Diminished value claim help
06-19-2016, 07:07 PM
#1
Diminished value claim help
I was stopped in a parking lot when someone backed into me and damaged the side of my 2014 991.
Is my best bet to go to the pre-owned area of my dealership to get an estimate of the loss in value and present it to the insurance company? Or would I be better off going to carmax or doing something else?
I'm going to get it to fixed in a way that it should be good as new, but obviously when I go to sell I won't get as much for it.
Is my best bet to go to the pre-owned area of my dealership to get an estimate of the loss in value and present it to the insurance company? Or would I be better off going to carmax or doing something else?
I'm going to get it to fixed in a way that it should be good as new, but obviously when I go to sell I won't get as much for it.
06-19-2016, 09:09 PM
#2
no, the insurance will not accept price points from used car dealers or carmax. They want actual transaction prices of similar cars without an accident and similar cars that had an accident.
I did the following things when my wife's previous Murano was rear ended:
filled in a KBB trade in quote on a website for my car, once with the accident and once without. That gave me a good idea what the amount was I should shoot for.
After that, I contacted a diminished claim company and paid them to do prepare and file a diminished value claim (they did not actually see the car). Keep in mind that they will ask for the itemized repair bill, so you will have to get it repaired first.
The company I used was: http://www.diminishedvaluereport.org
It was not standing out, there are just many companies like it, so I do not recommend it, nor do I discourage you from using it.
Be careful, they will promise you about 3 times as much as what they will advise you to settle with, once you paid them. But it was still in my target amount that I determined in step 1.
I did the following things when my wife's previous Murano was rear ended:
filled in a KBB trade in quote on a website for my car, once with the accident and once without. That gave me a good idea what the amount was I should shoot for.
After that, I contacted a diminished claim company and paid them to do prepare and file a diminished value claim (they did not actually see the car). Keep in mind that they will ask for the itemized repair bill, so you will have to get it repaired first.
The company I used was: http://www.diminishedvaluereport.org
It was not standing out, there are just many companies like it, so I do not recommend it, nor do I discourage you from using it.
Be careful, they will promise you about 3 times as much as what they will advise you to settle with, once you paid them. But it was still in my target amount that I determined in step 1.
06-20-2016, 12:25 AM
#3
Rennlist Member
Yep, the insurance company will first deny that there is such a thing as DV. Then, if you persist, they'll tell you get real world values. Then when you get real world values of what the vehicle is selling for without an accident, they will will you they can't accept your values as they are "retail.". In my case they also made the argument that Mannheim values were somehow not representative. The details escape me, but it was convoluted and surreal.
Get one of these valuation companies involved early and have your attorney submit it to the claim adjuster. It will get kicked up the chain pretty quickly, and ultimately they will pay diminished value. It will cost you a couple grand, but you'll still come out very much net positive.
Get one of these valuation companies involved early and have your attorney submit it to the claim adjuster. It will get kicked up the chain pretty quickly, and ultimately they will pay diminished value. It will cost you a couple grand, but you'll still come out very much net positive.
06-20-2016, 11:48 AM
#4
Racer
It is also extremely dependent on what insurance company you are dealing with. I was warned by many, and also researched on the internet, and went into my claim expecting a long fight and disappointment.
From State Farm, the at fault party's insurance, I got much more than I anticipated. I used a claim demand letter from a lawyer's website as a template and attached a diminished value report from a "national expert". I know that every case is different, and I had substantial damage, but you will get something for your trouble.
From State Farm, the at fault party's insurance, I got much more than I anticipated. I used a claim demand letter from a lawyer's website as a template and attached a diminished value report from a "national expert". I know that every case is different, and I had substantial damage, but you will get something for your trouble.
06-20-2016, 12:28 PM
#5
Burning Brakes
The insurance industry is not yet ready to officially recognize DV and must (most often) be recovered independently of subrogation. Court.
I, as the claimant sought to recover DV from Progressive. Progressive does not recognize DV. I simply advised the insured (defendant) that immediately after Progressive settles the claim with me I will be suing him in SCC for DV. He in turn jumped all over Progressive. Within hours Progressive informed me they reassessed the damage estimate from 60% to 85% and thus totaling the vehicle.
..................but said it had nothing to do with DV.
I, as the claimant sought to recover DV from Progressive. Progressive does not recognize DV. I simply advised the insured (defendant) that immediately after Progressive settles the claim with me I will be suing him in SCC for DV. He in turn jumped all over Progressive. Within hours Progressive informed me they reassessed the damage estimate from 60% to 85% and thus totaling the vehicle.
