gravord

I was rear ended while stopped on the interstate, which resulted in minor damage to the rear end of my 2012 991.1 C2S cabriolet. All I needed was a new paint job on the bumper, new emblems, and a new license plate (it was dented). The total cost of repairs was $1,200. Although the actual damage was minor, I know having a collision show up on the vehicle history will drop its perceived value. So I submitted a diminution of value claim to my insurance company (USAA), and they have quoted $340.

The $340 amount seems absurdly low, so I wanted to see what Rennlisters thought and whether it would be worthwhile to get diminished value specialist involved. At the time of the collision, my car had 54k miles and no accidents. Any thoughts?

Cuda911

I would think 1,500 is much more reasonable.
I'm with USAA too. When my 996 was rear-ended, they initially claimed it was about 2k in damage. After much negotiation, I ended up getting about 40 k for the car. A friend now owns it. It's all fixed up.

I used the opportunity to buy my 991. Happy with how they finally settled it.

ClassJ

Their offer is pretty much a joke.

I would call the specialist to see what they say.

In reality, bumpers are repainted all the time on CPO cars, etc. It should not really impact value but the car fax report will.

Your loss of value on an 8 year old car with 50k miles will be less than what it would be on a new car.

With that said, dealers hammer values over car fax.

Car fax has pretty much decimated logic. They are impossible to deal with even when they are wrong.

Porsche_nuts

The total cost of repair was $1200 - that is pennies in Porsche dollars. I cannot see much more in diminished value. There will be no windfall here.

jskenefick

Maybe 10-12 years ago, my 996 was rear-ended. Damage was more extensive, I recall it was a five-figure repair. I settled the diminution claim for somewhere around $6,800. Oddly enough, despite the extent of the damage, the accident doesn't show on the car fax (I saw it for sale after I traded it).

Bud Taylor

For 1200 i would have just come out of pocket, I realize this does not help you now but perhaps visit someone like a back clacker if you are having any neck pains knows an attorney they work with.

Property damage under a total is always a loser with insurance companies. And if it is a total and you dont have agreed value that can be a looser too. If they dont get you on the claim they will hit you at renewal time. You could take it to carmax and ask them for an offer after disclosure about accident and then print out kbb value.

9114SCV

I'm in litigation with Geico over a diminished value claim when I was rear ended. Their claims adjuster offered $0 and wants a jury trial - that green lizard. The best way to argue your case is to get a Porsche dealer to give his/her "expert" opinion as to the reduced value of your car. They know best the value of these cars as they buy/sell them every day; unlike these diminished value companies who just look at blue book reports.

OCNYPORSCHE

I really can stand insurance companies in general, but Geico is really bad. I left them a few years ago as they were just raising my rates very high annually for no rhyme or reason. I have Liberty Mutual now and they are not the greatest either. Its a racket.

gravord

As an update, I engaged a diminish value appraiser, and the initial appraisal was $2,000-$2,500. He also advised that USAA is notoriously bad on paying out DV claims.

bkrantz

Ignorant question, but who is the responsible party? If somebody crashes into my car, and I suffer damages, the other driver likes to think his or her insurance company is responsible, but I see the driver as ultimately responsible. How wrong am I?

matttheboatman

Tough case to prove in court, short of selling the car though an auction and documenting the actual loss.

I would say however, that in the case of trading the car or otherwise disclosing the incident, a buyer might expect a discount in the range of 5%. A repaint on a front or rear bumper should not deter the sale on a modern car but if I had to choose one with damage versus one without, I'd choose the without.... unless I got a good discount.

If you were interested in doing the work, I might be able to pull a list of vehicles with paint vs without on the past auction sales, and you could graph it similarly to the way Bring A Trailer graphs it sales prices to build a case based on fact instead of opinion. Send me a PM with email address.

Cuda911

Just print out and submit the Hot For Sale thread. Plenty of real-life examples of people shunning a car because of a bad carfax, even if a very minor issue. Or at least, expecting a significant discount.

gravord

In case it's helpful to anyone in the future, I'm posting the resolution to my DV claim that USAA originally valued at $340. I paid $200 for an independent DV appraisal, which indicated that the DV from being rear-ended was about $3,400. I submitted the appraisal to USAA, and their appraiser contacted my appraiser. USAA's appraiser ended up agreeing to valuing the DV at $3,100.

Cuda911

^^^ excellent!

Hurricane

Great job!

When my car was totaled, I avoided having to fight for DV. However, USAA (not surprisingly) came in a bit low for the valuation of the car. I had to fight to get a more reasonable value of the car. Glad you were able to get a more reasonable DV!