Rear ended, insurance, diminished value, rental, etc (NJ)

[anthonyj]

Hey all, a girl in a Jeep rear ended me while at a red light. Bumper and lift gate need to be replaced. Car is still drivable. I am going through her insurance company, New Jersey Manufacturers. Ive never been in an accident or had to file a claim, so any help is greatly appreciated.

The body shop said that parts may take a couple months to come in, and the repair will take 3 weeks. During those 3 weeks, I will obviously not be able to drive my P85D which I am making payments on. Instead, the insurance company wants to give me a Nissan or something. I don’t think this is acceptable, and I feel entitled to an Enterprise Tesla as I don’t want to pay for fuel. Is this possible in New Jersey?

Also, now that the car has an accident reported on Car Fax, the value of the car is lower. How do I go about making a claim for diminished value? Does anyone have experience in this area?

I really appreciate any advice/help that I can receive. Thank you!

 

[IROAR]

Hey all, a girl in a Jeep rear ended me while at a red light. Bumper and lift gate need to be replaced. Car is still drivable. I am going through her insurance company, New Jersey Manufacturers. Ive never been in an accident or had to file a claim, so any help is greatly appreciated.

The body shop said that parts may take a couple months to come in, and the repair will take 3 weeks. During those 3 weeks, I will obviously not be able to drive my P85D which I am making payments on. Instead, the insurance company wants to give me a Nissan or something. I don’t think this is acceptable, and I feel entitled to an Enterprise Tesla as I don’t want to pay for fuel. Is this possible in New Jersey?

Also, now that the car has an accident reported on Car Fax, the value of the car is lower. How do I go about making a claim for diminished value? Does anyone have experience in this area?

I really appreciate any advice/help that I can receive. Thank you!

Ordinarily an insurance company will respect a report on the diminished resale value only if provided by an expert witness. Google diminished resale value experts immediately as the good ones want to document the vehicle before and after the repairs. They will do a market survey to determine the fair market value of a vehicle not in an accident and employ a discount to your vehicle. Good luck.

 

[PhilDavid]

Hey all, a girl in a Jeep rear ended me while at a red light. Bumper and lift gate need to be replaced. Car is still drivable. I am going through her insurance company, New Jersey Manufacturers. Ive never been in an accident or had to file a claim, so any help is greatly appreciated.

The body shop said that parts may take a couple months to come in, and the repair will take 3 weeks. During those 3 weeks, I will obviously not be able to drive my P85D which I am making payments on. Instead, the insurance company wants to give me a Nissan or something. I don’t think this is acceptable, and I feel entitled to an Enterprise Tesla as I don’t want to pay for fuel. Is this possible in New Jersey?

Also, now that the car has an accident reported on Car Fax, the value of the car is lower. How do I go about making a claim for diminished value? Does anyone have experience in this area?

I really appreciate any advice/help that I can receive. Thank you!

You should absolutely demand a Tesla loaner while your car is being fixed. They need to make you whole and putting you in a Nissan is not making you whole.

Also if you have the slightest bit of back pain, register that matter with the at fault insurance company right away. If you have any kind of an injury, it would make any claim you make stronger and you'll have a much easier time getting a lawyer to represent you if the insurance company starts being unreasonable.

 

[Akikiki]

Good luck. Glad you are not injured. Invest some time reading on TMC for Teslas in wrecks and diminished value claim experience. Gain from what worked for them and what was a waste of time.

 

[MyWifeandI]

Yours is a third-party inherent diminished value claim against the owner of the at-fault vehicle. Find an independent appraiser you are comfortable with and obtain a diminished value report. Then send it to the adverse insurance company. They will no-doubt find fault with your appraiser's report, especially if it was prepared using repair cost, a formula, an algorithm, carfax.com ad results, etc. Our appraiser called multiple sales managers at exotic car dealerships and found a valid diminished value number. Be prepared to fight because even with minor damage your car will lose 15% of it's pre-accident fair market value. Also make certain that your appraiser is willing to speak with the insurance company.

 

[gilfeath]

I really suggest an attorney to handle all of this. There are some good damage action ones and then ones who spend a lot advertising. Ask around and get a good one. My wife got rear-ended last year and she got frustrated so we turned it over to a local low key damage action lawyer. We probably did not get any more than if we dealt with it BUT we did not have the hassle and that was worth a lot. One small example they would only let her have a rental car for a week but after the attorney was on board it was no question she had a car as long as it took us to purchase a new car.

Frank
PS I am a retired educator with lawyers in the family including in NJ.

 

[PhilDavid]

I really suggest an attorney to handle all of this. There are some good damage action ones and then ones who spend a lot advertising. Ask around and get a good one. My wife got rear-ended last year and she got frustrated so we turned it over to a local low key damage action lawyer. We probably did not get any more than if we dealt with it BUT we did not have the hassle and that was worth a lot. One small example they would only let her have a rental car for a week but after the attorney was on board it was no question she had a car as long as it took us to purchase a new car.

Frank
PS I am a retired educator with lawyers in the family including in NJ.

Totally agree about about this. If you have representation, they will not try to "tire you out." They will try to get everything resolved to your satisfaction as much as possible to avoid the situation from escalating.

The question is how do you find a good damage action attorney over a good advertising attorney?