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Woman backed into my parked convertible last night in a garaged. Have her insurance info. She left a note. Anyone know how to go after her Ins co for diminished value? Car is worth less now than yesterday before this. Police report filed. Bringing it to the Benz dealer for repair. Proximity sensors on bumper messed up. Thanks.
Ask your insurance agent about diminished value. Florida is a no-fault state. Your own insurance is responsible for repairs. It may attempt to recover from the other company, but that is up to them.
Thanks ua, you are right. I can't get anywhere with the womans insurance co so I called mine and they said they will take care of it. I could not get anywhere with her phone number, license plate or name she left at the parking garage. The license plate was a repair plate so it could have been anybody driving the pickup truck she was driving, the company that owns the plate of course does not have a clue, they are all in hiding mode, lol. I'll just let my insurance co handle it and that's exactly what they said that they would attempt to go after the insurance company the plate that I have a picture of from the parking garage. Interesting that the Distronic still works ok, except when i use the turn signal to change lanes nothing happens. according to the backup sensors when I put the car in reverse they are all still working but I think since the one in corner of the bumper cover is not aimed properly from the dent it's throwing off the lane change feature, probably when the bumper is repaired and sensor put back in it'll work ok although might require a reset.
I feel your pain, and am honestly sympathetic. In "diminished value", I assume you're saying that now somewhere, in your vehicle's records (CarFax, etc.), there will be a notation that it was wrecked, so a future buyer might be put off? But when driving and insuring a car, aren't we expecting something to be damaged some day? Or at least are not too surprised when it is? And that being the case, why would an insurance company be expected to pay for anything more than to repair/replace the damage in the best way possible, and not be liable for "diminished value", at least without some kind of additional premium being paid, to someone?
The way it works is the woman’s insurance co who hit my car is suppose to pay the diminished value claim but to do that I’ll be getting a lawyer involved. Why should someone who is completely negligent and piles into a 84000 dollar Mercedes just get away with it with no consequences?
Anyone have any guesstimates on roughly how much this should cost who has had a similar thing happen? Looks like it just needs a new bumper cover and then paint it. I dunno maybe it’s under 3 grand? The car drives fine and alignment seems fine. I guess should be a fairly easy fix coulda been worse.
Sorry about that. Reminds me of a mild rear-ender in Palm Beach County. A visiting Venezuelan (with insurance) creased my rear bumper on I-95 in stop and go traffic. I had it fixed in Tampa with SW Florida's top indy body shop and it never showed up on any reporting service. The repair was flawless.
As to your question, diminished value is a valid , compensable damage in Florida.
I guess probably the best way to play it if it does not show up on carfax I won’t go after the woman’s insurance if it does I’ll get a really good lawyer. I sure don’t want to loose tons of money because of another persons negligence. It does not affect the way the car drives so wouldn’t think it should be a factor for anyone who was considering buying the car. It’s just cosmetic and once fixed it will be as good as new.
Firstly, sorry your car got damaged.
Diminished Value? I can see your point...but...how do you put a number to that? No disrespect, but is it worth pursuing considering that the damaged part (from the photo only) is replaceable and not structural. More importantly, you appear to be a "Mercedes guy", meaning that the next owner of your car might be (probably will be?) the Mercedes dealer doing the repairs. Compared to dealing with insurance companies, lawyers, court rooms, etc? Just saying.
Ask everyone involved if they report to Carfax or AutoCheck. I was worried about deminished value too when we had our BMW and it seemed to stay in the repair shop more than on the road. I checked with the dealership and was told by the service manager that they did not report to them because, "there was nothing meaningful in it for them or their customers." I found this odd and then checked with two diffeent dealerships I had connections with. Both said they did not report to them either and one stated that usually just the insurance company does it. I thought most larger businesses automatically reported.
On another note, diminished value is real and I have seen someone recoup some value here (it's been awhile and I don't remember it all but it might have been a % that the adjuster factored in). I also will look past a car that has something on a report, too many service records, or even too many owners. There are just too many cars out there to pick from so I would definitely look into it.
Good luck.
A lot of the time it's done on a contingency basis.
Just some honesty here in my reply.
Contingency? Really? Before filing a lawsuit the standard contingency fee is 1/3. Additionally, you will be responsible for all costs and fees. With court filing fees, other expenses, add another $800 to the fee. Let's say the damages are $5000...I doubt any attorney will take this case on a contingency for $1,500 less costs but who knows. Yes diminished value is a damage.
Do you have a local attorney who has done work for you? Perhaps that would be an option and request a simple demand letter.
Your regular Florida attorney can be a big help and best advise you. Good luck!
I think diminished value cases are geared toward vintage cars. And even then you would need to have a recent appraisal prior to the accident. For modern high value cars, well at 84k you might be on the lower side of the spectrum.
