Some kid backed into the side of my parked car last weekend. The other person's insurance is paying for the damage but the auto body guy said I could get a diminshed value payment from his insurance company after the repairs are made. The reason for the payment is because, even if repaired perfectly, the accident gets reported in the vehicle history and I will get less for the car when I sell it because of services like CarFax.

Has anyone been successful getting a diminished value payment? What did you have to do?

12/28/2006 7:44:02 AM

not live in NC they don't really care here.

in california where everyone sues if you get hit in a pos work 3k you'll still get 20k

12/28/2006 7:45:37 AM

hello, welcome to my current world.

I got in to an accident a few weeks ago, girl's fault--she pulled out in front of me and i slammed on my brakes to avoid it, but no such luck. Her ins co is Nationwide (not on your side). My car is currently in my parents' name, but we had planned that in January to put the title in my name (that's when my insurance payments would drop) and I was going to purchase my first car on my own using the Xterra as a trade in. I have emails dating back to September documenting this plan between my parents and I.

We hoped that Nationwide would just total my car...no dice. My car had a right good bit in damage, but not enough to total it (see my galleries for pics--mind you my car is 5 years old, and has been wrecked before [also not my fault, but it was shortly after i got it so i received all new parts, not used--it was basically the same car and did not diminish my value at that time much at all])

What we are doing is (and since I am actually getting a new car very soon) when I take it in, if the dealer is going to give me a lesser value at trade in than what it was worth before the wreck (7k according to NADA), we're getting his value of the car put in writing and sending it to Nationwide. Nationwide will then (hopefully) write me a check compensating us for the diminished value of my vehicle.

good luck...you and i both need it.

12/28/2006 7:59:17 AM

you make it sound like you have to jump through a ton of hoops and you don't. I was rear ended by a nationwide driver and called them up and told them that I would be filing a diminished value claim and they said ok. Then, I waited until the car was fixed and set an appt with them and they looked at all the work that had been done and the value of the car before the wreck. They then offered me $500 and I said I wanted $1500 and we settled on 1000. The longer you wait to tell them the tougher it would be I imagine

12/28/2006 9:18:40 AM

i deal with insurance companies everyday man; adjusters with the same insurance company vary. i've seen claims settle very quickly, easily and painless (like the way yours sounds)...i've seen claims that take awhile to settle b/c of their opinion on the matter or just b/c they don't feel like dealing with the issue or they get busy doing hurricane detail or bigger cases.

i'll get my car back from the shop tomorrow (hopefully)...and this is what i'm having to go through according to the adjuster at nationwide working on my claim and his supervisor. they weren't willing to just hand over money--they want something in writing. (I should have said that in my first post, Nationwide is requesting that the value of my car at trade in be in writing for the diminished value claim--this wasn't something i just decided to do. They weren't going to negotiate a DC claim until I trade it in January [banking on the fact that we're lying and not going to].)

and the fact that i'm not just asking for a dimished value claim b/c i want the money, but that i was sincerely (with documentation) going to trade my car in next month i should have been able to just settle this quick and painless you would think...but nope. i'm not dealing with a nice adjuster and supervisor in this case and i'm having to fight for it. this guy is making me jump through hoops

i'm not saying it always has to be this hard, this is just what i'm having to go through in my particular situation.

[Edited on December 28, 2006 at 9:47 AM. Reason : ]

12/28/2006 9:35:14 AM

it is my understanding that you cannot get money for a diminished value claim until after all work has been completed, so hopefully things will go a little easier for you after you get your car back...good luck

12/28/2006 9:45:35 AM

My experience was pretty much just like triple r 7's. I called the other guy's insurance (Allstate) and said I wanted money for diminished value. They sent an independant appraiser who told them that they owed me $850. They cut me a check the next day.

I would urge everyone to get this money if you're involved in an accident that is not your fault. Most people that I talk to have no idea that this even exists. Trust me when I say that you will feel the hit when you try to sell the car if it has any value left at all when you try to sell it. You're not ripping anyone off by doing this.

[Edited on December 28, 2006 at 10:14 AM. Reason : s]

12/28/2006 10:11:40 AM

Thanks for the replies. The insurance company is also Nationwide. I had a gut feeling that it may be difficult to get the money from them but this may not be the case. I did the required Google search before posting to TWW and there are a bunch of firms that specialize in helping people get diminished value money from insurance companies (for a fee I'm sure). I was hoping I didn't have to deal with another firm.

12/28/2006 12:20:07 PM