Diminished Marauder value

[Joe Walsh]

I need help from any member who might know about "diminished value".
My Marauder got rear ended last November and is now repaired with new OEM parts.
Luckily, the idiot who hit me had insurance and they payed the $8,400+ bill.
I filed a claim with his insurance company for "diminished value" because my low mile (15k mile) Marauder now has a big accident on it's history.
They sent me a check for the "diminished value" of my Marauder because of the wreck.
I feel the amount is too low.
Does anyone know how an insurance company would calculate that diminished value amount?
BTW: They did not ask for before/after photos, nor inspect the car, I just filled out a form for diminished value and sent it in to them.
Does any member work for CARMAX and know how they would adjust the car's resale value?
( I have stopped by my local CARMAX to get an appraisal done, but they want me to leave it for 1 hour....
plus they would test drive it. That isn't going to happen.)
I'm trying to figure out just how much value my Marauder lost because of the accident.
Thanks for your help!

[Pops]

You need an independent appraiser if I remember right. It can be a big fight from what we have seen. Do not cash the check as that is saying you agreed to the offer!!!!

[Phrog_gunner]

I am going through the same thing from getting hit by a drunk driver last March. I would agree, though, don't cash the check and get an independent appraiser to estimate the depreciation due to the wreck.

[Joe Walsh]

Yep, I have held the check, uncashed, for a month now.
I remembered that if you deposit/cash it you have 'accepted their offer'.
I'll check out some local auto appraisers and contact a few.

[Black_Out]

Sorry to hear this, I would definitely fight for more money! Such a low mile MM :(

[justbob]

Hey Joe, we traded in Mel's old Mommyvan with ridiculous low mileage. It had a new door skin installed two years prior, thats all! They said they had found evidence of scratches on the frame from a frame machine and the value was dropped by 50%... They claim that nothing with alot of work or frame damage gets sold by them. B.S. Is that why my MM has had over 50% of the body repainted prior to me buying it back when she was only a year old? You will take a hard beating on price, no matter what the insurance tells you. Hope this helps.

[BAD MERC]

Anytime a hit like that shows up on Carfax - you'll play hell demanding a value for it.

[Bluerauder]

According to this site .... you could lose 15% to 50% of the value upon resale. I'd assume a middle of the road loss of about 33%. So, if your MM undamage is worth say $12,000, you would likely get only $8,000. In that case, your diminished value is $4,000 (or 1/3 of expected sales price).

Check Link here for an appraisal form >>>> http://www.autoappraisal.com/value.htm

Hope this helps ..... BTW KBB puts your Marauder at $12,585 retail in Excellent condition (so diminished value using the above 33% is $4153.05) :D Even using the bare minimum estimate of diminished value of 15% that's a loss of $1887.75. I suspect your true loss is somewhere between these figures.

[Joe Walsh]

According to this site .... you could lose 15% to 50% of the value upon resale. I'd assume a middle of the road loss of about 33%. So, if your MM undamage is worth say $12,000, you would likely get only $8,000. In that case, your diminished value is $4,000 (or 1/3 of expected sales price).

Check Link here for an appraisal form >>>> http://www.autoappraisal.com/value.htm

Hope this helps ..... BTW KBB puts your Marauder at $12,585 retail in Excellent condition (so diminished value using the above 33% is $4153.05) :D Even using the bare minimum estimate of diminished value of 15% that's a loss of $1887.75. I suspect your true loss is somewhere between these figures.

Thanks for the link Charlie, I just sent in a complete evaluation form for their review.

[Joe Walsh]

Update:

I contacted the guy's insurance company and advised them that their offer was not sufficient to cover my Marauder's diminished value.
They said that they couldn't do anything unless I submitted more evidence to support my claim...like a documented appraisal.

Then, the appraisal company that Charlie posted called me back based on my Email to them.
They quoted a diminished value range* of 5 -> 7 times the amount that I was offered!
I do have to drop $300 on a full appraisal, but they said that there is about a 60% chance that I will be reimbursed by his insurance company for my appraisal fee.
Even if I don't get back my appraisal fee, I've got a much better chance to get back the true value that I lost because of the accident.

*Exact amount couldn't be determined without an appraisal.

[Phrog_gunner]

Update:

I contacted the guy's insurance company and advised them that their offer was not sufficient to cover my Marauder's diminished value.
They said that they couldn't do anything unless I submitted more evidence to support my claim...like a documented appraisal.

Then, the appraisal company that Charlie posted called me back based on my Email to them.
They quoted a diminished value range* of 5 -> 7 times the amount that I was offered!
I do have to drop $300 on a full appraisal, but they said that there is about a 60% chance that I will be reimbursed by his insurance company for my appraisal fee.
Even if I don't get back my appraisal fee, I've got a much better chance to get back the true value that I lost because of the accident.

