Accident advice need

[comancheflight]

I hate it when someone replies to a post and say they don't have an answer to your question BUT...well this is close but I'm going to say I was told by my auto body repair place your exact senerio. He said with all of his repairs some of his clients do the following. They check to see if their VIN number shows up on any of the Web based auto sites like carfax. He told me that he knows of two that called the insurance companies after their car showd up and basically negotiated a settlement rather than suing them over depreciated value. He said they got (I think) around $3K. But wasn't a gazillion dollar truck I'm guessin.
He also said some insurance companies are stopping the turning over of information for that reason.
Again, just what he told me about 6 months ago..
:confused3:

 

[comancheflight]

2 minutes searching I found this:
Make a diminished value claim | CarInsurance.com

 

[turnkey4099]

Nice older woman from Indiana with a little white dog was tailgating.


If you cannot stop in time to avoid hitting the car in front of you, you are following too closely. Period.

Which, from what I see on thre road, is about 90% of all drivers out there. Very rarely do I see a vehicle following another at anywhere near the recommended space between therm.

 

[kennyd]

I went through much the same issue about four years ago with a new Toyota Corrolla with only 6k miles, I was hit in the rear and had about 12k in damage by the time it was fully repaired-initially estimated at about 9k so it was not totaled.
I actually hired a specialist on my own to assist in my diminished value claim, and while I can't specifically remember the exact numbers now, I do remember it was very beneficial once everything was settled.

 

[Clint S]

We went through this a few years ago too, a little different scenario. We were driving to trade a 4 yo vehicle in and a 80yo lady pulled right out in front of us. We clipped her, it was her fault , Yada Yada . Needless to say 12 k car had 5500 in damage so not totaled and our 11k trade in went to $7500. We filed a claim , but gave up after a while of getting the run around.

 

[LD1]

What you do is up to you......but I think you really have two options...

1. loose your tail trading it in or selling it. Not only do you have the diminished value of it being in a pretty serious accident, but the diminished value of the depreciation.

2. Keep it for the long haul. Use a good shop or the dealer for repairs so you will know they will stand behind their work. The "diminished value" of a vehicle that has been in an accident diminishes over time. Someone looking at a nearly new truck, with low miles.....being in an accident is a real big deal. And likely to steer a customer away. Looking at a 15 year old truck with 150k miles......the fact that it was in an accident 15 years ago holds alot less weight.

If you are one to trade vehicles often, I'd do it now and get it behind you. IF you are normally one to keep a vehicle for the long haul, I'd stick with it, and make the dealer or shop fix the truck "right" even if it takes several trips. Cause 10-15 years down the road, the "diminished value of being in an accident" isnt gonna make much difference in the trucks value.

In either option though, certainly file the diminished value claim.

 

[check]

We went through this a few years ago too, a little different scenario. We were driving to trade a 4 yo vehicle in and a 80yo lady pulled right out in front of us. We clipped her, it was her fault , Yada Yada . Needless to say 12 k car had 5500 in damage so not totaled and our 11k trade in went to $7500. We filed a claim , but gave up after a while of getting the run around.

In Ontario, you would get nothing for diminished value.

 

[EarPlug]

As a victim, all you are entitled to is to be returned to a "pre accident condition". Proving the dollar amount of Diminished Value is the challenge i.e. What is the Diminished Value Today? 3 Years from now? 5 Years? It can be argued that you have not lost any value until you actually sell. As a victim, all you are entitled to is to be returned to a "pre accident condition".

In your case, since the truck is only 2 weeks old, calculating the Pre Damage value should be easy to calculate. Ask a couple of Dealer what they would be willing to pay you for a trade on a no damaged condition. Then, ask for a price post damage/repair. The difference is your Diminished Value. You will probably need to wait until after the repairs to get this done.

This isn't going to be easy and you WILL lose money.

 

[EddieWalker]

Whatever you do, be sure to not accept the first offer from the insurance company. The longer you hold out, the more pressure they are under to get it settled.

 

[AchingBack]

Deduct the loss on your tax return as a business expense.