amd555 - This is not a general accident / claim thread. If you have questions re: that search for and read at other threads /sites, as that topic is beyond the scope here. Beyond that, if you wish to claim Diminished Value, please read the thread and then ask specific questions
ellory said: amd555 - This is not a general accident / claim thread. If you have questions re: that search for and read at other threads /sites, as that topic is beyond the scope here. Beyond that, if you wish to claim Diminished Value, please read the thread and then ask specific questions Sorry for not being clear, i wanted to know what the best source for diminished value for such new car.
ellory said: amd555 - This is not a general accident / claim thread. If you have questions re: that search for and read at other threads /sites, as that topic is beyond the scope here. Beyond that, if you wish to claim Diminished Value, please read the thread and then ask specific questions
Ellory and others, I want to be more specific. My 2012 Sonata was hit while it was parked by someone insured with StateFarm. I am filing a claim thru my insurer (Geico) and am having them look at it tomorrow morning. My car only has 2200 miles on it and is 2012. I will be talking to an on-site Geico adjustor tomorrow so I wanted to know if I should purchase the DVassess report now or after the Geico appraisal?
Also, would the Diminished Value claim be between me and Geico or would I have to go through the StateFarm route for that. I tried using KBB/Nada/AutoTrade and cannot get any values as all they have is 2011 model year.
1. Do not talk with the appraiser, as has been previously said. Just allow them to look at the car 2 A DMV claim is made after your car is repaired. It sounds like your is not repaired yet 3. Unless your State Farm policy allows you to make DMV claims, you will need to file the claim directly with Geico after your car is repaired 4. You need to find some way of establishing your DMV loss or you won't know if you should accept the offer from Geico. How much $ damage was done to your car?
ellory said: 1. Do not talk with the appraiser, as has been previously said. Just allow them to look at the car 2 A DMV claim is made after your car is repaired. It sounds like your is not repaired yet 3. Unless your State Farm policy allows you to make DMV claims, you will need to file the claim directly with Geico after your car is repaired 4. You need to find some way of establishing your DMV loss or you won't know if you should accept the offer from Geico. How much $ damage was done to your car?
Sorry if i wasn't clear, i have Geico and the at fault party has State Farm. Would my dmv claim be with State Farm then? I will purchase dv asseds once i get the full estimate. I suspect around $1500 to 2k
amd555 said: ellory said: 1. Do not talk with the appraiser, as has been previously said. Just allow them to look at the car 2 A DMV claim is made after your car is repaired. It sounds like your is not repaired yet 3. Unless your State Farm policy allows you to make DMV claims, you will need to file the claim directly with Geico after your car is repaired 4. You need to find some way of establishing your DMV loss or you won't know if you should accept the offer from Geico. How much $ damage was done to your car?
Sorry if i wasn't clear, i have Geico and the at fault party has State Farm. Would my dmv claim be with State Farm then? I will purchase dv asseds once i get the full estimate. I suspect around $1500 to 2k I suggest you reread this whole thread. Assuming the other party is at fault, the DMV claim is directly to the other party's insurance company. If you are at fault, then you cannot file for a DMV claim against your own insurance (unless your company allows it. Only in GA I believe) Suggest you reread this thread
I am wrapping up my DV claim with Insurance Co B. I have Insurance Co A. and the other party had Insurance Co B. (Leaving names out until this is wrapped up. They rear ended my causing 4k in damage. I submitted a claim to them for the diminished value and to determine the inherent loss of the value, I used the Autotrader Marketplace where you can get a value for your trade-in. It is free
So the concept of the inherent loss is that the car is worth less than before because it has been in an accident. Even though the car is in like new condition, if this were to be disclosed to a buyer, they would not be willing to pay as much.
