Diminished Value - File Suit or Not?

weems

Mach Won
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Backstory,

I was in an accident in my edge that did $10,800 worth of damage, I was not at fault and the other driver was ticketed.

3 months later I get my car back after multiple trips to different repair shops to sort out all of the issues, and even now the car is still not back to how it was before.

I hired a diminished value company, and they said my car lost roughly $3,300 in value. State farm then sent someone out, and they determined my car only lost roughly $2,400 in value and that is what they offered. We countered at $2,800 and State Farm won't budge off $2,400. The DM company I hired is recommending that I file suit. Anybody ever dealt with this before? I don't know how much trouble $400 is worth.
 

fulanititoo8198

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I had a similar incident but I never did anything about it, I still have time though. May I ask what company you hired?
 

SID297

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Sue them in small claims court. I would get a few opinions from used car dealership managers too. Make sure you have witnesses lined up for your court date. Don't rely on an affidavit.
 

earl lee

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I work in insurance, unless you want to deal with this for a 2+ years or more I'd accept the offer. Ive seen how long an insurance company will tie up claims in litigation. What you need to ask yourself is how much is your time worth. I get emails from adjusters asking for files we did appraisals on 3+ years ago saying they are just now going to court. How old is this Edge?
 

SID297

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I work in insurance, unless you want to deal with this for a 2+ years or more I'd accept the offer. Ive seen how long an insurance company will tie up claims in litigation. What you need to ask yourself is how much is your time worth. I get emails from adjusters asking for files we did appraisals on 3+ years ago saying they are just now going to court. How old is this Edge?

That's not typical of small claims in most jurisdictions.
 

DIMINISHEDVALUE

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Your appraiser is recommending that you file suit? That's unusual and not their place to advise you in legal matters. We are happy to serve as expert witnesses and are well paid to do so but would never push someone toward litigation. That is your decision to make.
 

Drive XR7

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Your appraiser is recommending that you file suit? That's unusual and not their place to advise you in legal matters. We are happy to serve as expert witnesses and are well paid to do so but would never push someone toward litigation. That is your decision to make.

:lol: Hahaha
 

Mach828

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I'd accept the offer, I'm surprised they were willing to offer you that much.

Lol at diminishedvalue username.
 

mc01svt

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Just a couple of points here...

#1. I'm AMAZED that they are offering you anything. With alot of insurance companies they make the statement that the "vehicle has been repaired to OEM specifications, therefore loss of value is negligible"

#2. If you were to ever sell your vehicle and a major incident is in its history i can assure you that the loss of value will be a lot more than $3,000. If you were about to buy a used car and one had a major accident and the other didnt and they were withing a few grand which would you buy? Lets be realistic here.

#3. Court will cost you more than the difference of what they are offering. I'd take that check and run.
 

jbs$

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Take the money, it would cost you more than the difference just to have an Attorney send them a nasty letter and follow up.
 

Serpent

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I work in insurance, unless you want to deal with this for a 2+ years or more I'd accept the offer. Ive seen how long an insurance company will tie up claims in litigation. What you need to ask yourself is how much is your time worth. I get emails from adjusters asking for files we did appraisals on 3+ years ago saying they are just now going to court. How old is this Edge?
Time is money man, also gas getting to court, lunch, PTO time spent away from work. Those add up and you might be spending more just trying to get MORE....
 

JPKII

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Just a couple of points here...

#1. I'm AMAZED that they are offering you anything. With alot of insurance companies they make the statement that the "vehicle has been repaired to OEM specifications, therefore loss of value is negligible"

#2. If you were to ever sell your vehicle and a major incident is in its history i can assure you that the loss of value will be a lot more than $3,000. If you were about to buy a used car and one had a major accident and the other didnt and they were withing a few grand which would you buy? Lets be realistic here.

#3. Court will cost you more than the difference of what they are offering. I'd take that check and run.

Sadly this reflects my experience with a similar case. My wife got "t-boned" in our 2013 STi. Other driver was ticketed and was 100% to blame. The car had just over 11,000 miles on it and I kept the car perfectly spotless. Our repair was just over $12K.

It took about 6 weeks for the repairs. During that time I started asking the other driver's insurance company, Countrywide, if I would be compensated for loss of value since the car has an accident on it's record. I was told exactly what was said above in point #1. I then called my State Farm agent and our bank and received the same answer. I did a bunch of research and found several lawsuits all of which sided with the insurance companies and their claims of quality of repair & no effect on resale. Which we all know is complete bullshit. A car that's been in an accident like the one we had will never be the same. And given the chance to purchase our car at a $5K discount vs. a similarly equipped vehicle with no accident history I'd buy the "clean" car 100% of the of time...
 

weems

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My diminished value adjuster even drafted up a harsh little "notice to file suit" letter. I was convinced I was going to send it to State Farm but after reading this thread I might just take the settlement.
 

SID297

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There are no attorney's fees in small claims court, just a filing fee plus whatever your witnesses cost you.

You can always file the suit and continue to negotiate. A pending suit can motivate a better offer.
 

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