2017 TRD Pro Cement Diminished Value Claim

[Chameleon311]

My very new (Bought in May) Cement TRD Pro was hit by a tractor trailer that jacked knifed trying to avoid running a red light. I was sitting in the turn lane minding my own business and was hit on the right rear quarter panel. The damage estimate is 3200-3300. I opted to go with trying to pull out the dent, fill it in and hopefully paint to match. I'm also getting a new rear bumper and tail light.

My question is, does anyone have any experience with diminished value claims? I know my truck will be worth less now and I am just curious what the best way to go about filing a claim. I contacted a lawyer but he felt his fees would negate any amount of money he could recover.

 

[riskybusiness]

What state do you live in? Most states do not allow for those type of claims. If your state does it can be very difficult to receive anything. Typically the burden of proof falls on you.

 

[Chameleon311]

What state do you live in? Most states do not allow for those type of claims. If your state does it can be very difficult to receive anything. Typically the burden of proof falls on you.

Don't know how I forgot that important piece of information. I live in Florida, they allow diminished value claims.

 

[Muzzle of Bees]

This normal for insurance companies. Especially for this type of situation. They invented the process. I am getting ready to do the same thing once I get the other drivers insurance information. Mine is about the same dollar amount of damage. Happened last Sunday 4:00 am. My gf lives on a bend that has had us concerned for a while. It finally happened. A yellow taxi car driver was speeding and missed the turn at her corner and hit three cars in her driveway. The taxi hit my girlfriends car and totaled it. The ricochet hit my drivers side fender, the bumper cover, lights and some miscellaneous brackets were bent. The driver left the taxi and ran away before I could get outside. He is very lucky my gf got there first. She hollered to me to call 911 which gave him time to leave. Anyhow, I have usaa and they told me the process verys by state. In Texas I have to file with the other persons insurance, but usaa said they will help me with the process. In other states you file with your company. If the other driver does not have insurance you can file a claim against uninsured motorist if that applies. There is a "standard" made up formula to arrive at the value. Google diminished value. That is what I know now so far. I will update as I get closer to filling out the form/s.

 

[Chameleon311]

I am getting ready to do the same thing once I get the other drivers insurance information. Mine is about the same dollar amount of damage. Happened last Sunday 4:00 am. My gf lives on a bend that has had us concocerned for a while. It finally happened. A yellow taxi car driver was speeding and missed the turn at her corner and hit three cars in her driveway. The taxi hit my girlfriends car and totaled it. The ricochet hit my drivers side fender, the bumper cover, lights and some miscellaneous brackets were bent. The driver left the taxi and ran away before I could get outside. He is very lucky my gf got there first. She hollered to me to call 911 which gave him time to leave. Anyhow, I have usaa and they told me the process verys by state. In Texas I have to file with the other persons insurance, but usaa said they will help me with the process. In other states you file with your company. If the other driver does not have insurance you can file a claim against non insured motorist if that applies. There is a "standard" made up formula to arrive at the value. Google diminished value. That is what I know now so far. I will update as I get closer to filling out the form/s.

It sounds like we are at the same level in the process and the same level of knowledge of diminished value. I did the same thing, google has been my main source of information. Florida also uses a formula to come up with the estimated claim value. They told me I can't claim until after the vehicle is repaired, then they do the estimate for the diminished value.

Sorry to hear about your situation, I hope it all gets resolved without much hassle.

 

[cooler2442]

Good luck fighting a Diminished Value claim. I'm fighting one now and after ordering a fancy $500 appraisal report, hiring a DV lawyer, I still haven't received an offer higher from the insurance company than their initial one of a $1000. This wasn't for my TRD Pro but for my 2008 Lotus Exige S240 which is even more rare/limited in the US. They basically refuse to give you anything unless it shows on your Carfax/your vehicle is Salvage title due to the accident or you sell your car then prove you had to take a loss on it due to the accident.

 

[Chameleon311]

Good luck fighting a Diminished Value claim. I'm fighting one now and after ordering a fancy $500 appraisal report, hiring a DV lawyer, I still haven't received an offer higher from the insurance company than their initial one of a $1000. This wasn't for my TRD Pro but for my 2008 Lotus Exige S240 which is even more rare/limited in the US. They basically refuse to give you anything unless it shows on your Carfax/your vehicle is Salvage title due to the accident.

This is good to know, sorry to hear about your situation. I was going to get one of those fancy appraisal reports but wasn't sure what benefit it would offer.

 

[Muzzle of Bees]

It sounds like we are at the same level in the process and the same level of knowledge of diminished value. I did the same thing, google has been my main source of information. Florida also uses a formula to come up with the estimated claim value. They told me I can't claim until after the vehicle is repaired, then they do the estimate for the diminished value.