I went to the marketplace and entered my car data in as the car was before the accident. This provided my with a trade-in value of $18,000 for the condition. I printed the offer and details to keep a hard copy. Next I did the same process where I entered in the information based on post-accident data including how much the damage was and what the repairwork completed was. (Most importantly, the survey will ask if there has been any damage reported to carfax/AutoCheck). Make sure you say yes to this. The new value trade-in is 14,000 with this information, again keep a record copy of this for your records. I was able to determine the diminished value at ~4,000 and this is what I claimed with the other guys insurance.
They initially offered my ~$900 for the offer, but when they recieved my info, that offer quickly went up to $2,000. I am holding out for $3,500 and the adjuster has to seek his "manager's" approval.
Key things to keep in mind; My using the autotrader marketplace, I am able to get a concrete showing of the diminished value. This is also easy to explain to a judge in small claims court (if it makes it that far). When entering in the post-accident information, make sure to mark that the accident has been reported to carcheck/AutoCheck. Even if it hasn't been reported yet, it may in the future and that is not controlled by you. Cover your bases and protect yourself. This claim happened in Georgia and Georgia has very good DV laws to protect the injured. Check your own state's laws if you have any questions.
adlermichael said: I used the Autotrader Marketplace where you can get a value for your trade-in. It is free
I went to the marketplace and entered my car data in as the car was before the accident. This provided my with a trade-in value of $18,000 for the condition.
Next I did the same process where I entered in the information based on post-accident data including how much the damage was and what the repairwork completed was. (Most importantly, the survey will ask if there has been any damage reported to carfax/AutoCheck). Make sure you say yes to this.
ellory said: adlermichael said: I used the Autotrader Marketplace where you can get a value for your trade-in. It is free
I went to the marketplace and entered my car data in as the car was before the accident. This provided my with a trade-in value of $18,000 for the condition.
Next I did the same process where I entered in the information based on post-accident data including how much the damage was and what the repairwork completed was. (Most importantly, the survey will ask if there has been any damage reported to carfax/AutoCheck). Make sure you say yes to this.
Great idea. Thanks!
AutoTrader is typically a goo resource. My problem has been that my car is so new (2012 Sonata with 2k miles). I will have to try the DVAssess route. If I have to, I will go the Advocate group but they charge 50% of what is recovered.
Hey everyone, just read through this and there is a lot of good info. Here is the situation I am dealing with right now:
I was recently stopped at a red light in NYC when I was rear ended by a NYC cab. There was substantial damage to my vehicle and the passengers in the cab were injured and had to go to the hospital.
I have a 2010 Nissan Altima 3.5 and there was over $14k worth of damage that was done to the car. It has since been fixed.
The police report clearly states that: 1) The cab driver admits to following my too closely 2) I was stopped at the red light 3) Witnesses stated that the cab was following me to closely
I have the contact information for witnesses as well.
The cab drivers insurance company is Washington International Insurance Company. Which so far has not been helpful at all and have only offered to pay 68% of my $1000 deductible. I am out this cost and the cost of a rental car as well as the DV of my car and many missed hours of work while dealing with the issue.
Any help/suggestions? I plan on pursuing this until the end with both the other insurance company and cab driver.
Any help/suggestions? I plan on pursuing this until the end with both the other insurance company and cab driver.
It appears that you collected under your own collision. As such your insurance company should be pursuing subrogation with the other party's company. Once subrogation is complete, you can then pursue DMV
Please stay on topic. Pursue your general insurance / collection issues in another thread.
When the other party is at fault, DMV is pursued with the other party / other party's insurance company once your vehicle is repaired, and all claims have been resolved.
This is not a general accident / claim thread. If you have questions re: that search for and read at other threads /sites, as that topic is beyond the scope here. Beyond that, if you wish to claim Diminished Value, please read the thread and then ask specific questions
kbiekert said: In Texas you can recover for diminished value. We had a 2006 Expedition which got rear ended at a red light 26 days after we bought it. Allstate, in particular, requires you to obtain an 'independent appraisal' from a 'certified appraiser'. That, my friends, is a joke. So you fork over $300 to a company that says 35% DV. And turn it in. And Allstate says BS, that's what they always say. $300 well spent -- not.