*Exact amount couldn't be determined without an appraisal.

Just in case the insurance company still stonewalls you, check your states laws about this. In NC I was told by my lawyer that if I have to sue them to get the depreciation that the insurance company must also pay for the related atty fees. This is NC's way of giving the insurance company an incentive to give the proper depreciation from the start. Your state's laws might have similar protections.

[LeoVampire]

According to this site .... you could lose 15% to 50% of the value upon resale. I'd assume a middle of the road loss of about 33%. So, if your MM undamage is worth say $12,000, you would likely get only $8,000. In that case, your diminished value is $4,000 (or 1/3 of expected sales price).

Check Link here for an appraisal form >>>> http://www.autoappraisal.com/value.htm

Hope this helps ..... BTW KBB puts your Marauder at $12,585 retail in Excellent condition (so diminished value using the above 33% is $4153.05) :D Even using the bare minimum estimate of diminished value of 15% that's a loss of $1887.75. I suspect your true loss is somewhere between these figures.


I am screwed seeing there is no one to go after unfortunatly. :shake:

[sailsmen]

I hope you get what you want. Unless it's a collectors car I think there is no such thing. Why? the market place does not recognize it. If it did there would be a category for virgin cars which would sell at a premium.

What the market place does recognize is cars that are not repaired or maintained properly.

I remember a friend who owned a large body shop years ago told that 50% of cars are in a wreck in the first 3 years.

[Vortex]

I was looking on Edmunds and an 04 with 15k miles retails for 11-12k according to them. Bummer.

[guspech750]

Oh! I know about "diminished value"!! My wife and I just finished a 3 1/2 year lawsuit today that dealt with this and then some............We won!!!

[sailsmen]

Wow a 3.5 year law suit over a car worth what $20K?

[LeoVampire]

Oh! I know about "diminished value"!! My wife and I just finished a 3 1/2 year lawsuit today that dealt with this and then some............We won!!!

I hope your happy with the setlement!

[guspech750]

Wow a 3.5 year law suit over a car worth what $20K?


I hope your happy with the setlement!
Oh yes. We are very happy. They claimed $23K. I might go ahead with some other more serious charges for jail time after all the "T's" are crossed and "I's" doted. It was a serious fraud case.
3 1/2 years of court back logs and them trying to settle for pennies on the dollar. F them. They did not stand a chance in court this week and all the evidence showed that.

[Motorhead350]

Why would you be concerned on the value of your car if it's already fixed? :rolleyes:

[justbob]

Becauase it will never be worth what it was! EVER. This is his rightfull compensation from what never was his fault. Good for you Joe, I hope you get every dollar you diserve.

[Big Black Beast]

But "value" only matters if he ever plans on selling it. Since I don't, my car is priceless, even though it's not worth what I paid for it.

[Mr. Man]

Any chance you can claim future losses if the car should ever become a true collectors item worth buku $$$$$? I only wonder because it is a limited production car as stipulated by Ford.

[Motorhead350]

My car isn't going to even be worth scrap value by the time I decide it needs a rest... before it's restoration.

[sailsmen]

Oh yes. We are very happy. They claimed $23K. I might go ahead with some other more serious charges for jail time after all the "T's" are crossed and "I's" doted. It was a serious fraud case.
3 1/2 years of court back logs and them trying to settle for pennies on the dollar. F them. They did not stand a chance in court this week and all the evidence showed that.

Something is seriously wrong with our court system to take 3.5 years over the value of a car worth ~$20K. It was a very inefficient way for both parties that ends up costing all of us more.

There has to be a better way.

[LeoVampire]

But "value" only matters if he ever plans on selling it. Since I don't, my car is priceless, even though it's not worth what I paid for it.

And a fire breaks out and ends up destroying the car. The house insurance isn't going to cover it for more than the KBB value and then they will do a report on the car as well see the accident it had and woops only a few thousand for a pay out.

Unless you have proof it was in awsome condition, pictures and an evaluation done they will stick it to you like most insurance company's.

[guspech750]

It wasnt just about the value. The biggest part was the fraud, misrepresentation, forgery, safety of my family, and the stealing of funds from us.

