Last week my neighbor backed into my Maxima screwing up both doors on the right of my car. I just got my Max about 3 months ago with only 18,000 miles and it was flawless. Her insurance company will pay to have it repaired, but even if they do a great job, my car has still had body work (and painting). Anyone ever filed a diminishment of value claim after a wreck? How much has the value of my car diminished after being hit? Any suggestions?

 

first, welcome to the org!

second, that sucks

third, i would talk to your insurance company about that, it shouldn't really decrease the value because it wasn't like it has damaged the frame or anything, just make sure they fix it perfectly

 

Sorry to hear about your bad luck, there, Brock. I don't know of anyone who has filed a diminishment of value claim. It is an interesting thought, though. And, actually, skiboarder, it does diminish the value of the car, but it would be very hard to put an exact amount. For instance, let's say you have two similarly equipped cars, where the only difference is that one of the cars had been in an accident and had body and paint work done. Do you really think that they would sell for the same amount? I honestly don't think so, and for example, CarMax won't even take cars that have had a certain amount of body or paint work. That implies that they value cars that have been in accidents less. So, in reality, Brock should get reimbursed for the difference on what those two cars would sell for. The trouble, as I mentioned, is figuring out what that amount is. I'll ask around to some of my frineds who have been through the accident and insurance phase and see if they have any info to help you out, Brock.

Also, there is an .org member named Sam, whose screen name is ChiTwista, who is a claims agent for an insurance company and might have some suggestions for you. Sam actually just got assigned a claim that was from another .org member, so you might want to try and PM Chitwista.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out!

 

Thanks for the info, sheidt. I will try to contact Sam and see what he has to say. I am actually meeting with an adjuster Saturday from my neighbors insurance company...will let you guys know how everything turned out.