Anyone have any experience prooving Diminished Value after an accident?

My MINI was hit recently, and there was all sorts of damage. The car was new, and I will argue that it needs to be replaced, because a repaired car with fixed structural damage is far less than a new car.

Anyone have any experience in this, or can offer some real suggestions?

thanks!

 

I feel your pain man, that really sux!! Especially when you're obviously not at fault. Get a report from the body shop showing what structural damage was caused, and try to get an idea of how much you could get for the car now. Then you can argue that you would owe more on it than it's worth, because some F*****G moron hit you!

 

Does the same hole true for leases? I'm not as worried about the car as I would if I purchased it, but being that it's leased, shouldn't the payments be lowered if the car is worth significantly less now that it has been hit? (I'm not holding my breath, that's for sure!)

T :smile:

 

I have known of people in your situation getting a professional appraisal of their vehicle after the collision repair is completed and going after the insurance company for any lose of value due to the repaired damage. I can tell you from experience that a damaged and repaired car is worth less then one that has never been in an accident. Obviously the lose in value is directly related to the severity the damage and the quality of the repair.

 

You get gap coverage when you lease a car, which covers the "gap" in value between what you owe and the real value of the car in case it's destroyed or badly damaged.

>>Does the same hole true for leases? I'm not as worried about the car as I would if I purchased it, but being that it's leased, shouldn't the payments be lowered if the car is worth significantly less now that it has been hit? (I'm not holding my breath, that's for sure!)
>>
>>T :smile:

 

...Davbret dusts off his insurance adjusters hat and tries it on for size....been too many years since I worn this!!....

You may be entitled to a diminished-value claim in some states. Diminished value is based on the idea that any car that has been in an accident, regardless of how well the repairs are done, is worth less than the exact same car that hasn't been in an accident. What you can do: In 14 states, it's allowable for you to file a claim for that lost value. Thirty-six states and Washington, D.C., do allow insurance companies to exclude payments for diminished value, so if you live in one of those states, you won't get to claim the loss. But in Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia, you have a chance of getting a diminished value payment. Successful cases are also generally made against the at-fault driver's insurance by a third party.

And the odd part is that I live in a state NOT on that list and got $1500 on such a claim!

Was leaving an apartment complex, going uphill, over a speed bump (maybe doing 10mph) and was slammed on the passenger side by a chick backing out of her parking spot like Andretti. Pushed me against the curb she hit me so hard. Then she claimed she never saw me coming, but that I was speeding. "You couldn't see me, but could tell I was speeding??" Not the brightest thing to say. Needless to saw she was at fault. Since I was planning on trading in my car THAT DAY I was screwed. 3 weeks later when all was said and done and the car was repaired, I was able to negotiate a $1500 devaluation claim due to the fact that my car was less worth than if it was not in the accident.

Had my car dealer write a generic letter claiming that they will always pay around 10-15% less for a car that has been in any kind of accident resulting in more than $400 in damages. We concluded that I was losing around $1500 in my trade in, hence the devaluation claim amount.

So anyway, my point is, in order to effectively "cash in" on such a claim you need to have some conclusive evidence:

1-I used current market value indicators like KBB and Edmunds to show what my car should be worth given mileage and condition (low miles and spotless) vs. what the dealer gave me in trade. Speculation of what you could sell the car for is moot. You need a bill of sale of some degree.

2-Had dealer write a generic letter discussing their practice to always offer less money on cars involved in accidents

3-AGRESSIVELY went after at-fault's insurance company until they were sick of me. It's possible, so go after it if you think you can. And just because your state is not on that list doesn't necessarily mean you can't benefit from such a claim. I live in OR (which was not listed in that article) and was able to successfully negotiate such a claim.

Oh, and this was on a leased car, but I sold it (didn't turn it in) so the gap insurance didn't apply.

Good luck.

R

 

Davbret:

Thanks for the great info.

You did this professionally?

Mind if I message you to ask you specific questions about this?

 

It's been about 6 years since I was in the insurance game, so things might have changed. I did do a bit of minor research and found the state list I gave previously as current info. My actual claim was about 3-4 years ago...so I really don't know how well I can still advise, but I'm at least a treasure trove of useless info.

R