of those of you who, like me, were the victims of collisions:

Is anyone pursuing diminished value?

What was the extent of the damages to your car, how old was it, etc., and what have been your insurance experiences?

Feel free to PM me, if you prefer.

Thanks, and let's keep helping each other out. MCO is a great community.

 

What is "diminished value"? While I've never been in an accident in my MINI, I have indeed been in several with other cars and I've never heard of this term/claim.

If I can guess what this is, it doesn't seem like something that one would be successful in claiming on a sub-$30,000 car that is commonly available new. You may consider it a "baby" and a "classic", but I'd think that the insurance folks would consider your MINI new metal. Just my 2 cents...

 

Diminished value refers to the fact that after a car has been in an accident, it is inherently worth less, sometimes significantly less, that previous. When you are the victim, not at fault, the other insurance company should (many belive, and some state supreme courts agree) compensate you for the loss in value. After all, your car is forever known as having been in a wreck, and the trade-in/sale value is diminished.

 

[just reposting some info from another thread on the same topic in here to ensure that if others are using the seach engine they'll find good info in either thread]

...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.

And jsun, you're in Mass, so you should have heard of this. It's one of the few states on the books as allowing this. I'm in OR and it's not "officially" on the books as being able to collect diminished value claims, but I've been sucessful.

R

 

Thank You Guys

Learned something new


Vincent

 

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>>And jsun, you're in Mass, so you should have heard of this. It's one of the few states on the books as allowing this. I'm in OR and it's not "officially" on the books as being able to collect diminished value claims, but I've been sucessful.

Yes indeed, you learn something every day on MCO Add this knowledge to that gained from Bob's post on Japanese ice cream and I'm getting waaaaay ahead of the curve!

But seriously, over the past 20 years in MA, I've been in about 3 accidents (other people hit me) and have NEVER heard of this. Naturally, insurance companies are much better at taking my money each month than ever giving me any back. And come to think of it, after getting my cars fixed each of those times, my rates went up each time. You can't win