I bought a new car in April and a 16 year old crashed into me last week. My insurance company is offering to total the car. Her insurance company wants to repair it. I won’t release it to be repaired until I can come with a figure on what they owe me for its diminished value.
Let my clarify-scenario 1 They total my car and cut me a check for the value of my car. scenario 2 They repair my car and cut me a check for the diminished value of my car. Please don’t answer if you don’t know what the hell you are talking about.

do you want your car repaired? do you want to keep it like it is NOW? that is what is about to happen, I seggest you either total it, or let it get fixed, all you are doing now is mucking up the process with a smashed car for your effort. I emphasize with your unhappiness at the whole thing but thiere is a right way, and a wrong way, many people just get peed on by the insurance companies, you have TWO trying to help, and you refuse to cooperate. best of luck hope it works out

2000 honda civic ex.. recently involved in a accident, the adjuster came out and so far the estimate is at 3600.00 dollars, but i am sure it will go up as he did not even look under the hood as there was damage under there as well… should i mention the diminished value of the car or should i wait until the car is repaired properly then start negotiating the diminished value ?
the reason why there is diminished value.. most people will not pay market value when a car has had substantional prior damage…. means i lose value in the car
if my car is valued at 9,000 dollars… and has had 4500 dollars worth of body and frame damage… and a individual has a choice between mine and a exact model with the same options , the one with out previous damage would sell over mine… the same would apply if i went to a dealership to trade my car in, i would not get top dollar compared to one with no previous history of damage..

If your vehicle is repaired to be as it was before the accident, or if it is totaled and you get the fair market value, how is there any diminished value? You had a side panel, it was used and as old as the car. It got bent. The insurance paid for a new panel to be put on and painted. It’s new. Where is there any diminished value?

If you carefully read your policy, most of them specifically state there is no compensation for any diminished value, claims for that are specifically excluded.

I have a mazda 6 that was hit by someone else, It costs about 10,000 dollars worth of damage, the insurance company tells me it was moderate damage but I think severe due to the costs of repairs. They have only offered me 100.00 on diminished value, which i think is crazy, if i had told an average joe down the street that was interested in buying it, and it had 10k worth of damage, do you honestly think he will pay 100.00 less than the what the car was worth before it was wrecked, I DONT THINK SO, not even I would do that, that would be Stupid. I know insurance companies use the Formula C plan (WHATEVER) just another way for them Not to Pay the full amount. Ive done my research and clearly I am not getting enough. Do I have to settle for this amount or what should I do. any advice would be greatly appreciated.

ok first Oklatom is right. diminished value is a slippery term, and its also something you are not legally entitled to! yes we all agree that $100 is not enough, but your actually lucky to be getting anything. a lot of state have actually began the process to stop this type of payment at all. see if you can get a letter from a dealership as to what they would have paid you on trade in before the damage and after. then gie it to the adjuster and let him know (NICELY) that you feel you should be allowed more on this. remember, he does NOT have to pay you anything for diminshed value, so be nice and see if he will be nice in return.

Our car was hit on the rear bumper by a driver who admitted his fault and his insurance company is ready to pay for repair/replacement.
We have also filed a claim with our insurance company but we prefer to deal with his insurance company and have sent them estimate we got and they are reviewing our estimate before they will send payment.
But how can we get a compensation of diminished value after accident?
they said we have to give some proof,
do we have to pay a company to get this proof?
Please explain in details.
Every time insurance company paying for claim, report it to vehicle history? and can this reporting be a factor to diminish the value of car?

Dimunition of value, is a weird concept. You can’t collect it from your insurance company, only the other one.

If your damage is only to the bumper, and the bumper gets replaced, there really isn’t any dimunition of value here.

Generally, dimunition of value, is about 4% of the cost of repair. Yes, you will have to pay someone – like a dealer – for an honest dimunition of value report. Likely, the report is going to cost you about $150. You’re probably looking at, what, at best, $40 – $50 of value dimunition, assuming no damage to anything except the bumper.

This is going to cost you more than you’ll get paid.

My car was smashed into by an elderly lady trying to park in the parking lot where I work. She caused over $5,000 damage to my 2003 Acura TL. Repairs are being made and those costs are being covered by her insurance company, however my car will never be worth what it was before the accident even after the ‘outside appearance’ has been fixed. I will have to disclose that it was in an accident if I choose to sell it and that will definitely lower the value of my car. How can I successfully prove and get reimbursed for the diminished value of my car??? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
I was told that it would be considered a third party claim since the repairs are being paid for by the other persons insurance company since they were completely at fault.

Most states have now barred Diminished Value claims by statute and/or policy. You’ll need to find out if your state is one of those (Read the link below and also call your state’s insurance department. Anyone who answers the phone should be able to help you.)

And just an FYI, the few states that still allow DV claims usually require you actually incur the financial hit, ie, sell the car and show a loss: Not just an "assumed" or "estimated" loss in value, but that you’ve actually sold the car for less than it was worth and the only reason for the loss was this accident. If you drive it for the next 200,000 miles/10 years and never have another problem, then you’ve never lost anything. And the burden of proof is on you – not the insurance company.

Good luck.

Friday the 18 of this month (December) I was driving, in a parking lot, going straight and another driving trying to make a left hit my car.

