal showing that the repaired vehicle was worth less than an unrepaired vehicle by a specific dollar amount. I have been told that on a new vehicle that has been severely damaged that the diminished value can be as much as 15 to 20 percent of the blue book value. Strouds Autorebuild out of Tacoma WA, has a web site with information on it. http://www.stroudsautorebuild.com/DV.html

They do appraisals and are a strong advocate of the diminished value process.

Mark
 
blackf150 said:
In the past I have filed and recieved two diminished value claims. All I needed was an appraisal showing that the repaired vehicle was worth less than an unrepaired vehicle by a specific dollar amount. I have been told that on a new vehicle that has been severely damaged that the diminished value can be as much as 15 to 20 percent of the blue book value. Strouds Autorebuild out of Tacoma WA, has a web site with information on it. http://www.stroudsautorebuild.com/DV.html

They do appraisals and are a strong advocate of the diminished value process.

Mark
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Yeah, i saw there name mentioned on several website i found reguarding DV apprasil's, as being a recemended apprasing company. And they are right off South Tacoma Way, so i can stop by on my way back from work.



It jsut sucks though, becuase of all the little problems i was haing with this car, from teh dealership, to little warrenty issues, etc. Its been a mess, and its just not been worth the hastle. So i was getting ready to trade it in on a used Miata, that i went to look at that afternoon. I drove up, explained to him it had JUST happened, and the guy just gave me this kind of..:o your SOL, thanks for wasting my time look.

So now i probibly wont be getting rid of this car anytime soon either.



Ugh...what a nightmare.
 
Well, i called Strouds Autobody, and I'll probibly end up having my car appraised, repaired, and re-appraised for Diminished Value at their shop.



My girlfriends dad is one of the Northwest i-CAR representatives, and strouds not only knew him by name, but also said he came through and did their last i-CAR certification.



So that just added about 3000 times more weight behind my claim. Not only that, but i was leary about getting my claim taken care of properly...becuase the guy that hit me had State Farm. Turns out Strauds was part of a lawsuit againt State Farm for fradulant repair practice, and refusal to pay for deminished value claims.



Wow, thats a big weight off my chest.

Thanks for pointing me tword that shop again. I feel alot better about things now.
 
Your title will only show rebuilt on it if your car was declared a total, other wise the title should be clear. However My wifes last car was totaled and I bought it back from the insurance company, sent the title to the state and when I recieved the new title it still didn't show up as a rebuild so I am not sure what criteria the State uses. As long as the person that hit you had insurance and was at fault you should be able to negogiate a fair settlement. Good luck.

Mark
 
The dealership where you were going to trade in the car could be an excellent source of information and ammunition with your fight with the insurance company. Since you have already disclosed to them that car had been wrecked, find out what they will give as a trade in with the car completely repaired. Then have them tell you what they would have given you for the car unwrecked. The difference is easily shown to the insurance company. Alternatively, have them tell you what they will give you as a trade in for the car as is, and since the insurance company is not yours, you can have them issue a check to you for the agreed repair bill. You may come out a head in this situation.



Depending on the insurance company and the state you live in, fighting diminished value claims can be difficult. Some insurance companies just do not recognize these claims and some states don’t have any case laws or statutes supporting the claims either, and these are tough cases to win. The rarity, cost (value), and demand for you car will all also have a bearing on the success of a diminished value claim.



Good luck in your fight. :xyxthumbs
 
But doesn't this vary by state? If not, I need to file one of those here in IL because of the schmuck that hit my Maxima.
 
PrinzII,



It can vary by state and it definitely varies by insurance company. It doesn't hurt to ask or to make a claim for it have suffered a loss.
 
the dealership probably won't care/notice if the repair is done right and the title is clean. plus, it takes the dmv about 2-6 months to process apaperwork. If you get the repair and trade done fast enough, even the accident won't show up in the record.
 
medic said:
it takes the dmv about 2-6 months to process apaperwork. If you get the repair and trade done fast enough, even the accident won't show up in the record.
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Does the DMV track accidents and repairs in your state? In Indiana the DMV is not involved in accidents or damage/repairs to vehicles unless the car is "totaled" by the insurance company. In "totaled" case the vehicle will then receive a salvage title. Other than salvage titles there is no way to determine that a car was damaged and repaired by checking with the DMV in Indiana.



Interesting that your state tracks such information. That would be better than carfax. Which is not always accurate as a prior vehicle I had was involved in 3 separate accidents during my 9 years of ownership, but none of them appeared on a carfax of the vehicle.
 
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