Have you ever collected a diminished value claim after a car accident?
Eight years ago, someone did $2000 in damage to my car. They paid to have my car repaired. When I went to trade the car in, the dealer wouldn’t touch it because the repair shop had reported the repairs to CARFAX. The trade in was sent to auction and I was offered a reduced value by the dealership for my trade-in.
My daughter recently was rear-ended by someone who we believe was texting at the time. Damages, including structural damage, amounted to $4800 and took over a month to repair. The car was repaired at no cost to my daughter, but the car now has a permanent “black mark” at CARFAX. Ergo, although repaired, the car is worth less than it was before the accident. All letters to the other party were ignored until we filed a small claim, which will be heard shortly. The other party’s insurance company is stonewalling. They insinuate that they have no obligation to pay. Online sources estimate the car depreciated $1500 to $2300 as a result of the collision.
Anyone here have any experience when the other party was at fault?
You are absolutely entitled to diminished value damages. It’s a frequently discussed topic among Personal Injury attorneys, and from what I gather, an endless source of conflict with insurance companies. (who don’t like to pay it).
Don’t sign a release until you have been fairly compensated for all your damages, including loss of use during repair, diminished value, and any physical injuries (including pain and suffering) Probably best to get a lawyer to assist. They’ll take a third, but in most cases add more than that to the value of your recovery.
You are generally entitled to dimished value, but it’s hard to prove. If your daughter’s car is worth $8K, the insurance company is betting you won’t bother to spend money on an appraisal. If you’re going to do it, don’t bother with an online “appraisal” because they’ll ignore it. Find a reputable local appraiser - AAA will probably be able to refer you to one. If you’re really cheap, you can get an “appraisal” of sorts from CarMax - they’ll give you a firm purchase offer on your vehicle, and with a little arm-twisting they’ll tell you what they would have paid without the accident damage. Note that this method is not going to get you anything you could rely on in a civil action (even small claims).
I wouldn’t bother with a lawyer solely for a property damage claim (IAAL, though my practice is only tangientially connected to this field and I’m probably not licensed in your state, etc.). If your daughter was injured, that changes the calculus considerably.
Had/have a similar situation. The twist is the accident wasn’t reported to CARFAX (I bought a report to see, after plenty of time for it to register) probably because it wasn’t another car but the ‘high tech’ automated garage where we park tried to eat the car. $7k in repairs to a then fairly new, fairly expensive car. No way to sue the garage with all the waivers, and owned by the city besides (‘don’t fight city hall’), covered under collision minus $500 deductible. The shop did a good job repairing it. I’d never notice it, but someone expert enough could I assume. Later there was electrical problem in the same area of the car but not clear it was related. I wouldn’t have asked for warranty repair if sure it was, but the dealer fixed it under warranty without comment. OTOH such a situation isn’t really their problem: manufacturer is going to pay them as normal if they put through the paper work as normal.
When/if it comes to trade it is potentially the dealer’s problem if any customer could notice it, or just as an opportunity to get the car cheaper if they can figure it out or I tell them. To avoid that whole dilemma I’ll probably just sell it to a family member (who knows what happened) at a good price relative to private sale per KBB, etc. But yeah, I wasn’t really made whole, even besides the deductible.