That said, we negotiated back and forth. What helped, in my case, was that Texas supports recover, and secondly, our car dealer we purchased it from wrote a letter saying it was worth less than depreciation after driven off the lot. He would have to disclose it as wrecked, etc. etc. and quoted a number around 25% DV. Oh, and possibly that there was no injury claim.
Net result - we got OEM parts, and another $5600 (less the $300 we paid the appraiser). I had wanted $5,000. Had they just paid... well, they would have won and we would not have perpetuated the appraisal farce.
Fight for it. Go Codename47 on them.
Not sure where you get the diminished value idea. I practiced law from 1977 until I retired in Texas and never saw diminished value after repair upheld on appeal. Insurance companies are required to use OEM parts if you specify and cannot depreciate replacement part costs for mileage. If the cost of repair exceeds the retail value of the vehicle then the insurance company can declare a total loss and pay you market value for the vehicle even if it is only a few months old. It sounds like you were given hush money to go away. Farmers Insurance made the law on this a couple of years ago.
Any help/suggestions? I plan on pursuing this until the end with both the other insurance company and cab driver.
It appears that you collected under your own collision. As such your insurance company should be pursuing subrogation with the other party's company. Once subrogation is complete, you can then pursue DMV
Please stay on topic. Pursue your general insurance / collection issues in another thread.
When the other party is at fault, DMV is pursued with the other party / other party's insurance company once your vehicle is repaired, and all claims have been resolved.
This is not a general accident / claim thread. If you have questions re: that search for and read at other threads /sites, as that topic is beyond the scope here. Beyond that, if you wish to claim Diminished Value, please read the thread and then ask specific questions
Ellory - Thanks for the reply. I am not really worried about the deductible, as you are correct, my insurance company is pursuing that.
My question really only does relate to the DV of my car, I am asking if there are any tips/suggestions for dealing with an accident with a cab.
Their insurance company is extremely difficult to deal with so far and from what I have experienced so far it is pretty obvious that this is going to be a painful process. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
nycgoat said: Their insurance company is extremely difficult to deal with so far and from what I have experienced so far it is pretty obvious that this is going to be a painful process. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Please describe 1. How you have communicated (US Mail, email, web, verbal, etc) 2. What you communicated 3 What they responded 4. What supporting material you provided 5. What steps you have followed / not followed that are described earlier in this thread
Update. The appraiser came last Thursday and got his report in. They are now offering $3000 (up from $552). The two appraisal I got average over $5k. In my opinion, this is where the negotiating or "settling" begins. I say 5,500, and insurance says 3,000. I told them today I am happy with a split of the difference. She will have to ask her supervisor. If they respond with "No", what should my next course of action be?
subokie said: Update. The appraiser came last Thursday and got his report in. They are now offering $3000 (up from $552). The two appraisal I got average over $5k. In my opinion, this is where the negotiating or "settling" begins. I say 5,500, and insurance says 3,000. I told them today I am happy with a split of the difference. She will have to ask her supervisor. If they respond with "No", what should my next course of action be?I think you made a strategic error by offering to split the difference.
If I recall, you had CarMax estmates. What data and what justification did the adjuster provide for the $3000 estimate?
I havent seen his report. I called him, and he told me it was for State Farm, but the offer was over phone. Yes I had CarMax and another estimate from a dealer. Insurance company is saying those are no good, and that I need a DV appraisal, which I know is not true. An error, maybe. I am in the Navy, and facing potential deployment, so trying to speed up process. I am happy with a split, and this thurs marks 11weeks since accident.
In the midst of a small claims suit filing against Allstate as they are refusing to pay the DV claim. Have a report from an independent appraiser and will use him as expert witness in court. Also have daily notes on conversations I've had w Allstate and the demand letter to them which they ignored. I can't wait to say my peace in front of the Justice of the Peace!