Sorry to hear about your situation, I hope it all gets resolved without much hassle.

Sorry to hear about yours too. I am hoping it is not trouble. The insurance companies are familiar with the process. They are the ones that invented the whole thing. I like usaa and I know they won't let their property be taken advantage of.

 

[cooler2442]

This is good to know, sorry to hear about your situation. I was going to get one of those fancy appraisal reports but wasn't sure what benefit it would offer.

You'll have to get one or they won't take your word seriously. But then they will get their own report basically saying you have no diminished value because the vehicle isn't showing anything on the Carfax and you repaired it back to as good as OEM quality. If you didn't repair it to OEM quality then they say it's your own fault for not choosing a better body shop.

Just playing devils advocate as to what they've thrown at me for my case.

 

[Kotrin]

I've been through this more than I should have for being in my mid-30's. But my experience is the following values effecting your money..

1) Did anyone get hurt, or loss of money (Time Loss Injury)
2) In Oregon (I also believe in alot of other states) a value of more than $1500 and/or medical claim.
3) More than one person/vehicle involved and/or commerical incident (Company vehicle).

So I have a lot of this information in my build threads, but a quick overview is the following: When I was in a 7 car pile-up and was not found at fault, I was given my base car price that would be similiar if purchased in the area around, paid all medical for the next year + rental. Before that time I was in a 4 car pile up, rear-ended by a woman digging in her purse who admitted to the cop she was doing that. During this case my small Toyota Car was only worth $1300 according to KBB. They determined it would cost 600 to 700 to fix it. I also missed a week of work. I saw my specialist (during the beginning of my spinal cord issues). So my dad fixed the car issues with about 50.00 and half a day of manual labor. Also discussed with the insurane person my pain and suffering. So first phone call they said I only got 3K, I responded 10K or I'll call my lawyer. Just one day later they called me back and we settled for 6K. In hindsight it was the worse thing I could do as I'm on day 3 being laid up...oh well..

So I have more stories, but what I'm trying to get at is never accept the first offer, alway's couter with something 3-4x and get a estimate from a shop you like. So like other's have said, being knowledgeable, understand of WHAT it will take to fix it is helpful. If it's not your fault don't let them try to weasle the 'deductible' out of the money, seen that too.

I hope this at least helps you some..

 

[Judd94]

It would be shame if your back started hurting and you sued for subjective pain and actually got some insurance money that would miraculously be equal to your diminished value claim.

 

[Longv]

Try contacting a company like Collision Safety Consultants

 

[Chameleon311]

You'll have to get one or they won't take your word seriously. But then they will get their own report basically saying you have no diminished value because the vehicle isn't showing anything on the Carfax and you repaired it back to as good as OEM quality. If you didn't repair it to OEM quality then they say it's your own fault for not choosing a better body shop.

Just playing devils advocate as to what they've thrown at me for my case.

Maybe I messed up, I went with trying to repair the rear instead of replacing the rear quarter panel. The guy at the body shop said if it was his personal vehicle he wouldn't replace the quarter panel.He said the process would be pretty involved, and it would be in the shop at least a month. He felt pretty confident they could pull the dent and repair it. I took it to a dealer as well. In the end I just want what I know I lost, no more, no less. I don't think it is unfair, however I know the insurance company doesn't feel the same as I do.

 

[STAY IN IT]

It would be shame if your back started hurting and you sued for subjective pain and actually got some insurance money that would miraculously be equal to your diminished value claim.

Sadly, this is the only scenario in which you can realistically financially be made whole. Diminished value claims are extremely hard to get without outlay of appraisal fees, attorney fees, and a ridiculous amount of time and energy that far eclipses any diminished value you MAY get. They'll fight you until you are completely worn out and done paying attorney fees to avoid paying several thousand dollars of diminished value. Now when it comes to back pain, neck pain, etc., they will fall all over themselves to cut you a check for less than $10K to sign a release of claims from the medical standpoint.

You still lose thousands of dollars anytime your vehicle is hit, even without being at fault. Phantom pain/injury makes our rates go up and is something most of us won't consider, but it's the only thing that levels the playing field with their insurance company. Sucks all around.

 

[wcjeep]

Mine is about the same dollar amount of damage. Happened last Sunday 4:00 am. My gf lives on a bend that has had us concerned for a while. It finally happened. A yellow taxi car driver was speeding and missed the turn at her corner and hit three cars in her driveway. The taxi hit my girlfriends car and totaled it. The ricochet hit my drivers side fender, the bumper cover, lights and some miscellaneous brackets were bent. The driver left the taxi and ran away before I could get outside.

Some states frown on placing protective Cement posts or glacial rocks. What about an older 1/2ton truck parked to prevent damage to the running vehicles? Depending on local regulations it wouldn't even need to be licensed.

