Derf00

Diminished value is not RETAIL value Insurance is not going to pay what the car would be worth new-damage. The equation above is similar to what most insurance companies use. $845 is what the car would lose in value five years from now when you go to trade-it in...If you trade it in two years of course your diminished value would be higher because the car is newer.

They take into account the average length of time people keep a car. (I believe 5 years is their standard) That's why I have a hard time leasing cars or doing loans for longer than 5 years...cars are liabilities.

dmhines

That is the exact formula they used according to my insurance rep ... They valued my car $19,000 - had 11,300 miles on it ... littleframe damage... lots bod body damage ...

scr

I appraise cars for diminished value after they have been wrecked and repaired. Perhaps I can help you. There are many factors that cause a car to lose value when it's been crashed. One of the main ones is the loss of manufacturer's transferable warranty. You paid for this warranty(included in the sticker)when you bought your car, and having it makes your car moreappealing and valuable. You may also transfer it to a subsequent buyer if you sell your car. Now that your car has been crashed the warranty on affected parts is voided, even though they may have been replaced with new Ford parts during reconstruction. The body shop's warranty will not be transferable or equal to what you had through the manufacturer. So, youmust be paid for this loss in addition to the cost of repairs to be made whole. This is one example of many losses you suffer.

When allfactors causing lossare considered, an average crash on a $20k car with $10k damages results in about a $6k DV. Some more, some less, depending on the type of car it is and the condition. High end cars, as you might guess,suffer the most diminished value.

For more information, check out this slideshow on diminished value and let me know if I can help you. you'll find contact information on the website.

David Williams
www.SafeCollisionRepairs.com

331StrokerFox

Wow, dmhines, all that for a V6? Mach 1 Stickers?And a GT500 conversion? You are the reason that Mustang Drivers have a bad name.

scr

You are referring to Georgia's 17c formula which was used as a basis to settle diminished value claims in a class-action case, Maybry v State Farm. This method is very favorable for insurance companies so they keep trying to use it as a means of minimizing their losses, not just in GA but in all states where they must pay DV. Truth is,in GA the 17c formula may be used in the absense of any other methods of calculation, but it is not considered the gospel by the courts, only by insurers who save money by using it. If your expert presents other credible information, itshould be given more weight than the 17c formula.

David Williams
Diminished Value Expert

stangdude81

Not necessarily. The majority of body shops out there do NOT report to carfax. It's extra work that they are not required to do. IMO carfax is a joke, the only ones who do report are dealerships. I always thought insurance companies report to them, but I was wrong. I bought my last car with a clean carfax. When detailing it, I found some overspray and started investigating, turns out it had been wrecked in the front and was on it's second bumper and header panel. I also was in a wreck that almost totalled the car. Got it fixed better than when I bought it and traded it off two years later for the Mustang. When I traded it in, the dealer remarked on the clean carfax. I told him it had been wrecked (bonehead move on my part but he had already told me a trade price so I wouldn't budge off of that) and he said it didn't matter if the carfax was clean it'd be my little secret.

dmhines

Mustang Drivers have a bad name? News to me ... go preach your self-centered gospel in somebody elses thread ...

scr

DV is an element of loss that occurs at the moment of impact. That's when a car goes down in value. If an insurer accepts liability for paying, generally speaking, it must pay for all the loss, not part of it. In other words, to pay for repairing bent fenders and other actual physical damages (one element of loss) without paying for other elements of loss like diminished value, loss warranties etc that occured at the same time during the same occurance would fail to indemnify (make whole) an accident victim.

When we calculate losses for diminished value, unless there are unusual circumstances we use the date of loss as a basis. Using your logic an insurer could also make you wait 5 years to get your car fixed when it could limit its losses bytapping in to a plentiful supply ofused parts etc. which might not be available for cars wrecked in the first few months of ownership.

Granted, many insurers tell you that you can't file a DV claim until you sell your car, but that is simply a lie that they use to trick people and reduce claims payouts. The reality is that DV is an element of the same claim that's paying for repair of the vehicle, not a separate claim. As such, it becomes payable at the same time and you don't have to sell your car to collect.

Remember, it's your car and nobody can make you do something with it you don't want to do - and that includes going to a shop recommended by an insurance company. Just for fun, turn your sound up and check out Cheapest Way Body Shop.

David Williams
Diminished value expert

JRT1

Care to elaborate on this pointless comment?
What has he done wrong?
He didn't ask to be hit by a bone headed fool,he didn't ask to have his car smashed to shiit, all he wants is his car repaired correctly and compensated for his losses.
I find no fault with this at all.
$845 for DV is a joke, don’t cash the check dude.
Call the insurance company and tell them they are way off base.

dmhines

The problem is ... all these diminished value companies seem like a scam to me ... I was posting on here to hope somebody would chime in that they had luck getting a decent amount of money for DV. The only evidence I have seen are testmonials on their websites. Even here in my thread ... a DV appraisal company comes on and explains all of the same information that is available anyplace on the internet and then advertises his companies website. If these places were legitimate they would take no money up front and take 25% of the money they make you. So far I have found they want $350 - $375 up front with no guarantees... then additional money if they have to negotiate for you or go to court and testify. If it walks and talks like a duck ...