chuckla

My P car was swiped last week by a driver who wanted to be in my lane too. Estimate is $6K and involves only $370 of parts so no frame, inner rocker or other serious damage. For those who have been in accidents, how did you handle getting your insurance company to pay for diminished value? Did you use an outside appraisal service or just negotiate with the insurer? Are there any standard rules of thumb on this kind of thing?

redduck996

+1
I'm in the same boat. Would love to hear some of the members comments. However, i'm not holding my breath on this one. Getting the INS company to pay me for dimishished value is like getting the dealership to fix something uner warranty..

chuckla

Got the estimate yesterday from Wagonwork in Alexandria. They gave me a flyer from Insurance Appraisal Service (in Catharpin, VA) that makes such estimates...for a fee I assume. Will call today to see what they are about. Number is 703.754.1857 or 703.754.0453

redduck996

lol
yeah they gave me the same thing.

nkhalidi

Diminished value provisions vary from state to state. I believe Georgia does have diminished-value provisions, while Florida does not. Ask the guys at your body shop, they'll probably know best. Also, the offender's (the person at fault) insurance company should pay all repairs and the DV claim, not your insurance company. Your insurance company has no reason to know about the incident if their insured [you] isn't liable.

I seem to recall a thread about this topic a while ago.

mikejohn

I went through this in Maryland on a 2006 C2S. Not required by law but offered by the offenders insurance company. Normally you need to pay for an independent certified appraisal ($300). The insurance company may choose to then pay for an alternate appraisal to negotiate the settlement. You need to request them to pay the diminished value and if they refuse not sure if legal process is worth it. In my case the DMV was $11K.

chuckla

MJ-Who did your appraisal and did you get $11K?

mglobe

I used a third party appraisor. Their estimate for DV was four times what my insurance company's first offer was. We negotiated, & I ended up with $12k in DV, roughly the same amount as the damage. From what I gathered from the experience, there really is not much in the way of standards and/or rules of thumb. The third party appraisal is essential imho.

mikejohn

I used auto appraisal group at www.autoappraisal.com. I believe the insurance company hired the guy mentioned in carthapin, va-Tony somebody. Both estimates within $500 of each other. I did get $11,000 from the offenders insurer. My car had $23,000 in body repair, no frame damage, mostly interior(due to airbags) and suspension parts.

chuckla

I just hired Tony.

MUSSBERGER

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. If you can, keep us apprised. I for one would be interested in the outcome.

Cheers and good luck

steve

fluid15

Did/has anyone pursued having the Insurance buy the car from you? Just curious is this is an option, which removes the headache when selling at a later date.

brendo

i second what mike said. your time is free and the insurance company's is not. you have more negotiation leverage than you may think. i've had a few claims over the years (including a valet backing into my 997 nose) and negotiated much higher (~30% - 200%) settlements than the insurer first offered. they'll ice you for sure it's worth spending a reasonable amount of time and energy on.

-brendan

DJ23

When I had my accident in 2006 my insurance company did not have any provisions for diminished value. Believe I re read the policy and even called my insurance agent. Even though it wasn't my fault (lady rear ended me while not paying attention) there wasn't any diminished value policy. To make a sad story good however they did a great job in paying for all the necessary repairs which were not that bad.


Jay

redduck996

Let me know how it goes with chuck.. I may hire him as well.

My damages only total roughly 6-7k... wonder how much the value of my car diminished? What was your total damage if you dont mind me asking Chuck?