dawizard

Hey guys

As some of you may have seen in my other posts that my brand new ML350 (well, 2 weeks old) was rear ended just a couple of days back.

I have initiated the claims process but I recently found out about the concept of "diminished value" which was extremely depressing since I realized my new car will now have a blemish on its record and its value will have gone down.

This was the very first accident I have been involved in so I am still trying to figure out all the processes and "stuff". Looking for advice from you folks who may have dealt with Diminished value claims.

Info on my car and the damage:
Car - ML350, MSRP $63500
Mileage - 750 miles on it so far (bought it 2 weeks ago)
Damage - Small crack in the bumper, broken bracket and a broken cover I think for what appears to be a sensor, scratched on the chrome. No broken lights or any other significant damage.
Insurance (State Farm) - I initiated a claim through my insurance company, I am scheduled to go see a collision center for an estimate on Monday, don't have any numbers just yet.

Questions:

1. This "Diminished value claim" - Is this something I file through my insurance against the other party's insurance? Is this a personal thing or does my insurance company handle it?

2. Based on the fact that this was a brand new car with low mileage but the damage was not super bad/wrecked, what kind of Diminished value am I looking at? (Vague but just want to know how OK it is or how BADly this will affect my car's value).

3. Based on #2 above, is it worth my while to get a private appraiser?

4. Is it worth my while to see if the other party will pay my claims without having to go through insurance (based on the estimate) so their rates stay steady and my car's record stays clean? I am not sure if this is accurate but if I get it repaired on my own, it wouldn't get on the car's record that there was a minor repair further affecting its value?

Thanks and I apologize if some of these are 'obvious', I am still learning the ropes with this situation

supernsx

We had something similar to our C300 and had a hard time getting the diminished value claim from either of the insurance companies. Maybe you should ask your own insurance adjuster and see what is his opinion.

Regarding report, I assume you mean "Carfax" report. It is really depend on your states. If the police came and have filed a police report, the accident probably will show up. If your claims are through the insurance company, it probably will too.

DIMINISHEDVALUE

You have to collect the diminished value from the insurance company of the people who hit you. You can't get it from your own insurer. We charge $225 for a DV report but you can get them for a lot lower (get what you pay for as they say) while I have seen some independent appraisers charge as much as $600. Definitely use someone that gets at least 6 dealer quotes, not some BS formula or auction results. Your diminished value won't come to a ton of money because there was no frame damage but definitely up to 10% of your car's value I would think.

audi40

If it's just replacement of the bumper cover, I don't think you've got much of a diminished value claim, but certainly ask your insurance company about it. Either way, I'd say be sure to keep the repair paperwork for when it comes time to sell or trade in so you have documentation of what was done.

dawizard

How old was your C300 at the time? I will probably chat with our insurance adjustor as well and see what they have to think about it.

I was indeed thinking of Carfax. I've read that Cali doesn't require minimal repairs to be reported (like upto 3% of car's MSRP?), maybe this will fall under that, maybe not...but that's really my concern is that it is damaged goods now

Thanks, I was curious about the xx% number so 10% is atleast a good reference. I was thinking it would either be an open/shut you-got-no-claim-since-damage-is-minimal vs you-got-a-good-claim-coz-your-car-was-goddamn-new.

Btw you mention you charge $225 for a report, does someone from your company come down to inspect the vehicle? How do they get dealer quotes for me in NorCal? Also, what is your website? I am not sure which of the Collision DVA guys you are...I've come across a few popular ones so far.

dawizard

I will hopefully have an estimate on Monday, I am expecting it to be in the vicinity of $1.5k-$3k if they replace the bumper and the other cracked parts (I am not sure if a sensor broke in the process or not) but I'll be going all OEM on this to a MB certified center. I did take plenty of pics, I'll document this well from the future trade-in point of view (hadn't considered that until recently).

DFW01E55

Sorry to hear that, hope everyone was okay. Hope the claim works out.

I saw a guy in a new Kia t-bone a minivan HARD the other day. He got out of the car cussing and carrying on like a 13 year old. Never even considered that the people in the other car might be hurt.
All he worried about at the top of his lungs was "My brand ^%*ing new &%#*& car."
He should have been thankful to be breathing.

fabbrisd1

If you are asking what the diminished value number "should be" - with a brand new 2014 it will be 2-to-3 times the vehicle repair cost or 5% of the vehicle value whichever is higher... very few states have regulations requiring insurance companies to pay diminished value...

Thrilla

It's worth to check the regulations in your state before spending time and energy chasing DV. My car was rear ended last month, and was told by my insurance and the other party's insurance that Michigan does not honor diminished value.

dawizard

Thanks DFW, thankfully everyone was safe. It happened while we were at a stop light so thankfully it didn't injure anyone.


Thanks, this seems fairly around the same ballpark as <DiminshedValue> mentioned, roughly 10% of MSRP. From the sounds of it, it is not a given, you really have to go after the other insurance company to get anything in this case. I am based out of California and so far from what I have read, this state does allow Diminished value claims...

Yep, I read that MN might be a state which doesn't permit either. Based on what I have read all over the web so far, California does allow Diminished value claims, just might be an uphill battle.

supernsx

It was about a year old. The problem for us was the money/time we will need to put it to fight just did not worth it to us.

thenew3

If you're in CA the forget about getting compensated for Diminished value.

I just spent 1.5 months trying to get compensated and the only way to do it is to take the party that hit you to small claims court and even then it's hard to prove and get compensated.

The laws in CA are written to protect the insurance company, not the consumer. Insurance companies in CA have no reason to pay diminished value claims and that law make sure they don't have to pay.

My attorney said its not worth the cost and time.

Sorry to hear your ML was hit. My E wagon was rear ended about 2 months ago.

dawizard

Putting in the time is the same concern that I have too but I get motivated everytime I think that my car was just 12 days old when it got hit

Thanks thenew3, sorry to hear about your E-wagon too. Depending on the estimate I get Monday I'll see if it is worth it or not. My guess is the damage may be in $1500-$2000 range...will take it from there, see if I can find a local assessor to give me a range of what the Diminished value might be and then decide if it is worth pursuing or not...

nycphotography

Good luck. The insurance companies SWEAR that diminishment of value is a fiction, that it doesn't exist.

But if it didn't exist, then neither would carfax.

DIMINISHEDVALUE

A good Q & A is at http://autodiminishedvalue.com and to answer your other question, no inspection of your repaired car is necessary. We just need the completed repair estimate showing all of the damages that were fixed. We get quotes from MB dealers the old fashioned way, call them on the telephone.

DIMINISHEDVALUE

You are right, omly Michigan does not recognize DV. Every other state recongizes third-party DV and in GA, KS and WA you can also claim DV against your own company.

dawizard

Just to follow up on this, I got a quote of $1700 to fix all the damage from a MB certified collision center. This was assuming they'll be fixing the bumper instead of replacing it (which they claimed would be a $2k cost and Insurance would never approve)...so I've asked them to call the insurance adjustor and have them take a look.

Strafzettel

They would fix the bumper instead of replacing it if it saved the insurance just a buck! I had similar damage on my 2012c350 and they did a good job but I could tell that the little cover where the towing hook goes didn't fit as it used to. I didn't make a big fuss because the car was leased, otherwise I would have.

dawizard

Turns out they agreed to replace it!