 

[schnazzdaddy]

I am also looking to file a diminished value claim in PA. I was recently turned into on a 2 lane road by a driver who decided he could hang a left through my new ORP. The initial estimate for repair was 18k but I just called and there is a supplement once they were able to cut the driver side doors off that is larger than the initial estimate of 18k. so 36k now? So my thought process at this point is this:

The total value via appraiser and KBB is about 37K(2016 ORP with 24500 in 10 Months) and I got it for 38.5k(Before tax) that I should be able to sell it to the dealer and the difference between KBB value and what they actually give me I will be entitled to. Which should be fairly extensive amount I would think based off of the amount of damage that was done. Then buy a new 17/18. That is unless they decide to total it now which then I should get the value of the car.

I will keep up with this as I make progress but from everything that I have seen it has to be once the vehicle is repaired before a diminished claim can be filed. which I am pretty far away from at the moment as it has been now 22 days since the accident and they are just now asking for another appraisal for the supplement now that they have the doors and damage off of the vehicle. Hope it works out for you.

 

[Chameleon311]

I am also looking to file a diminished value claim in PA. I was recently turned into on a 2 lane road by a driver who decided he could hang a left through my new ORP. The initial estimate for repair was 18k but I just called and there is a supplement once they were able to cut the driver side doors off that is larger than the initial estimate of 18k. so 36k now? So my thought process at this point is this:

The total value via appraiser and KBB is about 37K(2016 ORP with 24500 in 10 Months) and I got it for 38.5k(Before tax) that I should be able to sell it to the dealer and the difference between KBB value and what they actually give me I will be entitled to. Which should be fairly extensive amount I would think based off of the amount of damage that was done. Then buy a new 17/18. That is unless they decide to total it now which then I should get the value of the car.

I will keep up with this as I make progress but from everything that I have seen it has to be once the vehicle is repaired before a diminished claim can be filed. which I am pretty far away from at the moment as it has been now 22 days since the accident and they are just now asking for another appraisal for the supplement now that they have the doors and damage off of the vehicle. Hope it works out for you.

Your situation sounds much worse, hopefully it works out in the end. I will keep everyone updated as well as I go through the process.

 

[4RN4FUN]

I am also looking to file a diminished value claim in PA. I was recently turned into on a 2 lane road by a driver who decided he could hang a left through my new ORP. The initial estimate for repair was 18k but I just called and there is a supplement once they were able to cut the driver side doors off that is larger than the initial estimate of 18k. so 36k now? So my thought process at this point is this:



The total value via appraiser and KBB is about 37K(2016 ORP with 24500 in 10 Months) and I got it for 38.5k(Before tax) that I should be able to sell it to the dealer and the difference between KBB value and what they actually give me I will be entitled to. Which should be fairly extensive amount I would think based off of the amount of damage that was done. Then buy a new 17/18. That is unless they decide to total it now which then I should get the value of the car.



I will keep up with this as I make progress but from everything that I have seen it has to be once the vehicle is repaired before a diminished claim can be filed. which I am pretty far away from at the moment as it has been now 22 days since the accident and they are just now asking for another appraisal for the supplement now that they have the doors and damage off of the vehicle. Hope it works out for you.

If you’re that close to a total loss (damages exceeding x% of retail value), then beg, borrow and steal to get it totaled. You’ll never be made whole with that much damage.

 

[chaosrob]

Amen. It sucks to have to put money out of your pocket for some idiots negligence but he is right you will come out on the right side down the road if you do it

If you’re that close to a total loss (damages exceeding x% of retail value), then beg, borrow and steal to get it totaled. You’ll never be made whole with that much damage.

 

[Kennyr44]

My wife got rear ended in her ex 2015 Limited. The frame was bent (pushed in by the hit to the hitch). This took the brunt of it so the tailgate and bumper had minor damage. Total it was $2200 to repair. They pulled the frame out and replaced the bumper and fixed a dent in the tailgate. It never made it to the carfax. Geico hooked me up with the diminished value guy and he offered me $200. He said the carfax is meaningless to them either way and they only go by the amount to repair the car. I told him I would take 500 and he agreed just to get rid of me. When I traded it in it looked perfect and wasn't on the carfax so I got top trade value for it anyway. One year old with 20,000 miles 35.5k. I only paid 40k new for it. My wife had real injuries (sprained wrist from the steering wheel, back and neck strains etc. They said she was faking because of the low repair costs to our car. Mind you this hit was on the highway that was stopped and the girl hit her at 50 mph. We have a Lawyer working on it since they were being *******s to us saying she couldn't be hurt with $2200 in damages. Their formulas are all about the amount of car repair cost.