azmojo

I'm looking for advice experience with loss of value payments and loss of use/rental arrangements for a $50k car like my IS350 F-Sport.

Other driver 100% at fault, insured with American Family.

Had the car for exactly 17 months:

Jbreezie

Ouch, at least you're okay and alive!

bucanero

Man, that is a sore sight. Sorry for your loss, hope all is well and you get back on the road. Godspeed!

steveo55

for reals glad you are ok. Get a lawyer as soon as possible! He will guide you on what to do. make sure you take it to a dealership to get it fixed. If his insurance doesnt offer rental your insurance can help. Anything his insurance wont cover yours picks it up. Your insurance will not go up since its not your fault.

salvadorik

iTrader: (1)

Ok. Bad that it happened and good that you are ok. Here is what u need to do:

1. Contact their insurance and get the appraisal on the repair. Choose the reputable body shop in u area and get the appraisal from them as well. Preferably get two three appraisals from expensive body shops and show to the insurance company the most expensive appraisal and get the check from them. From there u decide where to fix and how much to pay. You get my point here.
2. After u fix ur car or while it is being fixed, search for a good diminished value appraiser. He will provide u with a good report and with a number for diminshed value. Send the report to the insurance company. Insurance will first low ball u, don't accept that. Bargain with and tell them if they dont give that amount then you wil take their client to the small claims court. They will give after that your asked amount. Trust me been there done that. Get the check and enjoy ur life.

Please note all of the above stated assumes the car is not totaled. Of course if u can get it totalled this is the best case scenario for u. Also please note that my post servies as a source of information. I don't suggest u anything and i dont tell u what to do. Everthing u do is at ur own will. Good luck.

CtSFox

Another option for you:

File an insurance claim with your insurance carrier under your collision rights (assuming you have collision your car). Then your insurance carrier subrogates with the insurance carrier of the offending party. Your deductable is refunded to you once the subrogation is complete.

I have always used this method under the circumstnces you presented. This way I avoid the hassle of negotiating myself with the offending party's carrier and get the car fixed where I want, get my rental, with no argurment. Of course, the othr party gets the accident "charged" to his record regardless, so your rates do not go up if you claim on your own policy first.

azmojo

Does anyone have any idea what the diminished value would be, rough estimate?

waxy

I had someone rear end me on New Years Eve at 11:45PM, I was with my girlfriend in bumper to bumper traffic on i80 San Francisco Toll Plaza coming back from Napa.

The damage wasn't extreme, it ended up being a lot less worth than I imagined, being in the evening and all. The other party has yet to respond back to their phone calls after being over a month. My insurance called me back, Farmers (Their insurance too) and informed me to get the estimate and get the repair done, it's on them. I don't have to pay a dime. They asked if I wanted a check to select my own body shop, or have them recommend me.

What you'll have to do is get your vehicle repair quoted after you collected all the information from your driver. Personally I do not exchange mine if I know for a fact it is not my fault. I'll only exchange it when there is a police officer on site and writes a police report, then I'll provide the information. I'm an a$$ hole because there are shady a$$ people out there that twist the story around with lies just to cover their end.

I've been into several accidents, last year 3 accidents and non were my fault, ended up going through arbitration because the other party objected to the outcome. I mean, you hit me, why do I have to give you my information so you can tell lies to my insurance company. I'll take your information and tell my insurance the story and you can tell them what happened.

If your car is totaled, they'll pay you the KBB value. Since it looks like only the trunk is damaged and hopefully not the chassis they'll repair it. They'll go over it with you and if it is a total loss, they'll write you a check for the value of the car. Mine was appraised for 38k-40 but fortunately the damage was minor and I can leave with it.

No matter how well you drive, how careful you are, there is always an idiot that doesn't pay attention and slams into you.

azmojo

Thanks, I've got everything figured out. The car has been dropped off at the repair shop of my choice. Preliminary estimate is $6k but they say that will increase after they tear into it.

From what I can tell before the accident it was worth $38-40k with 17900 miles on it. It was a special order RWD F-sport w/all options including rear window shade and Pre-Collision, Mark Levinson.

I understand that I have to wait for it to be repaired to get the appraisal for the diminished value. I would like to know what to expect, if it will be like $1k or $5k since the vehicle's record is tarnished. If it's high enough, I will just go order a 2015 and sell this one.

salvadorik

iTrader: (1)

Hire a professional diminished value appraiser. He will provide you with a third party professional opinion and he will suggest what the diminished value is. His service costs around $200-$400 depending on the reputation of the appraiser. Without a third party report it will be extremely hard to receive a fair amount from an insurance company. Insurance company will ask for this report anyways. Expect some negotiation and it wont usually be settled at first attempt. There will be two to three attempts to settle. You may even get to the point where you file with small claims court and insurance will agree to pay before the hearing. Just don't accept the check right away. You need bargain and always demand written communication from an insurance claim handler. In my estimate the best you will get is around $5K and the least is $3K. Dont accept anything below $3K.

waxy

Personally, I would sell it because once a vehicle gets into an accident, it is cursed.
On top of that, the value of the vehicle diminishes due to an accident report.
Difficult to have nice things you paid yourself, only to find out some idiot texting on the freeway rams into you with their 1989' Chevy Pickup truck.

I'm sure you can trade it in to the dealership, but they'll pay you a much lower price than you expect, although it should guarantee trade in/credit.
Selling it yourself may be very difficult, but in the end has a higher yield.

azmojo

I think things might work out that I can convince someone to overlook the accident history for a small discount on the price by convincing them it's not that bad. All-in-all, it could have been worse. The engine and suspension are untouched. The key is getting a bigger diminished value pay off than actual discount I give on selling it. I have had good luck selling cars myself in the past, I keep them pristine.

Also, I think they guy was just young and made a mistake, not drunk or distracted just young. Sometimes it's hard to tell the brake lights on the freeway mean traffic is coming to a stop rather than just slowing down. I did the same thing 15 years ago.

Here are more and better pictures.

SOLEJDM

Hi, I'm a liability adjuster for a major insurance company. I have a few questions and a few pointers.

1) Who are you insured with?
2) What are your coverages with your insurance company?

- First off, DON'T DEAL WITH AMERICAN FAMILY. I work with every single auto insurance company daily and by far the most difficult adjusters to deal with are from American Family, Fred Loya, and Access General.
- You won't need a lawyer unless someone in your car got hurt. Getting one for property damage only is a waste and they'll take 35% of your damages.
- For Diminishment of Value (DOV) claims, you don't necessarily need to do the work on your own. Request to speak to the Auto Damage Adjuster's supervisor or manager as they have the authority to pay DOV claims. What everyone else is saying is true, insurance companies will lowball you when it comes to DOV claims, but if it is proven, they are obligated under tort law to pay.
- It's always best to file through your own insurance company and have them subrogate the at-fault party. They can send any out-of-pocket expenses along as a courtesy with their subrogation demand and most often than not, all damages are paid.

If you have any other questions, let me know

azmojo

Thanks SOLDJM.
I'm confused about the DOV claim. You say I don't need to the work but they must pay if it is proven. So it seems I must prove the DOV, and the only way to do that would be with a DOV appraiser, right? If I rely on AmFam's DOV appraisal it is likely to be low.

If what you say is correct, is there no reason not to get the full DOV appraisal value? As others have said they will try to low ball or settle on a lower number - but if the number is proven with a DOV appraisal, that is the amount they must pay I would think, I just have to stick it out.