Looking for independent appraiser (diminished val)

[dparm]

Long story made short: someone hit my mom's car and we need to pursue a diminished value claim. I need to find a reputable independent appraiser to survey the damage in the Chicago area.

I hate to just pick the first result in Google or to spend hours reading through Yelp reviews on this. Thanks in advance.

 

[bigt61]

All you need is a body shop appraisal of the damage and then have a car dealer give you his opinion of the lost value after repair. CarMax around here gives free used car value appraisals.

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: bigt61
All you need is a body shop appraisal of the damage and then have a car dealer give you his opinion of the lost value after repair. CarMax around here gives free used car value appraisals.



Yes, that's what I've read too. These indy appraisers will give you more details and do the research for you, basically.

I'm wondering what's going to happen when the insurance company is approached about this. Does it go against our policy, or the other person's?

 

[dishdude]

Was the other driver found to be at fault?

http://www.diminishedvalueadvocate.com/

 

[SatinSilver]

The claim goes against the at fault party's insurance company. This is in Ohio since some states have a no fault type insurance in place for automobiles.

I had zero luck doing this when someone hit my dad's car in a parking lot. Actually a truck backed into it causing $3600 in damage. The only way the dealer would give an estimate of the lowered value would be if he was looking to trade it in. He kept it a few more years and traded it in. The issue never came up about the car being damaged when trading it in. The dealer's body shop did the repair work and did a very good job repairing it.

 

[dparm]

The other driver admitted fault and was cited. Illinois is an at-fault state. Both drivers have the same insurance company, but different agents -- that is what has me the most concerned. From what I have read, the insurance companies will typically lowball the [censored] out of you if you mention DV, and the instant you tell them you'll take them to court, they stop talking to you and refer you to the legal department.

Obviously it's in their interest to make it difficult to pay out, but there are a lot of lawyers who do nothing but stuff like this and streamline the process.

 

[nobb]

I am dealing with a similar problem, and I am in Canada.

Do dealers give you a formal print out of the accident value when you go in to "trade" your vehicle? You do need some way of proving your claim amount. Getting this "expert evaluation" would be critical to your claim and is the most difficult part.

It is likely you would have to file a small claims against them to get DV. Hopefully the other company would accept an out of court settlement, as that would be faster. Even if the case gets brought up in court, there is still a chance it gets rejected depending on the judge or if you don't have your facts straight.

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: nobb

Do dealers give you a formal print out of the accident value when you go in to "trade" your vehicle? You do need some way of proving your claim amount. Getting this "expert evaluation" would be critical to your claim and is the most difficult part.

It is likely you would have to file a small claims against them to get DV. Hopefully the other company would accept an out of court settlement, as that would be faster. Even if the case gets brought up in court, there is still a chance it gets rejected depending on the judge or if you don't have your facts straight.



It depends on the dealership. Places like CarMax will give you a comprehensive report (in writing) of why they valued your car as such. They can list things like "needs four new tires", "car has been in rear-end collision", and so on. If the car's accident was serious enough that a CarFax/Autocheck report shows the collision, that is ammunition that the value has decreased.

You are correct though that substantial research is necessary to prove your diminished value. The insurance companies do not benefit by paying out a DV claim. The trick is to find that line between fair/reasonable and greedy/unreasonable. Some insurance companies seem to be difficult in this regard and always tell you to pound sand, which would mean you have to get a lawyer and take them to court.

It's an uphill battle, but not an impossible one.