Diminished Value with Automotive Insurance

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t1snwrbrdr12

Joined
Feb 28, 2015
Messages
887
Location
MD
I’ve been going round and round with getting my car fixed. I’m picky but I’m also reasonable. It’s a daily driver, but I hate the fact that I’ve been rear ended and you can still tell. I’ve been to 2 reputable body shops for maybe 8-10 times in trying to get the car right (accident was not all that bad).

The second body shop is at their Witts end with me, as am I with them and the first body shop obviously.

They claim that my car can either look straight and good, but leak water…or not leak water and gaps and things will be a tiny bit off but still within manufacture specs.

I can’t help but think it never looked like this before. I couldn’t see the ground between my bumper cover and trunk weatherstrip before. Gaps were not this large and inconsistent before. But the inside of my trunk is nothing I’ve ever studied before either.

Regardless, there’s diminished value. Even if it were fixed perfectly. It’s still on a report now and the car will always be “wrecked.”

I’m waiting to call the diminished value team back (they called before I had my car back in my possession so they wouldn’t even begin talking to me then). I need to wait to see if it leaks water still as well, because that absolutely needs to be fixed.

But is there any negotiating tactics you can shed light on? I don’t especially want to lawyer up, I feel like whatever they may get (over what I could get myself) me will just be lost (or even more) in their share. I’ve never been down this road though.

(Last 2 pics are before any repairs just to show how minor it looked…I know cars can absorb and crush and bend…I just can’t believe it cant be fixed better).

T

Thread 'Insurance / Body Shop Dilemma after Wreck'

So long story but I’ll be as concise as I can.

Got rear ended in June. Person has Safeco. I have liberty. Sister companies.

Body shop I’ve used before and has a good reputation did work. Put a bumper on it. Bumper fit sucked (aftermarket) and it’d literally had cut a wash mit it was so sharp on the edges. I told them I’m not happy, they took pictures and submitted for OEM. They told me to take my car home because it was drivable now, against what I wanted to do I just took my car.

Got in, found my windshield broken. Went back in, they claimed I dropped it off that way. We did a...
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Owen Lucas said:
There should not be any chance of the vehicle leaking, it's odd the body shop would say this. I'd take it to another shop that can easily and correctly fix this minor repair.

Is the diminished value team from the at fault insurance company?
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Cross insurers. I have (had at the time of collision) liberty. At fault is Safeco, same company.
 
dishdude said:
The car should be straight and leak free. If they're unable to repair it to pre-accident condition, push for the insurance company to buy it from you. Rear accident repairs are extremely difficult to repair correctly.
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Rather not even explore buying a car at this time. I was going to run this into the ground. It’s a 2017 Mazda before cylinder deactivation and turbo etc. They won’t give me enough to go flat out buy anything similar right now, or if so it’d be used with unknown history.
 
My friend works for these guys, I’ve never used them personally but they’re always posting on their FB page their stories, not always good or great news but then other times they get 10x more 🤷🏻‍♂️

~$600 is their fee if I remember correctly, and they’ll advise you if it’s not worth pursuing further for no cost.
https://collisionsafetyconsultants.us/
 
t1snwrbrdr12 said:
Cross insurers. I have (had at the time of collision) liberty. At fault is Safeco, same company.
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I'd see what their offer was.

Skippy722 said:
~$600 is their fee if I remember correctly, and they’ll advise you if it’s not worth pursuing further for no cost.
https://collisionsafetyconsultants.us/
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No offense to your friend but $600 is WAAAAAY too much for someone reviewing an estimate.

@t1snwrbrdr12 What was the damage amount and if you can share your VIN (DM me if you want), I can run some quick numbers and let you know what your diminished value range should be. I deal with these frequently.
 
Owen Lucas said:
I'd see what their offer was.


No offense to your friend but $600 is WAAAAAY too much for someone reviewing an estimate.

@t1snwrbrdr12 What was the damage amount and if you can share your VIN (DM me if you want), I can run some quick numbers and let you know what your diminished value range should be. I deal with these frequently.
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Are certain States excluded from diminished value claims from an accident ? I'm currently in the process of trying to recover money from a accident where I was rear-ended in a vehicle with 3000 miles . State farm was the insurer for the at-fault party and they're telling me they don't do this in Michigan .
 
