Establishing diminished value for insurance

[jkeyser14]

I was sitting stopped waiting to turn when I got rear ended by a SUV traveling ~40 mph today. They were distracted and never even touched the brakes. TeslaCam caught it all.

Bumper, trunk lid, etc. are destroyed. Rear 1/4 panels appear to be ok to my unskilled eye, but the charge port won't open anymore. The car is still driveable. I am not sure if there is any structural damage and the insurance adjuster can't even look at the car for another week, so I don't know how much more damage may be hidden.

I am ready for an uphill battle with the insurance company regarding diminished value claims. Has anyone here had to make a diminished value claim yet? I searched here and found a similar post but it had no answers.

Finding comparable used cars with clean titles is easy. I haven't been able to find prices for non-salvaged Model 3 Long Range cars with an accident on their record.

 

[tna9001]

In NC DV is limited to 10% max by state law. The insurance company offered me 5% and it wasn't worth attornies fees to fight them.

 

[ucmndd]

Start here. Then read it again.

Collision, Repair and DV/LoU Lawsuit: My Nearly 500 Days of Fun

 

[VT_EE]

My car had a similar issue although it was hit at a lower speed but did damage to a rear quarter panel. I paid $450 for a professional appraiser to inspect the car and do all that price comparison work. Wait to have this done until the car is repaired and you are happy with the results. I didn't even mention diminished value to their insurance until after they had paid my insurance for all the repairs (I worked the repair through my insurance). In Maryland you have 3 years to file DV. I forwarded the appraisal report to the at fault's insurance company and got an offer 25% lower than my appraiser's value. I sent a response asking to split the difference and for them to justify the lower valuation especially given the evidence my appraiser provided. Unfortunately, small claims court is limited to $5k in this state so I'm kind of at their mercy at this point. Going to circuit court would cost more than the 25% it would cost me if I just took their offer. I am waiting for a response. Feel free to fire any questions my way if you have any.

 

[jkeyser14]

Thanks VT_EE, I sent you a separate message. I am also in MD, so your help is appreciated.

 

[MyWifeandI]

I know of no such law limiting diminished value payouts to 10% in NC. Ask them at St. Lucie Appraisal.

 

[OCR1]

Sorry to hear. Did the airbags go off? Do you have any pain from the impact? Post some pics if you can. It doesn’t sound like your car was totaled but you will definitely have diminished value after the repair. There are experts who can give you an appraisal or you can just negotiate to get an extra 5-10% with the insurance company and go from there.

 

[bayareaever]

I used Saint Lucie Appraisal (for a Nissan Leaf dv claim) and it was a complete waste of time and money. I’m in California so obviously the laws vary by state.

 

[GoodOmens]

New member joining today to post praise? I suspect JenniferMoore works for St. Lucie Appraisal.

Anyways good luck OP.

 

[bayareaever]

Indeed, the appraisal process and customer service with Saint Lucie was fine- no complaints there.

The problem is California doesn’t have a diminished value claim law, from what I understand. I quickly found this out once I went to small claims court with the report (for an additional fee) and got nothing in return.

 

[jkeyser14]

Update: My car was fixed by a Tesla certified bodyshop but I was very unhappy with the paint job (orange peel, voids in the paint, etc). Currently waiting for them to repair the paint.

The insurance company made an initial offer of diminished value that was insultingly low. I am currently talking with lawyers to discuss my options.

 

[Need]

Indeed, the appraisal process and customer service with Saint Lucie was fine- no complaints there.

The problem is California doesn’t have a diminished value claim law, from what I understand. I quickly found this out once I went to small claims court with the report (for an additional fee) and got nothing in return.

You may want to read this
Has California Diminished Value Law Changed? ⋆ Petty Details - Diminished Value Experts

This is on Petty Details website and they were recommended on some of the forum members here for DV in California.

 

[Ryanide]

This is why so many people have neck/back and emotional injuries from accidents. Helps to recover extra costs. I'm sure there are 100's of injury lawyers who will be willing to help.

 

[rickdogg82]

Curious about how this all turns out when a car with a diminished value claim is passed on to the next owner. How close was the claim to difference in sales price? I never hear stories about not getting enough. Did you pass on the diminished value to the next person willingly? Does diminished value stay with the car? In other worlds, if insurance gives you $5K becasue the car is now worth $5K less, will they subtract this from the value should the car be involved in an accident that requires it be totaled?

 

[OCR1]

Curious about how this all turns out when a car with a diminished value claim is passed on to the next owner. How close was the claim to difference in sales price? I never hear stories about not getting enough. Did you pass on the diminished value to the next person willingly? Does diminished value stay with the car? In other worlds, if insurance gives you $5K becasue the car is now worth $5K less, will they subtract this from the value should the car be involved in an accident that requires it be totaled?

It’s not that scientific. If the car was worth $40K at the time of the accident, you may be able to negotiate $4K in diminished value, so let’s say you argue that because of the accident the car is now only worth $36K.

This only matters if you turn around and sell the car immediately after it is repaired. And if you do, you will have to disclose that it was involved in an accident and people will offer you less for it than a comparable car that is accident free. Presumably about $4K less.

But let’s say instead you drive the car for five more years and now due to age it’s really only a $15K car accident free. So with the accident history you might end up having to sell it for $13,000. So you only actually incurred a $2K hit because the car’s value diminished so much anyway over time that as a percentage the diminished value is not all that significant.

So in short, the longer you keep the car the less the diminished value matters.

 

[rickdogg82]

It’s not that scientific.

I understand the concept but more curious about how it all works out in the real world. My other make car is one where accident and service history affect value dramatically but even on those forums I have never heard of anyone getting screwed by a DV claim that was too low.

 

[Uncle Paul]

Seems like most insurance companies will bargain with you. First a low offer, then increasing offers as you apply pressure. They usually end up with a final offer that is close to net what you would recieve if you went all the way with trial. In other works they would offer you close to what you would end up after legal costs of litigation.

 

[Burrito]

so i was rear ended a few months ago and repaired, the damage was SUPER minor and just needed some paint (still 2k worth of work). how can i check if their is a carfax ding now on my car? if there is i want to go after DV if not then not worth the hassle

 

[MrMassTransit]

Just request a Carfax report on your VIN.

 

[GregD60]

I was sitting stopped waiting to turn when I got rear ended by a SUV traveling ~40 mph today. They were distracted and never even touched the brakes. TeslaCam caught it all.

Bumper, trunk lid, etc. are destroyed. Rear 1/4 panels appear to be ok to my unskilled eye, but the charge port won't open anymore. The car is still driveable. I am not sure if there is any structural damage and the insurance adjuster can't even look at the car for another week, so I don't know how much more damage may be hidden.

I am ready for an uphill battle with the insurance company regarding diminished value claims. Has anyone here had to make a diminished value claim yet? I searched here and found a similar post but it had no answers.

Finding comparable used cars with clean titles is easy. I haven't been able to find prices for non-salvaged Model 3 Long Range cars with an accident on their record.

I'm guessing that the SUV was going slower than 40MPH. A 40 MPH hit on a stopped car is a major hit and the rear end of your car would be flattened at least up to the rear tires. It would be totaled for sure. Or was it a glancing or angled hit?