Help with diminished value

[Jetboy]

why do people keep talking about totaling? no where did OP say anything about totaling the vehicle, $3,500 won't total a 2014 4Runner with 30k miles.

what is going on in this thread? :dizzy:

[MENTION=115066]Ezlife45[/MENTION] have you asked the other driver's insurance company for diminished value yet? i'm not sure about LA but I know actually getting DV can sometimes requires paying an appraiser and all that so it's probably worth seeing their starting offer and seeing if you can avoid court. My WAG is they offer between $500-$1000, but you should ask on facebook or something for appraiser recommendations near you since diminished value laws differ by state.

That was a joke - about the other comments about totaling it. I hope only the first one was an actual mistake. For some reason the forum turned the into those question mark symbols in my response. I have gone through two diminished value claims.

 

[Muzzle of Bees]

It's 2019 now. As the vehicle ages would that even be an issue now?
It does not take much to get to 3500 either. Those plastic bits, plus the labor are crazy expensive and I doubt that they are discounted.
Mine was hit on the driver front about a year after I bought it. Same dollar amount as yours. My front is already beat up from being a dd in a growing city of idiot drivers so I would not worry too much.

 

[jhguth]

It's 2019 now. As the vehicle ages would that even be an issue now?

when you buy a car you don't prefer one with a clean accident history vs. one that has been in an accident?

 

[WAT4R]

OP - IF this damage was mostly cosmetic in nature and IF you plan to sell this private party in the near or distant future, document everything. Take meaningful pictures of the damage and take meaningful pictures of it post repair. Keep all body shop and insurance documents. When you go to sell you can then present this documentation to a prospective buyer to show that the accident listed on CARFAX was cosmetic and not structural damage. You're still not going to get as much out of it, but prospective buyers won't completely pass it over either.

 

[Muzzle of Bees]

when you buy a car you don't prefer one with a clean accident history vs. one that has been in an accident?

I get what your are saying. We do not use our minds to think deeply about things. I do not think you can trust anyone either way because not every incident is reported. A carfax is certainly not credible either. I do a much closer eyeball inspection on the used vehicles I take an interest in. My eyes tell me more than a general document.

 

[WAT4R]

It's 2019 now. As the vehicle ages would that even be an issue now?

It's a big issue. If you're in the market for a 2014-2015 4runner (still bringing top dollar) and you have two or three similar to choose from and one has accident history, you're likely to eliminate the one with accident history from your selection unless it's priced accordingly. Accident history on CARFAX = diminished value.

 

[Muzzle of Bees]

It's a big issue. If you're in the market for a 2014-2015 4runner (still bringing top dollar) and you have two or three similar to choose from and one has accident history, you're likely to eliminate the one with accident history from your selection unless it's priced accordingly. Accident history on CARFAX = diminished value.

Perhaps, but what if the carfax vehicle was the color you wanted and had the features you wanted? What if the others with no carfax had no service history? To me a close inspection is better than a document.

 

[WAT4R]

Perhaps, but what if the carfax vehicle was the color you wanted and had the features you wanted? What if the others with no carfax had no service history? To me a close inspection is better than a document.

To you perhaps, but to the average buyer?

 

[Jivewalker]

What would be a reasonable amount for diminished value for a wrecked 2014 four runner with less than 30,000 miles in excellent condition?

Damage was not that much physically say $3500 to repair. Previously the vehicle did not have any damage at all.

Thanks in advance.

Double what the calculator says for diminished value to give you some room to negotiate, then settle on the true value (assuming you are trying to be fair and recover the diminished value and the repair cost from the girls insurance). I make a lot of assumptions here, is that what you are going after?

 

[Jetboy]

Perhaps, but what if the carfax vehicle was the color you wanted and had the features you wanted? What if the others with no carfax had no service history? To me a close inspection is better than a document.

It's not really the carfax. If the paint has been repaired, I would not buy it at any price even close to an unrepaired one. In a market for 2014 model year vehicles I know I can find one that is undamaged. I also know that no body shop either physically can or will match OEM toyota paint to the same factory specs. As a result every repaired paint will fade differently than the original so you'll see it down the road.100% guarantee every time. So... that means the value is lower. How much? - That's hard to know. For me personally, at least a $5k difference for cosmetic pant repairs on any body panel that's not the bumper covers. (Bumper covers don't rust and they don't color match anyway, so I would be less concerned with bumper covers - blended paint always shows after a few years.) I should not set the price though. I'm a much more demanding buyer than most.

 

[nb rob]

somebody smashed in to my rear tire at an intersection and bent the rear axle housing. A diminished value claim wasn't something that my canadian insurance agent wanted to do for me. I'm still fuming mad that I had to get that repair. Up until that moment in time, I was riding high on the 4runner resale value.

I don't care what anyone says, your eyes aren't going to detect a new rear axle housing, and all of the work that was involved in swapping my gears, etc over.

But the fact remains, now when I go to sell my 4r, it's worth less than one that wasn't in a collision. And that sucks big time. Whenever I hear the preamble about how a TRD pro is an 'investment' in terms of resale, I roll my eyes. That would be true if you kept it in a glass case and never drove it... but we share the road with other people, and your vehicle's value can be compromised in a fraction of a second.

I hope your claim works out OP.

 

[Uneeq]

There are several web sites where you can figure out your diminished value.

Here is one for you

Diminished Value Claim Calculator | Autoloss | Diminished Value Claims | AutoLoss Diminished Value Experts | AutoLoss Diminished Value Experts

I ran my accident from a week ago through this calculator, told me $8,000 for my diminished value claim, I doubt I get anywhere close to that on a $4,600 repair.