The insurance and attorney might say it would cost more to just FIND the right diminished value then it would be pay you for it. You should contact a Beverly Hills attorney for this lol they probably bang around their 250k+ cars all day long over there hahah
I unfortunately had recent experience with diminished value and insurance companies. My 2016 GLE400 got rear ended in stop and go traffic on 95 in Palm Beach County. My brother is co-owner and long time insurance agent. Person who hit my car had insurance with same company my brother had worked for over 35 years. Diminished value is relative new concept, your car has been in an accident and may not be worth as much in trade as one that hasn’t been in an accident. Spoke with my Mercedes salesman who stated if it shows up on car fax Mercedes may not certify it as CPO, thus worth less, but no fault of mine. Supplied him with info on damage and he said diminished value was $3500. Insurance company offered $1000. Went to a service in south Florida that deals with evaluating diminished values. They obtained quotes from 5 Mercedes dealers in south Florida, which ranged from $3800 to $4500. Submitted report to insurance company who said our offer is $1000, take it or leave it. I either accept their low offer or try to fight it with a lawyer, and who knows who will win that one beside the lawyer.
I don’t really know what’s going to happen at this point. I’m kicking myself a little bit already as I have a really good reasonable body shop guy who I probably could have had just replace the bumper cover and paint it for around 1500 bucks and paid him cash and be done with it. He was nervous about working on the car with all the electronics especially when I told him the lane change assist isn’t working now. Looks like none of the sensors are damaged though and o think it’s because the sensor near the big dent is pointing wrong now. With the route I’m taking going through a Mercedes certified body shop and my insurance co I’m almost guaranteed having it show up on carfax. Sucks I didn’t even get an apology from the woman who hit it. Gives me a nice warm fuzzy feeling. I guess though if I just keep the car ten years or so or more it will all be irrelevant anyhow and at least the car will be fixed as good as new.
I unfortunately had recent experience with diminished value and insurance companies. My 2016 GLE400 got rear ended in stop and go traffic on 95 in Palm Beach County. My brother is co-owner and long time insurance agent. Person who hit my car had insurance with same company my brother had worked for over 35 years. Diminished value is relative new concept, your car has been in an accident and may not be worth as much in trade as one that hasn’t been in an accident. Spoke with my Mercedes salesman who stated if it shows up on car fax Mercedes may not certify it as CPO, thus worth less, but no fault of mine. Supplied him with info on damage and he said diminished value was $3500. Insurance company offered $1000. Went to a service in south Florida that deals with evaluating diminished values. They obtained quotes from 5 Mercedes dealers in south Florida, which ranged from $3800 to $4500. Submitted report to insurance company who said our offer is $1000, take it or leave it. I either accept their low offer or try to fight it with a lawyer, and who knows who will win that one beside the lawyer.
Thanks for the info. It does sound like a tough one. The more I read the less positive I am about getting any diminished value. Looks like if I do get rid of the car in the next few years I’ll take at least a 3k hit there and now I’m sure I risk having my insurance rates go up some too as I had to go through my own insurance even though it was not my fault. So all in all this lady hitting my parked car might set me back 10 grand or so over the long term. The good news is I did get her plate number so maybe my insurance company can do something with that. Unfortunately it’s a repair plate which is similar to a dealer plate. I also have her name but who knows if that’s her real name or not. The parking garage got the info. The car was only parked for 45 minutes. She backed into the car somehow.
Last edited by 2012 merc amg; Jul 23, 2019 at 10:24 PM.
Anyone have any guesstimates on roughly how much this should cost who has had a similar thing happen? Looks like it just needs a new bumper cover and then paint it. I dunno maybe it’s under 3 grand? The car drives fine and alignment seems fine. I guess should be a fairly easy fix coulda been worse.
I'm so sorry to check in and see this.
In answer to your question a good friend of ours ran into the back of a Jeep about 3 weeks ago. She was at a stop light and how she managed to do this, just lifted her foot off the brake and rolled into the car in from of her. She has an E400 Cabrio and the entire front bumper had to replaced. It cost $3,000. The car she hit is now suing her for back injury. She rolled into the car. There was no hard hit. And the woman got out of her car, surveyed the minimal damage to her Jeep and said she was not in any pain whatsoever. People SUCK SUCK SUCK. She must have hired a low life lawyer who advised her to sue.
Yep that’s what it sounds like. They have all those chiropractic/ lawyer clinics in Florida you see everywhere. My car is in really good hands right now. It’s the best Mercedes certified auto body shop in RI. I suspect my damage is around 3 to 5 grand something like that. Thing is I really like the car and it more than likely will be a long term keeper for me so I guess diminished value won’t be much of a factor anyhow. The only thing o worry about is if I injured a shoulder or something and I couldn’t get in and out of the car and had to sell it early. So this will give me more of a excuse to keep my weight down and keep myself in shape.
I'm glad your car is in good hands. Our MB Dealer has an amazing body shop here in Tampa too. Once you get your baby back, you won't be able to tell it was ever hurt. Do post pics when you get it back.
Florida, I believe has more lawyers per capita than any state in the country. Every other commercial on TV is from an attorney and driving down any highway you see billboard after billboard for some attorney.
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