So, some of you know my 911 was rear-ended in the beginning of Sept. Bent the frame and ended up being $8G to repair it. Also didn't get the car back until October 27.

I went thru the other guy's insurance co., Farmers (not sure if that was good or bad at this point). They paid the full repair bill, but left me w/ about $3500 in rental car charges that they refuse to cover. Seems they think a Neon is "Comparable Transportation" for my 911.

I decided early on to go after a diminished value claim. Since I haven't really seen it outlined anywhere else, I thought I'd share my experience so far.

I chose a company called ican2000.com headed by a guy named JD Howard. I really can't say enough about the quality/helpfulness of his website, as well as the report.

The DVR cost $199. What I got was a 10 page report that was extremely well put together and very complete. It included current cars.com ads, references to case law, and even a Carfax report showing the $8G of frame damage repairs. The extra diminished value on my car came out to be about $6G.

Certainly no lawyer I know of could have done any better. Mr Howard also includes a draft of a demand letter, which was EXTREMELY helpful. I used that template, along with the other info from his website to draft a very nice demand letter that was sent w/ documentation to Farmers Ins. via Certified mail.

At this point I expect to get a letter back from them, politely telling me to go "pound sand". We'll see. Mr Howard has a few more letters for them. And if that fails, then I go to court. Either way I am prepared. He promises to help you to the end of the process.

The DVR is well worth the money. It is a great piece of evidence, and if all else fails I can always use it to write off the DV on my taxes.

At this point it is still early in the process. I will keep you guys posted of my progress. Hope this helps someone thinking about doing the same process.

Medtech

 

I hope it works for you. I am surprised at the refusal to rent you a high end car, I had one for three months while Progressive (other driver's insurance) fixed my $23,000 dollar claim on a Boxster. I had them going on a DV claim until they realized it was a lease;o)

Good luck

 

Good job! Keep us posted.

 

Good luck! Keep us in the loop! Hopefully we'll never have to use the info, but it's a great lesson for everyone.

 

Thanks for the good info..

 

Sorry I'm regressing, but if it had a bent frame, couldn't you have made a case for it to be totaled?

Can repairing a bent frame on a Porsche make it "good as new?"

Good luck on recovering the value.

 

Not sure. Supposedly it was more tweaked than crunched.

Besides, I really like this car...