Rear-ended | Diminished value claim

[simbabb]

Hello! My Model 3 got rear ended and is still getting its damage estimated at the shop, the shop said looking at it prob take no less than 4 weeks to fix.

If the car is repairable rather than totaled, I’m going to file for diminished value claim against the at-fault party.

Can anyone advise how best to handle it? (e.g. how do I know the DV is fair, etc) I have a lawyer for bodily injured but he doesn’t do property damage.

I’m in California.

 

[Trekker_]

Hello! My Model 3 got rear ended and is still getting its damage estimated at the shop, the shop said looking at it prob take no less than 4 weeks to fix.

If the car is repairable rather than totaled, I’m going to file for diminished value claim against the at-fault party.

Can anyone advise how best to handle it? (e.g. how do I know the DV is fair, etc) I have a lawyer for bodily injured but he doesn’t do property damage.

I’m in California.

Higher a DV adjuster to asses it. You pay then direct, they are unbiased. Submit to insurance

 

[Sam1]

Hello! My Model 3 got rear ended and is still getting its damage estimated at the shop, the shop said looking at it prob take no less than 4 weeks to fix.

If the car is repairable rather than totaled, I’m going to file for diminished value claim against the at-fault party.

Can anyone advise how best to handle it? (e.g. how do I know the DV is fair, etc) I have a lawyer for bodily injured but he doesn’t do property damage.

I’m in California.

Diminished value is part of the personal injury claim. It is not part of the property damage claim. Your lawyer should be the one telling you this, and to not bring it up to the insurance company, and not speaking to the insurance companies under any circumstances.

The property damage claim is strictly for exact costs of fees related to repairs/replacements/rental car.

 

[simbabb]

I assume DV is part of property damage since it’s related to a “property”

 

[jkeyser14]

When I got rear ended the insurance company offered me $2k diminished value. I pulled comps, mentioned loss of use of my vehicle (I didn't accept their rental), etc. We eventually settled for $6k, $3k for diminished value and $3k loss of use. However used cars prices are up a ton right now, so depreciation is probably only $1-$2k now.

 

[Sam1]

I assume DV is part of property damage since it’s related to a “property”

incorrect. I've been hit 3 separate times in the last 5 years, 2 cases settled, 1 still in litigation. the 2 that have settled have included DV in the tort/personal injury part of the claim, not the property claim. These were in Nevada, not sure if your state is different, but I would assume something of that nature would not deviate depending on the state.

<edit> As a side note though, if you brought this topic up to your lawyer and he told you otherwise, you should immediately find another laywer.

 

[PNWLeccy]

I was rear ended at very low speed but it left 2 punctures where the license plate screws made contact with the bumper. I took it to Tesla to get an estimate and they suggested I get a new pre-painted bumper ~$1200. The certified Tesla auto body shop across the street from the service center suggested a repair instead to better blend the paint. Insurance adjuster determined repair would be covered and it ended up costing about the same as replacement ~$1200.

I found a DV Adjuster online to file the initial claim but they were honestly a nightmare. I paid ~$400 and they never inspected the vehicle but rather provided very boilerplate language to send to insurance. In their "report" they included similar vehicles with damage "examples" that all appeared to be made up. Geico, who was handling the DV claim, said that the report was useless as none of the examples had VINs or links and couldn't be verified in any way. I ended up going back and forth with the DV adjusters before finally filing a chargeback on my credit card. They also literally laughed when I asked about filing a Loss of Use claim in addition to DV and told me it was impossible.

The Geico adjuster admitted it was difficult to determine a DV since there were very few used M3's with or w/o damage for sale at the time (2019). He also said it was very hard for them to understand the impact of mileage on the resale value of EVs. He showed me how he was coming up with his number, by searching CarGurus for Model 3's with similar miles in the same metro. There was basically only one example in the country and he offered me $1000.

I continued to periodically search CarGurus for examples to increase the DV offer. He quickly increased his offer to $2k and told me it was the highest he could offer. I sent him a few more emails with additional examples before he ultimately increased the offer to $3k and said it was his final offer and we would have to go to court for the claim if I didn't accept. I spent so much time and energy that it probably wasn't worth it but I did very minimal work to get it up to $2k. If I did it again, I would spend a set amount of time looking for examples and then be done with it.