[ctrlraven]

KBB is a joke.

www.nadagudies.com

[NOMARQUIS]

There are no DV laws in WI. Basically, your f--ked if you live here. I'm surprised they didn't total your car with 8.5k in damage. I'd bet the insurance company could have got a good salvage return on your car and been better off in in the long run to total it. Even if you had to pay your deductible, you'd be better off to use your own insurance carrier. Usually they go to bat for you and the could have subrogated against the at fault driver's insurance to get your deductible reimbursed. Who knows what a "real" DV figure would be. If your car was repaired by a quality shop that did quality work, you should be fine. Lets face it, our stock paint jobs suck the bag, and your car probably looks better now than it did before the repairs. It seems like a lot of screwing around for a few grand. Remember it was an "accident." Its not like the jag-bag hit you on purpose. At least he had insurance. I wish you luck, hopefully you do get something out of all this mess.

[Red91LX]

And a fire breaks out and ends up destroying the car. The house insurance isn't going to cover it for more than the KBB value and then they will do a report on the car as well see the accident it had and woops only a few thousand for a pay out.

Unless you have proof it was in awsome condition, pictures and an evaluation done they will stick it to you like most insurance company's.


Actually, typical home owner's policies probably wouldn't cover any fire damage to a motor vehicle parked in the garage. The auto insurance policy covers it.

Years ago, I wanted to drop the auto insurance on a "collector" car while I stored it in my garage. I checked with the auto insurance company, and they advised me that the home owner's policy excludes any motor vehicles, and essentially if I dropped the auto insurance, the car wasn't covered for any loss while stored in my garage.

[Rocknthehawk]

Why would you be concerned on the value of your car if it's already fixed? :rolleyes:

Coming from a guy thats totalled his car twice and continually breaks/rags on it.

[LeoVampire]

Actually, typical home owner's policies probably wouldn't cover any fire damage to a motor vehicle parked in the garage. The auto insurance policy covers it.

Years ago, I wanted to drop the auto insurance on a "collector" car while I stored it in my garage. I checked with the auto insurance company, and they advised me that the home owner's policy excludes any motor vehicles, and essentially if I dropped the auto insurance, the car wasn't covered for any loss while stored in my garage.

They get you one way or the other in the long run I guess.

[Joe Walsh]

There are no DV laws in WI. Basically, your f--ked if you live here. I'm surprised they didn't total your car with 8.5k in damage. I'd bet the insurance company could have got a good salvage return on your car and been better off in in the long run to total it. Even if you had to pay your deductible, you'd be better off to use your own insurance carrier. Usually they go to bat for you and the could have subrogated against the at fault driver's insurance to get your deductible reimbursed. Who knows what a "real" DV figure would be. If your car was repaired by a quality shop that did quality work, you should be fine. Lets face it, our stock paint jobs suck the bag, and your car probably looks better now than it did before the repairs. It seems like a lot of screwing around for a few grand. Remember it was an "accident." Its not like the jag-bag hit you on purpose. At least he had insurance. I wish you luck, hopefully you do get something out of all this mess.

A lot of screwing around for a few grand!?...it was an accident...
Jeez...you are incredibly forgiving...you think that I should just be happy that my car was repaired and that's it??
Believe me, given a choice, I would much prefer to have my Marauder not hit nor damaged, but the "jag-bag" made that decision for me.
And now, his insurance company is going to re-imburse me for the reduced value of my Marauder because of their jag-bag's actions!
Diminished value is not some scam, it is an equitable compensation to the person who was financially impacted (no pun intended) by someone else's stupid actions.
I don't care if I only get $800*, I'm not going to take a nickel loss in the value of my Marauder because some jag-bag rearended me!

*BTW: It is substantially higher than $800.00!

[Bluerauder]

... and your car probably looks better now than it did before the repairs. It seems like a lot of screwing around for a few grand. Remember it was an "accident."

Obviously, you have never seen Joe's MM. :rolleyes:

Regardless of how well it was restored, Joe will never get its true value back by virtue of the fact that his MM is now damaged goods. Why should he eat any loss at all which might be in a range of $1500 to $5000. He should try to recoup as much as possible.

There's a reason for most accidents and most are caused by folks that probably shouldn't be driving in the first place. Others can be traced almost exclusively to driver error or driving too fast for conditions or poor vehicle maintenance. Far too many "accidents" nowadays are caused by distracted drivers having a :bs: conversation on the cellphone, texting, or checking their blackberry. I'll bet that the guy who rearend Joe was doing one of the above and just not paying attention to traffic ahead.

Accident my azz. :mad: Go git 'em Joe and recover as much of that value as possible.

[Big Black Beast]

Good luck Joe. I hope things work out for you. Insurance companies don't care abut you OR your car. It's all about the bottom line. The downside of Capitalism.

[Go2GuyFL]

Joe,

The more money you get the better it is for all of us. I'm glad you posted up as this is the first time I've learned of diminishing value. Go get 'em for all you can.