I have a 1998 Nissan Maxima and the value of the car is $7,500

The damage to the car is about $3,500. I need a whole new driver side door, left front quarter panel and some minor damage to the left side passenger door, rear left quarter panel and right front tire.

The other driver was found completely at fault. The body shop her insurance and I agreed upon did call me today telling me her insurance put in a claim to have my car fixed there on January 1.

They will be paying the body shop directly which include a rental car and I will be sending my medical bills in to them to pay.

What I would like to know is if my dad (the car is in his name, so technically it is his loss) would be entitled to diminished value because if/when he wants to sell it for a new car he would not get anywhere near what the car is valued at because it was in a wreck.

And if anyone has any idea how long it will be in the shop for that would be great.

Thank you for any help you can provide

No, he will not be awarded diminished value. That would be nearly impossible to calculate.

The amount of time depends on how many hours are estimated to complete the work. This should be listed on the written estimate. Add to that for time needed for each coat of primer and paint to dry. The body shop you take it to will be able to give you a pretty good idea.

I had an accident back in January 2008. Adjuster now settling on my claim for 1,260.00 – this is the amount of my diminished value. My car cost 21,195.00 when I bought it, it is Honda CRV 4DR 2007. My car fixed already and it cost 4,634.00 to fix it. I asked the adjuster how did he get that figure, he used the NADA, wasn’t it Kelley Blue book is more accurate? When I did my value of car now, I am not getting his figure? What is really the rule on calculating this DV amount? When you get the value of your car now, do I have to go back in January, how much it cost then or today (august)? Please help if this amount they are trying to settle is right amount. Please help.

Thanks.

did you have gap insurance?….is the vehicle totaled?

You can dispute any claim….it is the adjuster’s job to get you to take the smallest amount possible.

Call customer service and report the adjuster and tell then

My late model (2008) car has been hammered in a wreck. Because the CCC car value is high (say close to $30k), and the repair estimates are ~$10-15k, they want to repair it. It is beat up enough that I don’t want it back. I was not at fault, and I don’t know the other driver’s limits.

I buy a new car every 2 years (if not more often), so their argument that I would keep my car until the value isn’t diminished doesn’t really match my past behavior (I have owned 13 cars in the last 15 years).

The salvage yard’s closest comp is ~$9k. Trade-in (or retail, or whatever) will be pretty much 50-60% of what it WOULD have been worth if this hadn’t happened (verified by an independent appraiser and the local dealer).

I know I would never buy a car that had a major accident in the carfax. The dealer said specifically that they would not even give the "poor-fair" trade-in value, as they can no longer certify the car through the manufacturer (thus they would dump it via auction).

I am in Colorado, so 3rd party claimants (supposedly) can try for diminished value. If they factor diminished value ($10k), salvage recoup ($9k), 5 weeks rental @ ~$1000 (based on estimate hours of 4-5worked/business day), AVC (per CCC ~$28.1k, includes sales tax), my math is as follows:

Total loss (AVC Payout):
$28.1k minus (theoretical) salvage recoup $9k
Loss: $19.1k

Repair loss:
$13k repairs
$1000 rental
equals $14k before considering diminished value.
If I can get them to acknowledge HALF of what the car is losing in value, a total makes monetary sense to them…

This doesn’t include any "supplementals." They also have some non-oem parts in their estimate, which would void warranties related to those parts (and potentially whatever interacts with them — since they are mechanical). I am going to ask for OEM across the board.

Aside from asking them to do a full tear-down to see if they can identify any supplementals before starting any repairs, is there anything else I can do?

Help?

To my knowlege Colorado, as well as most States, does not recognize diminished value. Dimished value is difficult as it is pure speculative meaning there is no way to prove what the car would sell for before the accident and after the repairs are done. This can only truly be proved if you actually realize a loss and are able to prove that the loss in value was due to the accident.

Non OEM parts do not void any warranties. There are laws that protect you from this. On a ‘08 model they really should only use OEM. If you are not happy with this you can go through your own insurance, but you are not intitled to diminished value there either.

Sorry for the bad news.

I was rear ended at an intersection. The other driver was citied with an unsafe lane change. His insurance gave me the run around when it came to rental car and repairs on mine. I filed the claim through my insurance. A $1000 for the rental, $10,000 in repairs to my BMW and a $500 deductible. I need to know what to do to get diminished value on my car. Blue book shows a value of $19,500 for trade in. When I went to trade it in, they offered me $7,500 due to the damage and repairs it had sustained. It was repaired by a certified BMW dealership. His insurance was/is State Farm. Any help or suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated. Accident happened February 22, 2009. I got my car back May 9, 2009. Thanks!

Sounds more like a bad dealer problem than an insurance problem.

I already have a dv claim against State Farm..Im well aware of the statues and laws and have already had my Dv claim approved but there not offering near what they should for the loss of value on the car.. Has anyone used any of these companies… and if so what was your experience? Ican2000.com, usaautoappraisers.com, advocateautoclaims.com, collissionclaims.com

Even if you use any of these companies and can get more, will the increase in money compensate you for what you will have to pay them? I believe they charge between 10 to 20% of what they get.

I did a google search and found this question previously asked with some good info you might want to read.

good luck

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=A0LEVISzU89K4s8AZWIPxQt.;_ylu=X3oDMTEybTR0YmJpBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMTAEY29sbwNyZTQEdnRpZAMEbANXUzE-?qid=20060927094156AA95NIN