I personally would not take DV in lue of making it right unless the DV offer was substantial (which is unlikely) The only state that allows DV on first party claims has a formula, that includes damage, mileage, and a damage modifier.

As with most things insurance statutes vary widely.
 
Owen Lucas said:
I'd see what their offer was.


No offense to your friend but $600 is WAAAAAY too much for someone reviewing an estimate.

@t1snwrbrdr12 What was the damage amount and if you can share your VIN (DM me if you want), I can run some quick numbers and let you know what your diminished value range should be. I deal with these frequently.
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Look, I take big metal chunks and make them smaller, to me insurance is all black magic and voodoo. They don’t just review it, this article explains it better

https://abc11.com/post/diminished-v...lt/16240852/#lcqlf001ucmvwda59ud0sde1wmyws74k
 
Owen Lucas said:
I'd see what their offer was.


No offense to your friend but $600 is WAAAAAY too much for someone reviewing an estimate.

@t1snwrbrdr12 What was the damage amount and if you can share your VIN (DM me if you want), I can run some quick numbers and let you know what your diminished value range should be. I deal with these frequently.
Click to expand...
Thank you. I sent a message.
 
scoot said:
Are certain States excluded from diminished value claims from an accident ? I'm currently in the process of trying to recover money from a accident where I was rear-ended in a vehicle with 3000 miles . State farm was the insurer for the at-fault party and they're telling me they don't do this in Michigan .
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Yes, every state is different. South Carolina law is very clear - but you have to ask for it - there not obligated to offer it. I did not even know what it was a decade ago when I had a non at fault claim.

However this is not a diminished value claim on its face. Diminished value is the resale value based on having a accident in the car's history. It seems the OP has a bigger issue - the car is not fixed. I am not sure where or how they intersect, but it seems like they owe diminished value plus.

It would appear to me that the car is not fixed.
 
Skippy722 said:
Look, I take big metal chunks and make them smaller, to me insurance is all black magic and voodoo. They don’t just review it, this article explains it better

https://abc11.com/post/diminished-v...lt/16240852/#lcqlf001ucmvwda59ud0sde1wmyws74k
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I read the article, and that situation is an outlier and most likely doesn't apply to OP as I presume he is in MD.

N.C. Statute allows the negotiation of DV between 2 licensed appraisers, so they can ignore the fact that the car has already had 2 accidents and focus on this larger case. What they agree on goes, so the ins co has no say.

In the majority of other states, the insurance company would stand behind the fact that the vehicles suffered DV from 2 prior accidents, especially with 2 hits on the CarFax. At that point, the stigma is established and the dealership would have low balled her trade in anyway. The dealer lowballing the vehicle $11k is way too much though and probably outside of rough trade-in values. Typical dealer sliminess but business as usual.

The $413 initially offered was go away money and some ins cos may completely deny the claim.

scoot said:
Are certain States excluded from diminished value claims from an accident ? I'm currently in the process of trying to recover money from a accident where I was rear-ended in a vehicle with 3000 miles . State farm was the insurer for the at-fault party and they're telling me they don't do this in Michigan .
Click to expand...

AFAIK there are none, but Michigan appears to have a $3k minimum tort limit. I've heard ins cos use this as a crutch to deny or limit claims, but maybe going through small claims court ($7000 limit) might get you better results?

Them telling you they don't do it in Michigan is a lie. I know for sure cases have been paid out in MI. I can also run some numbers for you, I'll need VIN, mileage, and damage amount. Feel free to DM me.
 
Ausfahrt said:
As much as we like our cars and trucks, they are just appliances and depreciating assets.

They weren't perfect when they rolled off the production line.
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So if the body shop does a completely unacceptable job I should just shrug my shoulders and say, "Oh well, it's just an appliance."? I'm sorry but I take pride in my cars and I strive to keep them in as new condition (which was how the buyer of my 2015 X1 described it). Shops that do a half •ss job may be good enough for you, but I simply won't tolerate incompetence.
 
The DV and poor quality repairs are 2 separate things. I got my FIL $3,500 for DV on a rear bumper repair of an AMG GT. He was thrilled and didn’t know it was even a thing.
 
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