Nadaguides shows my trade in at $33,550 average, $34,800 clean and retail at $38,000. Carvana questionnaire offered me $27k with the accident, but if I re-answer their questionnaire the exact same except with no accident, they're offer goes up to $31.5k. The accident adjustment is $3k, and the accident bumps it from KBB Good to KBB Fair which makes up the other $1.5k difference.

I'm gonna fight them on it if they offer anything less than $4,000, which I'm almost 100% they will be below. My goal would be 1:1 like Jetboy said, $4,600, same as the repair bill.

 

[Muzzle of Bees]

This leads me to a question about used vehicle descriptions posted on dealer websites. If no carfax is listed does that mean it was in an accident? Why not post one online for all of them?
I saw about six 5th generation 4Runners listed for sale at the Toyota dealership near me, some listed a carfax, others did not.
The ones with the carfax had zero accidents reported, with some some listing 5 owners already. That would scare me more than one owner accident.
The prices of the 4Runners with no carfax, were the same as the ones with the carfax.

 

[Dillusion]

This leads me to a question about used vehicle descriptions posted on dealer websites. If no carfax is listed does that mean it was in an accident? Why not post one online for all of them?
I saw about six 5th generation 4Runners listed for sale at the Toyota dealership near me, some listed a carfax, others did not.
The ones with the carfax had zero accidents reported, with some some listing 5 owners already. That would scare me more than one owner accident.
The prices of the 4Runners with no carfax, were the same as the ones with the carfax.

I wouln't say that it was in an accident. Maybe they just didn't get around to posting it online. Best to call the dealer and have them cough it up.

Here unless it has a salvaged title everyone tries to sell it like nothing happened.

 

[MSinDC]

My 2014 Trail was rear-ended by a punk on his cell phone in 2015, so it happened when it was basically brand new. It was a glancing blow which just damaged the rear quarter panel, left light (barely), and a simple crease in the hatch meant they had to replace the whole hatch.

$2900 in damage for basically a fender bender.

I got it fixed (which you have to do prior to submitting a DV claim), then submitted for DV as I was very worried about the reduction of value in the basically brand new truck.

In my research the amount of DV is based on many factors, including amount of damage, age of vehicle, and prior value of vehicle. I paid a service to provide an estimate for my vehicle's value prior to the collision and their estimate of the diminished value, then submitted claim for DV.

Allstate offered me $400 up front, but the study I had submitted claimed my diminished value was $2500. After about 8 rounds of letters (never talk on the phone, document everything in letters) and threatening to take them to court I settled on $1800.

I'd imagine roughly the same amount of damage on a 5 year old vehicle would probably be half that, but who knows.

 

[Uneeq]

I ran my accident from a week ago through this calculator, told me $8,000 for my diminished value claim, I doubt I get anywhere close to that on a $4,600 repair.

Nadaguides shows my trade in at $33,550 average, $34,800 clean and retail at $38,000. Carvana questionnaire offered me $27k with the accident, but if I re-answer their questionnaire the exact same except with no accident, they're offer goes up to $31.5k. The accident adjustment is $3k, and the accident bumps it from KBB Good to KBB Fair which makes up the other $1.5k difference.

I'm gonna fight them on it if they offer anything less than $4,000, which I'm almost 100% they will be below. My goal would be 1:1 like Jetboy said, $4,600, same as the repair bill.

Update on this post -

I got an email this afternoon from USAA. They're offering $776 in diminished value for my car. Next step is to determine if I should hire an appraiser, hire an attorney, or take it to small claims court.

 

[Uneeq]

In my research the amount of DV is based on many factors, including amount of damage, age of vehicle, and prior value of vehicle. I paid a service to provide an estimate for my vehicle's value prior to the collision and their estimate of the diminished value, then submitted claim for DV.

Allstate offered me $400 up front, but the study I had submitted claimed my diminished value was $2500. After about 8 rounds of letters (never talk on the phone, document everything in letters) and threatening to take them to court I settled on $1800.

This is very helpful, thanks. Looks like I will be hiring an appraiser to look into this, and possibly threaten legal action I suppose.

 

[Jetboy]

This leads me to a question about used vehicle descriptions posted on dealer websites. If no carfax is listed does that mean it was in an accident? Why not post one online for all of them?
I saw about six 5th generation 4Runners listed for sale at the Toyota dealership near me, some listed a carfax, others did not.
The ones with the carfax had zero accidents reported, with some some listing 5 owners already. That would scare me more than one owner accident.
The prices of the 4Runners with no carfax, were the same as the ones with the carfax.

Carfax only catches about 10-15% of collision repairs. So I would put very little weight on it. It does usually catch a salvage title, title in flood area, or title to rental car company. I would ask for it. But I wouldn't take any comfort if it doesn't show an accident. That really means nothing. Not a single vehicle repair I've had done has ever shown up on Carfax. Including having my car totally stripped interior vandalism replaced by the dealer. Nothing reported to carfax.

 

[Ezlife45]

Sorry about the lack of response, here goes:
Vehicle is not totaled, but it is damaged.
It is getting repaired by their insurance
She was nice enough to leave a note
If I tried to sell the vehicle now versus a month ago, I would have gotten a good bit more. That is the diminished value

 

[Jbellah]

He means even when he gets the vehicle repaired, it will show it being in accident on Carfax. This will make the vehicle less desirable, hence less valuable. The diminished value, is the LOSS of value due to the vehicle being in an accident people.

OMG!!!

Like RedneckJ said, use the calculator.

Lol some people just dont get it. A lot of people dont want to buy a car that has ever been wrecked so therefore your right he wants to know the value thats been lost now that it had been damaged.