jreyes

Hi everyone,

Within one month of owning my car, my 2014 C350 got dinged up by some ding bats that don't know how intersections work. Long story short, vehicle making left hand turn to smaller street goes for it without clearing all traffic and get's t-boned. Force of the impact pushes them on to my car, while I was at a stop sign waiting for the road to clear.

With that said, car is at a Certified MB body shop, and should be returned to me later this week. They've had the car for a little over to weeks now. I knew the repairs were going to be costly, and all of this is going on the at fault party's insurance, but I never expected it to be a little over $7k in damages. I've included 3 pictures: one of the two other vehicles and two of my car.

Even with the car fully repaired, it's now tainted. I wasn't planning on selling the car anytime soon, but I hate the fact that I know my car is suddenly worth considerably less. It hurts even more, cause she's only a 2014, has 16k miles, and is a CPO (or at least just for the length of my ownership now). I've heard of diminished value claims, and I'm wondering if anyone has had experience with them. More than what I kind of compensation I can expect, I'm wondering the effectiveness of actually putting a claim through, having it approved, and what are the best steps or companies to appraise the car.

TLDR:
-My 2014 C350 involved in accident, not at fault
-Being repaired, expect back late this week
-Curious about best practices for putting diminished value claim.

Just204

I can see 7k in damages, it's not hard for a Benz to run that amount. I worked as an insurance adjuster for a major company and then for Mercedes as a body shop appraiser/adviser. Running into the teens is easy on a decent hit. So a couple things, get an appraisal from your dealer on what the car is now worth after repairs to see if there is an affect on the value. In NY when someone is hit and not at fault they have the right to compensation for deminished value, but the insurance will fight you over it cuz they don't want to pay up. Ask the body shop if it's like that there. A second thing, I don't consider a car really tainted as long as there's no structural damages. Simply replacing parts doesn't make it worth less as long as they are OEM IMHO. Then get the final insurance estimate from the insurance company with the parts invoice/order from the body shop or dealership if u went through them and keep it for your records to prove nothing major happened to the car. A dealer will dog u regardless and most ppl will try to low ball as an excuse but that's life.

ghlkal

Sorry to hear this. It's really maddening when stuff like this happens.

I agree. Our C Class cars are not collector's items, so I don't think having the car repaired will be a deal breaker in the future.

MB Marko

I think it depends on the buyer, your location and demand of the car(more buyer).... Personally i passed on about 20+ C class with less of a claim than that, some where just the front window was broken and there was a thrift in the vehicle for items.

The list price back a year ago on all the cars was about 5k less than a clean car, for what I was personally seeing.

It's absolutely a ****ty situation, I feel for you. It could of been worse at least your alright and not hurt. You can always buy a new car, but you can't buy your health!

jreyes

Thanks for the info Just. I think Texas has a similar deal with not at fault accidents. I'll definitely run it by the body shop to see if they have any suggestions, on top of what you mentioned. I did a few google searches and people mention 3rd party appraisal companies. But it looks like the going rate is around $300, and I rather reach out to the board and see if anyone has similar experiences before I go that route.

I went into this car knowing I was going to have it around for the long haul, but it is a little disheartening when it hadn't even been a month that I had owned the car and it literally happened 2 houses down from my own.

You're absolutely right, and thanks for the kind words. Thankfully everyone was able to walk away, personally I didn't even get a chance to go through a mad phase cause the HHR had a baby in it, and the mom was on the side where the Taurus struck their car. Every started scrambling to get them out and make sure everyone was okay. I'm even semi glad I was there to stop their car from tipping over.

My main concern now was making sure the car was fixed properly, which I have no doubt will happen. I've used this shop before with my last car, an M3, and it came out looking great. I just feel a bit cheated that the deal I worked so hard to get may have been for null.

Thanks,

Javier

myn8m3is8ndy

regardless, you still want to get compensation with the most out of it. After all, the shop will only fix what they can see. something might have been knocked off or damaged but fails a year later. you never know. Also, lets just compare 2 cars, say both cars are identical with same mileage/years/ option etc. i'm almost 100% sure that if i saw a mercedes with a accident report listed at $20,000 vs a clean title car at $25,000, even though it is a lot cheaper, i would still hesitate to buy the accident reported one because german cars are expensive to repair.

Just204

Jreyes, the dealership if u got it at one is a third party for appraisal and they will do it for free since ur their customer usually. The devaluation could be thousands so keep that in mind. And don't bother with ur insurance, it won't Benifet you. If people have choices they will always buy an accident free car. Best this is to try and get ur money's worth out of it before you eventually sell it.

MB Marko

No doubt you want to get compensation, I hope the OP finds a resolution but usually if you get a lawyer they want a good chunk of the money, and your left with that 60% of whats awarded. What if you only get $2000.... is it worth $1200 for probably months of BS to deal with. I don't know the Law or lawyer rates in USA but thats the rate in Canada.

