Insurance and diminished value
 

Question for those who've had to file insurance claims and sought something for diminished value. Since this is going to be filed as collision damage, I'm sure it'll show up on future CarFax reports. I'm insured with USAA and that's not something they (or at least my adjuster) are familiar with.

I trust USAA to be fast with the approval once they get an estimator to look at it but I've never dealt with a high value vehicle like a Porsche. On my Ford, it would have been "repair and move on." Then again, I plan on keeping this car for years so should I really worry about diminished value?

At this point, I'm more annoyed that this is going on my file as an "at fault" collision. My suspicion is that some kids think it's funny to put these rocks out there -- I don't see how a 15 pound rock just rolls into the middle of 3 lanes of road on its own and there wasn't any debris around as if it fell off a construction truck. OTOH, a Porsche is so maneuverable that I should have been able to avoid it.


Backstory
So last week I was out running errands late at night and saw something in the middle of the road (middle lane of a 6-lane road, 3 lanes on each side). It didn't register at first so by the time I tried to swerve it was too late and I went over it. Sounded and felt bad so I pulled over to look at it and found a large rock, about 6-7 inches across, maybe 15 pounds. It was one of those landscaping rocks or perhaps a piece of broken curbing. I put it over on the median so no one else would hit it and then returned home (after helping a girl change her wheel -- she apparently hit it before I did).

When I first took it in for a quick look (end of the day), the dealership thought it was all cosmetic damage, replacing some underside panels and of course paint on the front lip. I scheduled my annual oil change early and arranged for them to do the underside but when they removed the panels, they called and said I'd probably want to file a claim.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...c21df23b19.jpg
Subframe damage from rock
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...652d71d2b1.jpg
More subframe damage from rock

What is the estimate? I would be tempted to pay out of pocket depending on estimate and deductible. It might be worth $500 to me to keep that off carfax.

If you do go through insurance, keep the pictures and repair bill so that you can explain the incident to any future buyers.

You cannot get diminution of value for damage you caused by running over something in the middle of the road. May be applicable if you were filing against an identifiable third-party who intentionally or negligently placed the items in the road. Then you dang near defeat it anyway by admitting you should have seen it and avoided it even if you could identify a third-party.

Just went through it. They won't pay diminished value if you are at fault.

Thanks. Makes sense ... I would certainly have swerved if it had registered but I think I was just shocked at seeing something in the middle of the road like that and trying to see if there was anything on either side. I've already started the process so don't think I can avoid it appearing on Carfax at this point and it's not like I would want to hide things anyway. I'll just make sure I keep the documents on the dealer repair. Not planning on selling this anytime soon anyway, I love it too much.

Carfax is a bit of a black box, but I'm not sure that insurance companies report to carfax unless it is stolen or a total loss... Supported by the documentation here.

Police reports usually show up, as well as many collision repair shops. Whatever you do, take LOTS of before/during/after repair photos and keep excellent documentation, so if you sell it to a private buyer / Porsche fanatic, you can identify exactly what was done, that there was no paintwork, etc...