Hi Ellory, everyone .... thanks for all the helpful information. I have 2012 Jetta, was rear ended in mid March, turned the car in on 1st of last month and just got the car back. The repair bill came at 8.1k (taken care of by Allstate, the other person's insurance company)and dvassess estimates DMV claim to be 4.8k given the pre-tax value and excellent condition which it was. I have not filed my claim yet. My questions are (1) The DMV assessment by dvassess seems a bit a low; I would be completely fine with this amount if I got it in full, Is it a given that the company will lowball me and I would not be able to get the full assessed amount ? (2) Does it seem reasonable to go to small claims court if they dont pay up in full? and (3) Should I submit my claim from within the ongoing online dialogue under my username pw on allstate claim status website or is this completely different from the car repair and bodily injury claims and should be physically mailed in ?
Just wanted to update on my 2012 DV claim. I purchased the $70 report from DV Assess for my $1850 in damages. DV Assess gave a dv value of $1100 roughly. Sent in all the paperwork to StateFarm and was denied as State Farm does not "believe in inherent loss of value". She refused to send out an adjustor and told me the burden of proof was on me. I got so fed up talking to her for a few hours.
Decided to hire Advocate Auto Consultants to see what they can recover. Just couldn't put up with StateFarm headaches
Someone hit my wife's 2012 Honda Odyssey Touring Elite, which we bought in October (8,205 miles) and had a window sticker price of $44,485. The vehicle was hit in the right rear corner and required $2,600 in repairs. While it wasn't a $10k repair, it was a pretty big deal and I am sure the vehicle is worth a lot less now even with good repairs given the original price of the car and that it's a 2012. I'm clear that the concept that the vehicle was in an accident is where the diminished value lands, should I just do dvassess and does anyone else have other recommendations or thoughts? Thanks!
I have done that. I suppose I should be more explicit. Given that the damage isn't super major, do you think the claim will be successful? DVAssess notes the damage should be major and I am unsure how this would impact. I'm really looking for a subjective response. Thanks!
Advice requested please. My '07 Mercedes was at the dealer for maintenance when the service tech hit a deer with it causing almost $13,000 in damage. Their insurance company fixed the car under the garage policy. I had a DMV report prepared and the report concluded $12,400 in diminished value. I also took it to another mb dealer and have an email from the dealer stating my trade in value is $10,000 less than market due to the accident. I pursued DMV with the insurance company and they recently communicated in writing they won't pay anything additional. I've asked an attorney to review this and the attorney thinks there is a case for DMV. He also wants to take 33 1/3 % plus costs. Do I pursue this through the attorney or through small claims court by suing both the mb dealer and the service tech? Thanks in advance.
hcrossing said: Advice requested please. My '07 Mercedes was at the dealer for maintenance when the service tech hit a deer with it causing almost $13,000 in damage. Their insurance company fixed the car under the garage policy. I had a DMV report prepared and the report concluded $12,400 in diminished value. I also took it to another mb dealer and have an email from the dealer stating my trade in value is $10,000 less than market due to the accident. I pursued DMV with the insurance company and they recently communicated in writing they won't pay anything additional. I've asked an attorney to review this and the attorney thinks there is a case for DMV. He also wants to take 33 1/3 % plus costs. Do I pursue this through the attorney or through small claims court by suing both the mb dealer and the service tech? Thanks in advance.
Is there anywhere in this country where you can sue in small claims for 12 grand? You are going to be going through an attorney, you could always try to find one who will take less...
mwa423 said: hcrossing said: Advice requested please. My '07 Mercedes was at the dealer for maintenance when the service tech hit a deer with it causing almost $13,000 in damage. Their insurance company fixed the car under the garage policy. I had a DMV report prepared and the report concluded $12,400 in diminished value. I also took it to another mb dealer and have an email from the dealer stating my trade in value is $10,000 less than market due to the accident. I pursued DMV with the insurance company and they recently communicated in writing they won't pay anything additional. I've asked an attorney to review this and the attorney thinks there is a case for DMV. He also wants to take 33 1/3 % plus costs. Do I pursue this through the attorney or through small claims court by suing both the mb dealer and the service tech? Thanks in advance.