 

[simbabb]

I was rear ended at very low speed but it left 2 punctures where the license plate screws made contact with the bumper. I took it to Tesla to get an estimate and they suggested I get a new pre-painted bumper ~$1200. The certified Tesla auto body shop across the street from the service center suggested a repair instead to better blend the paint. Insurance adjuster determined repair would be covered and it ended up costing about the same as replacement ~$1200.

I found a DV Adjuster online to file the initial claim but they were honestly a nightmare. I paid ~$400 and they never inspected the vehicle but rather provided very boilerplate language to send to insurance. In their "report" they included similar vehicles with damage "examples" that all appeared to be made up. Geico, who was handling the DV claim, said that the report was useless as none of the examples had VINs or links and couldn't be verified in any way. I ended up going back and forth with the DV adjusters before finally filing a chargeback on my credit card. They also literally laughed when I asked about filing a Loss of Use claim in addition to DV and told me it was impossible.

The Geico adjuster admitted it was difficult to determine a DV since there were very few used M3's with or w/o damage for sale at the time (2019). He also said it was very hard for them to understand the impact of mileage on the resale value of EVs. He showed me how he was coming up with his number, by searching CarGurus for Model 3's with similar miles in the same metro. There was basically only one example in the country and he offered me $1000.

I continued to periodically search CarGurus for examples to increase the DV offer. He quickly increased his offer to $2k and told me it was the highest he could offer. I sent him a few more emails with additional examples before he ultimately increased the offer to $3k and said it was his final offer and we would have to go to court for the claim if I didn't accept. I spent so much time and energy that it probably wasn't worth it but I did very minimal work to get it up to $2k. If I did it again, I would spend a set amount of time looking for examples and then be done with it.

This is useful, thank you!

The example you did were 3 with accident vs 3 without accident of similar spec, right?

 

[PNWLeccy]

This is useful, thank you!

The example you did were 3 with accident vs 3 without accident of similar spec, right?

Right, find cars with the same specs with and without an accident. You'll need a few examples to prove the difference in value between the two.

It will be interesting to see how the insane used car market might effect resale value of those with accident histories. The delta between the two might not be as much as usual.

 

[buckeyebob1963]

I was rear ended in July 2022 an impact of about 50mph Thank GOD no injuries 2021Tesla M3 repairs total $23170.13 it took about 4 months to complete with Tesla parts shortages and few certified Repair shops. Now checking Carvana similar 2021 teslas are selling between 54K-57K but since my Tesla is was repaired they offered me 33.5K. Was simply checking value, also I was without my car for 122 days use any average of $100 that total would be over 12K. Now figure my DM is over 30K. So where do I start the process??

 

[jjrandorin]

I was rear ended in July 2022 an impact of about 50mph Thank GOD no injuries 2021Tesla M3 repairs total $23170.13 it took about 4 months to complete with Tesla parts shortages and few certified Repair shops. Now checking Carvana similar 2021 teslas are selling between 54K-57K but since my Tesla is was repaired they offered me 33.5K. Was simply checking value, also I was without my car for 122 days use any average of $100 that total would be over 12K. Now figure my DM is over 30K. So where do I start the process??

First of all, I think your idea of your diminished value being 30k because they offered you 33.5k and you see them selling for X price is wrong. ALL offers on tesla vehicles are down right now (compared to what they paid in the middle of the year), and what dealers are attempting to sell them for is not related to what they would buy them for right now.

I am guessing that if your car wasnt repaired, it would probably have offers in the very low 40s.

If your state allows diminished value, you can only claim that against the at fault persons insurance, not your own. You certainly are not going to get anywhere near 30k though.

 

[buckeyebob1963]

I was only stating similiar low mileage 2021 M3 were selling in the mid 40's I also read where I can recoup Rental Car fees using $100 my car was in the shop for 122 days so a possible 12K just that adjustment added to diminished value guess the total close to 30K.

 

[afadeev]

I was only stating similiar low mileage 2021 M3 were selling in the mid 40's I also read where I can recoup Rental Car fees using $100 my car was in the shop for 122 days so a possible 12K just that adjustment added to diminished value guess the total close to 30K.

Riiiiiiight.
1. Good luck with that.
2. Stop asking for advise from the internet if you are unwilling to listen to it.
3. Above all else, here a local attorney who specializes in DV claims and knows what can and cannot be achieved.
4. #1 and #2 are optional. #3 is not.

a