Ya no matter what your out thousands of dollars but, I mean its a 2014! you have warranty for at least 2-3 more years and could be even more if you bought extended warranty.

I think the plus in the situation is the warranty and age of the car, people may just look at that and not care about the accident because of the warranty. let just say you paid $35,000 for the car all in, you lost $5000 in value because of the accident, now you try and get in another benz your loss is at about $10,000 if you want to get in the same car, same milage, and with a clean title.

but regardless i'd keep the car until it acts up(this goes for any benz if you have no warranty or your close to done with your warranty) BUT that also depends what was repaired you could have ZERO issues! it looks like the hood, fenders, bumper, grille it could just be all cosmetic damage and nothing underneath.(I'm just going off the pictures). which would defiantly be a plus! especially if you sell it privately, you can show all maintenance and repair documentation. A lot of us are just talking based on personal opinion and past experiences, it may all work out for you and you maybe be out less than you think. Again depends on the market in your area and the buyer.

Keep the car enjoy it if it really bugs you try to sell it, but you could walk out of your house and the same thing could happen again. ( I had the same situation with my Volvo back in the day, I kept the car I had zero issues until the second time someone hit me, the car was not totalled but it should of been... i lost thousands of dollars) But the main thing was able to heal some what from the injuries and and get back to most of the things I liked to do.)

**** like this makes people releases theres more important things in life than a Benz in the drive way hahaha (even though its damn nice and hard to drive anything else)

again just stay positive you have a beautiful car still and you have warranty nothing to worry about anytime soon.

Stress is involved in at least the top 5 things that will kill you, don't stress over this HAHAHA!(light joke to lighten the mood in here!)

myn8m3is8ndy

$1,200 is still a lot. if it were me (since i do have the time), i actually wouldn't mind getting even $500 in diminished value from the lawyer if it takes a month or two. That's just because i wouldn't want the person to get off that easy. Remember, you're the one that has to deal with the brand new car being all messed up. So get your revenge
Buuuut, like Marko said, all these comments are of people's personal preference. Do what's best for you and your time

jreyes

So I rung up the body shop where I have the Merc, and they recommended a car appraisal company, AV Recovery (Link). Gave them a call and based on the car's age, miles, and cost of repair they believe $5k is an attainable figure, their words were "at least $5k". Of course, they charge $325, but they take care of all the paperwork and dealing with the insurance claim. Liberty Mutual is the company that is covering the cost, and AV Recovery mentioned that they don't like to play ball, but I think this goes for any insurance company. The way I see it, even if they can get me half of that money, $325 would be well worth it.

Next to call is the MB dealer I bought the car from. Hoping they give me similar news, minus the $325 cost.

MB Marko

Sweet thats good news! and at a reasonable cost.

jreyes

After 4 weeks without my car, I'm finally getting it back. Looks like I'll be going with the AV Recovery Group. Let's just say the dealer where I purchased the car was less than helpful. I'll keep you guys posted.

Josh.A.Hussey

I've got my fingers crossed for you bud. That is the worst...
...maybe with some of that diminished value money you could add some nice mods...

jreyes

Thanks for the well wishes bud, and that has definitely crossed my mind!

Sorry for the late update, work and wedding planning have tied up all my time, but I got the appraisal done through AV Recovery and submitted it to the insurance adjuster. The appraisal company wrote a very thorough report, I don't think there's much the insurance company can say to rebut, but I'll have to wait an see.

LILBENZ230

Anxious for your report on the 3rd party appraisal and Liberty Mutual. I had a crash in 2008 with my almost-new 2007 Civic Si. It did $9,000 worth of damage (ripped one of the front wheels clean off). State Farm said no diminished value. I hired an outside appraisal company for about $200, they did all their work.. I got $0.

Just204

Did you hit the person or they hit you?

JohnAlderfer1

A number of years ago I was rear ended in my 5 year old suburban by a Sears delivery truck. $8,000 damage. I got an auto appraisal company to write a letter that the value was diminished by $4,500 even after the repair. Sears insurance of course refused to pay, so I filed a claim in Small Claims Court, which you can do yourself without an attorney. The day of the hearing Sears showed up with an attorney, but the Judge told him there was no doubt the value was diminished and awarded me $4,500 plus my filing fee. Small Claims Court is quick, easy and almost always rules for the individual if a company is acting unreasonably. Everyone knows you have suffered dismissed value because you no longer have a clean Car Fax

jreyes

My appraisal came back and stated I lost about $5000 in value. But, and here's the kicker, Liberty Mutual is not playing ball.

I was hit. I was stationary, when the two other vehicles crashed and slid into me.

You know, I thought it was cut and dry too, but Liberty Mutual seems to think otherwise. I was really hoping I didn't have to go this route, but it looks like I'm going to have to take it to Small Claims Court. After Liberty Mutual denied my claim, I reached out to them by phone and email and have not heard from them again.