Is there anywhere in this country where you can sue in small claims for 12 grand? You are going to be going through an attorney, you could always try to find one who will take less...
Here in Illinois small claims is limited to $10,000.
I was rearended in stop and go traffic in my 2010 Prius. Damage was only $1400, but there was a frame pull and body panel work as well as replacing the bumper and reinforcements, so a little more than 'just a scratch'.
My 'free estimate' email from CollissionClaims.com said under $1k in diminished value, but I have a feeling the spread from bluebook to the carmax offer may be more than that- mainly because this car has lost almost no value according to KBB.
Is this worth my time to pursue? I was thinking of doing the $70 thing from DVAsses.com and going to carmax and then seeing what the adjuster says to my DV email.
Would I be wasting my time going after DV in this case? If it matters, I live in Texas and I was hit by a Kraft foods fleet vehicle (sedan) and the insurance company is some huge conglomerate risk management firm. Thanks for the great thread.
hcrossing said: mwa423 said: hcrossing said: Advice requested please. My '07 Mercedes was at the dealer for maintenance when the service tech hit a deer with it causing almost $13,000 in damage. Their insurance company fixed the car under the garage policy. I had a DMV report prepared and the report concluded $12,400 in diminished value. I also took it to another mb dealer and have an email from the dealer stating my trade in value is $10,000 less than market due to the accident. I pursued DMV with the insurance company and they recently communicated in writing they won't pay anything additional. I've asked an attorney to review this and the attorney thinks there is a case for DMV. He also wants to take 33 1/3 % plus costs. Do I pursue this through the attorney or through small claims court by suing both the mb dealer and the service tech? Thanks in advance.
Is there anywhere in this country where you can sue in small claims for 12 grand? You are going to be going through an attorney, you could always try to find one who will take less...
Here in Illinois small claims is limited to $10,000.
You can always negotiate fees with an attorney , maybe paying 20% of the first $10,000 recovered and 50% of any recovery above $10000. That gives them more incentive to get the big numbers
I have read through this forum....the information has been quite helpful. However I am hoping for one point of clarification - I see that it is suggested that DMV claim be filed after the repairs have been completed. I was under the assumption that the repairs and the quality of the repairs are a different animal than the inherent diminished value....can you kindly clarify? Thanks so much. I am currently working "with" State Farm on a claim.
1. dbfrancisco, you are correct 2. However, if the repairs are not quality or if the repairs are not done at all, it becomes difficult to claim that the loss in value is due to DMV rather than to lack of quality repairs
Therefore it makes sense to establish a common foundation of a quality repair, so that is not an issue, before proceeding on to work the DMV claim
ellory - thanks for sharing the great info. Where exactly are you uploading all the necessary info to Geico? I have a DV claim that I need to file against them, as well, and have scoured their website for info on where to start the process with no success.
Darned if I know it was years ago. If you have an open claim, that should give you the ability to post and communicate with them. Remember that electronic communication may not preserve your legal rights. I was prepared to snail mail if they had not responded
An update on my accident. I was involved in a four car accident in December in Florida. The at-fault driver failed to stop and ran into the car behind me, which ran into my car, which ran into the car in front of me. My car and the car behind had considerable damage. The car in front of me just had some bumper damage. I am dealing with limits on the property damage policy($10k). My own insurer repaired the car and was about $5,300.
I submitted a DMV claim for $1,800 in January. The adjuster called offering around $350. Right away I say that is not even close to being reasonable. Then he offered $560 and said that is the max he is authorized to give and that they are dealing with policy limits. I respond that the insured pay the rest of the claim.
He also is trying to get me sign a property damage release "so my insurance can get paid". I reply that the only thing I am signing is a check in the amount of my DMV claim.
I am wondering how insurance pays claims if they are over the policy limits. Are they required to pro-rate all the claims or can they decide how much to pay for each claim? They are offering me 33% of the DMV claim, which would make all the claims $30,000. My car had the most damage and I estimate the total claims to be under 14k (policy limit is $10k).
