Diminished Value
 

I was wondering if anyone out there has tried to get a Diminished Value claim from their insurance company.

I was backed into a couple months ago by a delivery truck. I just finished getting all of the bodywork done on their insurance. I was told once the work was finished I could try to claim diminished value on my vehicle.

The people at faults insurance company Safeco said they do pay out Diminished Value even though they don't have to. They gave me a formula for figuring out my DV, called the Georgia formula, based on a court case from there.

The Georgia formula is very lame. According to it although I have had $7000 damage to my car the diminished value is only about $700. What a load of garbage. I have noticed a number of websites that say DV can be anywhere from 10-25% of a cars value. The insurance company asked me for a number and I said 10k, they have not responded.

Should I pay a shop in Washington to give me a report for $350 or is it worth it?

There must be some lawyers out there. Help.

How extensive was the damage? If you just need a new bumper cover and paint I really don't think you have any dimished value...I believe that only applies where there is significant damage which involved many replacement parts (even if OEM parts are installed). Sounds like you had a minor tap with no real significant damage.

$7000 bill, hood replaced, radiator remounted, bumper replaced, minor structural damage. The car is still worth significantly less money now. I can't sell it for the 47k it books at.

Your car had $7K worth of damage and DV is $700. So, that means they are paying for the $7K damage repair AND an additional $700 for the DV, right?

Am I understanding this correctly?

I claimed DV years ago when my RX-7 Vert was crunched. They increased my check by about $700 - At the time, the car (unmolested) was worth around 7K.

Wow more damage than I thought, in that case I would try to squeeze as much out of them as possible and it may be worth it to contact an independent motor vehicle property damage appraiser and let him run some numbers for you, he may charge you a couple hundred but it could be worth it if he can significantly increase the DV on your vehicle and help you get more $$.

Update, I have been away for awhile.

Safeco engaged a 3rd party to establish DV of vehicle.

They have there own formula, but still didn't get the numbers correct. Here it is:

Notice the Mileage multiplier is incorrect. I also got new figures on the repair total. It is now just under $9000 instead of $6453. I also told them the NADA value should be from the day of the loss, not they day he ran the formula. I am sure it's at least a difference of $1000

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c3...ler/DVCalc.jpg

Yes, that is in addition to the repairs and rental car

You can file the DV claim through your own insurance (most big insurance companies offer DV) and then subrogate against their insurance. You only have $7K in damage that is not much these days. I would guess you could get maybe $3K tops on your DV claim.

Same insurance company represents both parties, and the damage ended up being just short of $9k