..................but said it had nothing to do with DV.
06-20-2016, 01:11 PM
#6
Burning Brakes
See, insurance companies under the guise of lowering rates and helping customers keep their policies affordable have a hand in causing this issue of DV.
I say this because the rules of repair have changed over the years. Even though you have a low mileage 1-3 year old vehicle repair facilities including dealerships do not use new OEM/NOS parts to repair the vehicle. Not to mention frame straightening and structure stretching to make sheet metal realign with prior attachment points. Smart folks have come to realize this, so have used car dealerships, and it is clearly evident at the dealer auctions. DV is real. Period.
My example above happened in 2015. My car was was a 2013 Fusion with 15k miles. The estimate was handled by my purchasing dealer. I asked for the parts acquisition breakdown. The parts used in the repair were a mix of new, used and foreign sourced materials. There was some straightening and "refurbishing" labor included.
IMHO with engineered crumple and crash zones nothing should ever be straightened to make a structural repair. But it is..................In the end so you have complete confidence they will tell you, "We will give a 100% guarantee on all parts and labor associated with the accident for as long as you own it".
For some maybe even most this is acceptable. Not me.
B.
I say this because the rules of repair have changed over the years. Even though you have a low mileage 1-3 year old vehicle repair facilities including dealerships do not use new OEM/NOS parts to repair the vehicle. Not to mention frame straightening and structure stretching to make sheet metal realign with prior attachment points. Smart folks have come to realize this, so have used car dealerships, and it is clearly evident at the dealer auctions. DV is real. Period.
My example above happened in 2015. My car was was a 2013 Fusion with 15k miles. The estimate was handled by my purchasing dealer. I asked for the parts acquisition breakdown. The parts used in the repair were a mix of new, used and foreign sourced materials. There was some straightening and "refurbishing" labor included.
IMHO with engineered crumple and crash zones nothing should ever be straightened to make a structural repair. But it is..................In the end so you have complete confidence they will tell you, "We will give a 100% guarantee on all parts and labor associated with the accident for as long as you own it".
For some maybe even most this is acceptable. Not me.
B.
06-20-2016, 05:57 PM
#7
See, insurance companies under the guise of lowering rates and helping customers keep their policies affordable have a hand in causing this issue of DV.
I say this because the rules of repair have changed over the years. Even though you have a low mileage 1-3 year old vehicle repair facilities including dealerships do not use new OEM/NOS parts to repair the vehicle. Not to mention frame straightening and structure stretching to make sheet metal realign with prior attachment points. Smart folks have come to realize this, so have used car dealerships, and it is clearly evident at the dealer auctions. DV is real. Period.
My example above happened in 2015. My car was was a 2013 Fusion with 15k miles. The estimate was handled by my purchasing dealer. I asked for the parts acquisition breakdown. The parts used in the repair were a mix of new, used and foreign sourced materials. There was some straightening and "refurbishing" labor included.
IMHO with engineered crumple and crash zones nothing should ever be straightened to make a structural repair. But it is..................In the end so you have complete confidence they will tell you, "We will give a 100% guarantee on all parts and labor associated with the accident for as long as you own it".
For some maybe even most this is acceptable. Not me.
B.
I say this because the rules of repair have changed over the years. Even though you have a low mileage 1-3 year old vehicle repair facilities including dealerships do not use new OEM/NOS parts to repair the vehicle. Not to mention frame straightening and structure stretching to make sheet metal realign with prior attachment points. Smart folks have come to realize this, so have used car dealerships, and it is clearly evident at the dealer auctions. DV is real. Period.
My example above happened in 2015. My car was was a 2013 Fusion with 15k miles. The estimate was handled by my purchasing dealer. I asked for the parts acquisition breakdown. The parts used in the repair were a mix of new, used and foreign sourced materials. There was some straightening and "refurbishing" labor included.
IMHO with engineered crumple and crash zones nothing should ever be straightened to make a structural repair. But it is..................In the end so you have complete confidence they will tell you, "We will give a 100% guarantee on all parts and labor associated with the accident for as long as you own it".
For some maybe even most this is acceptable. Not me.
B.
The difficulty in getting the insurance company to pay for the dimished value is a bit of a surprise to me. Right now my car is being repaired so once it's done I'll try and move forward.
The person that backed into me has Allstate