If not, am I at a point that I have to file an action in small claims court?
Here is the result of my 1-year long attempt to get DV for an accident that happened in the summer last year in Santa Clara County, CA. My DV was estimated to be around ~$6500 since my car took frame damage.
(1) I sent a letter to the insurance company with an appraisal from CarMax, DVAssess.com ($15), and a letter from my dealership. (2) The insurance company did not respond, so I filed a complaint with the Dept. of Insurance. (3) I got a letter back with an offer of ~$1200 for the DV (4) After the insurance company failed to negotiate further, I got a $275 appraisal done and sent the letter to the insurance company. Still no change in the offer. (5) I consulted three lawyers who said I had a good chance in Small Claims court, so I filed suit. (6) At my court hearing, the guy who hit me showed up with an insurance rep. They didn't really say much in defense except that they believed the car had been repaired and that is the end of their obligation. The judge was not convinced DV was a valid claim and did not award me any damages. (7) I filed a motion to vacate based on legal error, but it was denied
To clarify, the judge understood that the car was worth almost 30-35% less because of the accident, the judge did not contend this point. I also explained (and the judge agreed), that if the car was totaled or stolen today, any insurance company would only pay me its current cash value, and I would become liable for the diminished value to my bank. In the end, the judge said she did not see the difference between DV and normal depreciation. Then she said, and I quote, "that's a risk you take when you buy a car". I had also submitted a declaration from one of the lawyers, which detailed a few DV cases he had handled in CA, but the judge disregarded this entirely. It seems the judge fully understood the situation, but just didn't like the idea of DV. This is pure speculation: I doubt the judge had seen a case like this before and and from the tone and position, I feel the judge thought I was just looking for a quick payday.
Small claims is a crap shoot. Honestly, it was still worth the risk, because the offer of $1200 was ridiculous. Any risk analysis (a field I am familiar with) would agree that it was still worth persuing the case in court given the input I had received from lawyers and the amount of money in question. After all the court, service, and appraisal fees, I think I ended up spending about $475 to pursue the claim. Mostly due to the $275 appraisal. More of a time cost than anything else.
If you are thinking about pursuing diminished value in small claims court in California, I can provide a good amount of incite from what I learned about CA law in the process. If you are pursuing in Santa Clara County specifically, please PM me so I can give you some vital information specific to the area!
These are some of the lessons I have learned:
(1) Avoid buying a car if at all possible (2) Buy GAP insurance, it will save you if your car has severe diminished value by paying off your loan if the car is totaled or stolen (3) Small claims is risky because, (in California), a plaintiff cannot appeal - even if the judge screws up. Be ready to lose it all. (4) Before going to court, talk to some lawyers, you can do this for free. I wanted a lawyer in court, but they just told me go to small claims since I was below the small claims limit in CA.
In the end, I am left in a position where if the car gets stolen or totaled, I will end up having to pay my bank the difference between its current value and how much is left on my loan. Since the accident took off ~$6500 in value, thats a good chunk of money. I'm nervous driving my car around because who knows what might happen. I also can't afford to sell it or I realize the $6500 loss immediately. Overall, not so great! Even if I had taken the $1200 offer, I would still owe $5300, still a number I can't afford. Maybe I should move to Georgia where DV reimbursement is law and I wouldn't have to convince the judge that its not just a "risk of buying a car"...
If you filed a claim and the insurance co fixed your car then if you get into an accident in the future, wouldn't the insurance co still pay regular market value if it ends up being totaled/stolen? You'll probably just be screwed if you decide to sell or trade the car in since no one will want to pay anything close to blue book value so you're just stuck with the car
jatan1986 said: If you filed a claim and the insurance co fixed your car then if you get into an accident in the future, wouldn't the insurance co still pay regular market value if it ends up being totaled/stolen? "Regular market value"? Do you mean blue book? No they won't. Car is not worth blue book. They know it. They will take DMV into account
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