Diminished value

[Guest]

I have a 2000 C4 Cabriolet. My wife was driving it a week or so ago and an old fellow pulled out in front of her. She did all she could to avoid him and the report says he was at fault. The Front end including the hood and headlights were destroyed and along with a front q-panel the bumper and all is going to need to be replaced. The dealer is esimating 4.5 hours on the frame machine. I believe the car will be repaired well, but none the less it is wrecked now.

I am going to go after the Insurance company for Diminished value, which is part of Alabama law to make me whole. I paid an estimator to compare it with three like cars value before and after the wreck. This is the first time I have done DV, they estimate it knocked the value of my car down 17k. Has anyone ever claimed this before. How likely is State Farm to pay it, should I demand all of it or expect to be bargained with?

Both parties have State Farm insurance.

Any tips would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Izzy]

I have and idea. My brother-in-law recently traded in his 2003 C4 for a BMW 645 (he is getting old). He had a head-on collision and the same dealer who sold him the 645 repaired the Porsche, so they where aware of the accident, and how "well" it was fixed.

During negotiations, he tells me that they knocked off $15-18K for the accident, felt bad since he only had 13Kmiles on it, and the car was perfect.

So my idea is to contact a dealer or two and ask for trade-in value for your car, then ask what would be the reduced value from the accident. Does www.KBB.com have anything like that also?

[Guest]

I have and idea. My brother-in-law recently traded in his 2003 C4 for a BMW 645 (he is getting old). He had a head-on collision and the same dealer who sold him the 645 repaired the Porsche, so they where aware of the accident, and how "well" it was fixed.

During negotiations, he tells me that they knocked off $15-18K for the accident, felt bad since he only had 13Kmiles on it, and the car was perfect.

So my idea is to contact a dealer or two and ask for trade-in value for your car, then ask what would be the reduced value from the accident. Does www.KBB.com have anything like that also?

Good idea, and my Porsche dealer has offered to estimate this for me as you describe, but I believe the companay I used that is a certified appaisel company is higher on the DV than the dealer will be from what they told me. So I am going to try and ram the larger one down State farms throat and see what happens. From all I have read on the issue, it is part of the claim in Alabama and most people just never ask about it so they keep it hush, hush.

The guy that hit my wife was 90 and really had no buisness being on the road, so I believe I have a good case if I need to get a lawyer. I hope they want push me that far, but for this kind of money i'll give it a shot.

[Kim]

Can't speak to Alabama law, but Georgia insurers use a state approved formula .... fairly complex .... based upon average resale value (as established from local classifieds), extent of damage, age of car, etc. They then pay 33% of the formula result.

If an insured wishes to claim more than the standard formula produces (e.g. your estimate from a professional appraiser), then its time for lawyers.

Good luck,

[Izzy]

And I forgot to ask the most important question, is your wife okay?

[akif]

And I forgot to ask the most important question, is your wife okay?

Same question here. I hope she's fine.

I read somewhere that to really get the true diminished value is to sell your car immediately. I'm going from memory, so may be off-base a little bit, but the gist that I got was:

By selling your car right away, the fall in the sale price is/can be added to the repair value.

[Guest]

Yes the wife and dog are fine. I believe the Porsche performed very well in protecting here, she was able to deselerate very fast, thank god for those big boy brakes.

[Sboxin]

Glad the wife and dog are fine -- air bag or not?

I am in the DV process now (accident on 1/1/06). Lawyer says it takes 6-9 for litigation, but hope to get more than the allsnake 2500 offer they made after my appraisal of 11K DV (40% of retail value). Boxster front damage and frame work also.

The car actually looks a lot better because of the repainted front than before the damage.

There are other experiences reported on the Web boards of not using a lawyer and getting the insurance company to pay about half of the real DV by pressure technics (letter to other driver , cc to insurance, about suit pending if HE didn't pay the DV, etc.)

Our lawyer does only personal injury and auto claims including DV. This is a new area for litigation and our guy seems to have decided to pursue the DV claims for a 40% fee. If I get more than 2500 and set a precedent here in AZ I will be satisfied. This lawyer works in other states too, if you would like a name send an Email.

Good luck,

Ed

[Guest]

Glad the wife and dog are fine -- air bag or not?

I am in the DV process now (accident on 1/1/06). Lawyer says it takes 6-9 for litigation, but hope to get more than the allsnake 2500 offer they made after my appraisal of 11K DV (40% of retail value). Boxster front damage and frame work also.

The car actually looks a lot better because of the repainted front than before the damage.

There are other experiences reported on the Web boards of not using a lawyer and getting the insurance company to pay about half of the real DV by pressure technics (letter to other driver , cc to insurance, about suit pending if HE didn't pay the DV, etc.)

Our lawyer does only personal injury and auto claims including DV. This is a new area for litigation and our guy seems to have decided to pursue the DV claims for a 40% fee. If I get more than 2500 and set a precedent here in AZ I will be satisfied. This lawyer works in other states too, if you would like a name send an Email.

Good luck,

Ed

Please send email, any information you have would be appreciated.

Thanks,