Diminished Value

[96 Vortec]

My truck was rear ended and the frame got a little kinked. On the repair authorization from the ins. company they listed "Frame Straightening". I intend to sell or trade the truck within a month of picking it up from the body shop. What kind of diminished value can I expect on my truck. It was near fully loaded 96 K1500 Ext cab with 100,300 miles. It was in very clean shape with the exception of a stain on carpet under the back seat. The only blemish on the outside is a ding in the driver's door. Other than that, there were no cosmetic or mechanical faults to the truck.

 

Anybody have any tips or advice on how to convince the ins. company that they need to pay me diminished value?

[Shaners]

As long as the truck was not given an "R" title, you are OK. The problem lies if someone does a Carfax report, the damage will show up...

[bassdog]

Trade it in, plain and simple. It becomes the dealers problem if they don't ask or find out about it.

 

I wouldn't touch a vehicle that has had frame damage, but that's just my preference.

[99-2door]

Anybody have any tips or advice on how to convince the ins. company that they need to pay me diminished value?

you must not have much experience with insurance companies.

[96 Vortec]

I have experience. I just suck at negotiations. I tend to loose my cool and start yelling. This is the third time someone has hit this truck. I lost my last truck because someone was driving too fast in the fog. I lost the vehicle before that because some lady didn't look both ways before pulling out. Dammit, I'm tired of getting hit by stupid drivers.

 

And believe me, all of the above instances were unavoidable or I would still be driving my white truck or the 86 Monte Carlo SS that I lost before that.

[sonjaab]

96........Check over to http://www.edmunds.com

Go to the "smart shopper" thread there in the forums.

The auto sales guys can advise ya on how to get the most

outta your truck from the ins. co. and how to go about

the diminished value route also!.....................geo

[foghorn23]

I had a similar experience with a leased car a couple of years ago. My wife had a Subaru Outback sedan with 16K miles and an oncoming truck made a left turn in front of me; didn't even have time to hit the brakes. Clearly his fault.

 

The damages were about $6300 and was in excess of 25% of the car's value. The car was fixed and I filed with the other guy's insurance for diminished value. They said the general rule was for 20% of the damages. They offered me around $1200 and since the car was leased I took it on the spot (it was around Christmas time)

 

My state's DMV (North Carolina) was helpful; you might want to give your state a call or better yet look at its website. Also I know I had 30 days from the date my car was fixed to file a diminished value claim. (This probably varies from state to state) Finally, I was told the newer your car the more likely you are to collect diminished value. Do just a little research and good luck.

 

Vroten

[kaspar139]

I had never heard of this Diminished Value thing? It makes perfect sense, but that's news to me... does anyone in Texas know if we have that kind of law?

[TPN]

I had an "experience" with diminution of value about 3 years ago . . . . it is definitely a negotiable issue with the insurance company, and don't let them make you think otherwise!!!

 

I called several dealerships and simply asked what they felt they could sell my vehicle for pre-accident & post accident. My situation also included a bent frame, and the differences were substantial. I took the 2 largest variations, requested them in writing from the dealerships & presented them to the insurance company. They bucked it at first, but after much persistence & the threat of referring the situation to an attorney, they paid pretty close to what I asked for.

 

Diminution of value absolutely is a reimbursable cost associated with an accident . . . . how much less will someone pay for a vehicle that had a bent frame or was involved in an accident?? That is the amount that you should look for reimbursement of.