HELP with diminished value claim!
 

So... On Friday, I woke up and almost cried. I honestly thought I would get sick. Someone backed into my FR-S fairly hard. After recovering from sitting on the ground staring at it in horror, I took a bunch of photos. LUCKILY the individual had a sense of decency and left a very polite note with info. I work nights, so I walked outside at about 1730 after our insurance company had closed. Then the weekend. Here I am Monday, and I'm about to call and get the claim started. I will DEFINITELY be going for a diminished value claim- but have never done anything with insurance but pay it. Not even a ticket. So in short, things on my mind-



Anyone filed a DV claim in AZ, or know anyone who's filed claim of this sort have any connections in insurance etc.

> Do I file a DV claim before or after the vehicle is repaired?



Should I go through the highest recommended body shop in my area? Or through the large Yota dealers body shop?

> The local shop is rated 5/5 on every review I can find, most people r reviewing have had a few repairs completed. Toyota dealer is rated 4/5, but only has a single review I could find.





Rental car? - Can I expect an "equivalent" 2 door "sports" car, or will it be the standard car?

> I can only rent from Hertz, due to age restrictions. They have the "Adrenaline Collection" that includes a new Coyote 5.0.... Hopeful.



Some extra info, he hit the car pretty hard, I'll try and get up pictures, it will need a door and a fender. I haven't tried to open the door, but I'm expecting it will make crunching noises. Not by ANY means a body shop expert, but if I must guess- 2500-3500 ish in labor?

Things I'm going to get done if possible today.
-get a written offer for the vehicle in an undamaged condition. I could use some adds of anyone who knows of a USED BRZ/FR-S for sale.
-get a written offer for the vehicle in current, and a projected repair condition.
-get a repair quote from the dealer.

Anyone have ANY advice or suggestions here. Please- come all.

Sorry to hear this but at least the guy was decent about his blunder.

I'm a retired insurance claims manager but I retired in 1989 and that was back before diminished value became an item so I can't address that point. I will suggest you go to the best body shop you can locate. The fact that a dealership has a body shop doesn't mean they're any good. In fact, in most cases the independent body shop will do the best work. It does all boil down to the man doing the job and not where he works.

Unless the specific type of car you drive has an impact on your profession/business do not expect a similar type of car. If the type of car you drive does not effect your income they will only owe you transportation. It should be recent vintage and dependable as your car is.

Perhaps your dealership can give you a written statement telling what they would have given you for trade before the accident and how much they would now give you once the repairs are completed. I would guess the difference in the two figures would be a good starting point for your dv claim.

Good luck.

I had a Civic that was involved in a accident once. I also asked for diminished value because the repair bill was almost $7000.00. The other womans insurance said it should be no loss of value if the repair shop did excellent work and put it back "whole" in pre-accident condition.
I disagreed and got both Carmax and my Honda dealer to appraise it (and showed them the repair bill) after it was repaired. I showed the appraisals to the insurance company and we agreed on a $750.00 diminished value check. I never got lawyers involved even thought I probably could have gotten more $$$.
FYI check with your states insurance regulators. Some states handle these DV claims differently than others.

Interesting read:
http://www.insure.com/car-insurance/...car-value.html

This car gets backed into a lot o.o
Too low?

We need to get a really tall antenna.

It's good to know there are still good people out there (person leaving you the note). overall, it's a crappy situation. It's happened to me, and the other person left a note and claimed responsibility too (in Oakland!). I've never heard of a diminished value claim, so I can't say anything on that (also from Cali, if that makes a difference). But I'm sure other AZ'ers will chime in with help. Good luck!

Maybe I should of gotten orange?

I have only navigated the DV process in California, and it required I use case law from California, so I can't speak necessarily to Arizona.

First off, you'll want an appraiser. They know all about diminished value and the appraised loss is actually tax deductible, so it's typically worth it anyway... they also HEAVILY inflate the appraised amount. Plan $500 for this.

Long story short, few years back a guy had backed into my car. Allstate (his insurer) was refusing the diminished value claim. I took them (technically the guy as you have to sue the tortfeasor and not the insurance company) to small claims court and presented case law. The judge had actually never ruled in favor of a diminished value claim, but I walked out with a judgement for $7500. My best advice is to do your homework. Your legal requirement is to substantiate your loss. You are trying to prove that even though your car has been / will be repaired, you've lost money outside of depreciation.

I did something similar when my Wrangler was in a collision at only 6 months old. I was working for a law firm so I didn't have a reason to get lawyers officially involved but I still got their advice and it matches up to this idea. You'll want to write a very professional and fact based letter (have someone without emotional attachment to the issue read it through for you) then put in the supporting appraisals (make sure they are labelled and you reference the labels in the letter). I think I ended up with $800...needless to say I planned on keeping the vehicle til it dies so it was all profit.

Ask for diminished value and stigma damages.

Dimished value is the value lost because the car has non-original parts and has been repainted.

Stigma damages are the economic loss because your vehicle now has been in an accident and it is harder to sell a vehicle that has been on an accident. Basically, you would have to sell the are cheaper so that someone would want to buy a repaired vehicle.

I did not get an appraisal and I did not get a lawyer, but I did look up local case law and cited this in my letter, asking for both.

Sorry to hear and good luck

Use the best, most reputable bodyshop you can find. If there is a choice, chose one that works directly with your insurer - it will make it easier to get the repair done as no adjuster will need to be sent.


Your insurance policy probably has a cap on total rental. A more expensive car means you will hit that cap quicker.

Many insurance policies only pay 80% of the rental rate as well.

Keep these in mind when you select your rental. Especially with parts delays for BRZ/FR-S you may be in a rental longer than you expect.

I got T-Boned about a month and a half ago and the insurance handled the DV claim. Not sure if VA has different laws from AZ but I would assume they should. If not, an estimate from three different places (Car dealer you bought from, a body shop and a third dealer whom will appraise the car with it being damaged). If I remember correctly, that's the work you will need to do to obtain a DV if the insurance isn't very cooperative.

Best of luck. Hope events turn out to your favor.

Thank you all for your input. From what I can tell, it's all up to my company so far. I will go and get three quotes if possible before the adjuster comes out, as I believe he will also be the one to initially quote the DV. I will laugh if he gives me an off of 500$ or something. If the purchase offers/appraisals show ~18k, (which I expect they will,) I do expect to get the difference out of it. I've been fairly clear with my insurer I will pursue small claims if this happens. I am doing my best now to find some used ones for sale, but there's only a fewer, even fewer in A/T. The one I did find being sold at a dealer was listed for like 24k I think with slightly less miles. So I feel a pre damage worth of 23k is a good starting point. I will do my best to get this in writing as well. Thanks for the advice with the body shop! I will get more than one quote for body work as well, and I do believe I will avoid the dealer... My experience with persons working at said dealer was less than satisfactory... Hence my owning an A/T. Anyhow. Right now I'm just waiting for an update, as they basically need to get "his story" aka get him to file the claim and accept responsibility for it, since I don't have rental reembursment on my policy? Stupid. Anyhow. I hope to have the Miata running this week anyways, so hopefully I get to drive that little POS, I kinda miss it. I don't intend to make money here, just enough to cover losses if I ever trade in the car, because I'm already upside down due to some carried over negative equity.

My rental agreement has always been $900, 30 days max, $30 a day max which is generally good for a Pontiac Sunfire...you'll love it, it is almost identical to your current ride ;)

Like the others said, what you chose when you got your insurance(you do know you can hand pick the values) will dictate what you can afford. I could have paid the daily difference to upgrade, so can you.