Diminution in Value appraisal/claim

[BRNG ITT]

My truck is still in the shop following an accident back in August. I was sitting at a red light when a car coming from my right had a green light to turn left in front of me. Another car coming from my left flew through a red light, hitting the other car sending them both into my truck.

Everyone in the other vehicles were taken to the hospital by ambulance. The DPS officer searched the car of the person who ran the red light looking for contact info and insurance. Paper plates, no insurance papers, and half a sandwich bag of Walter White’s recipe was found in the car.

Fortunately I have uninsured motorist coverage.

Fast forward to a week and a half ago.

I get a letter in the mail from AAA auto insurance of Texas. Basic letter acknowledging fault and giving me contact information of the insurance agent for the person who ran the red light. Come to find out the we’re insured.

Great, I withdrew my pending Diminution of Value Claim with USAA and requested the appropriate forms from the AAA agent.

This was the response:

I see this as a B.S. tactic to try and keep a baseline number of people from moving forward with a claim.

Has anyone had any experience with paying for a Diminished Value appraisal and submitting it for a DIV claim? If so, would anyone recommend a specific company? Thanks.

$6000 repair bill

Steering wheel is straight

 

[lOOKnGO]

August? Unreal!


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[Blk04L]

My only advise is to hire an attorney. That was the way my father went when going after diminished value.
They got the value he wanted and then charged the insurance for their time.

 

[BRNG ITT]

August? Unreal!


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Yes sir. I’m trying to deal with the collision center right now regarding tire replacement. They are trying to just replace the front right tire with a new one at 18.3/32” tread depth with the other tires being at 13/32” depth.

When you crunch the numbers, my left tire would rotate a little over 5 more times per mile than my right one. A BIG no-no in 4WD.

My only advise is to hire an attorney. That was the way my father went when going after diminished value.
They got the value he wanted and then charged the insurance for their time.

Very interesting. I will have to look into this. Thanks.

 

[SID297]

Those Nitto Ridge Grapplers are great tires, aren't they?

Hire a lawyer.

 

[BRNG ITT]

Those Nitto Ridge Grapplers are great tires, aren't they?

Hire a lawyer.

They are! Quiet on the road, excellent tread wear; 35K miles on the ones in the pictures.

Probably going to go that route.

 

[CobraBob]

When Travis recommends that you hire an attorney.....definitely hire an attorney! For good reason on this one. And you'll rest easier knowing that the attorney is taking care of your best interests.

Sucks that you've been without your truck since August, too. That's 2 months in the shop.

 

[13COBRA]

I'd go to your local dealership and have them give you bids to buy your truck pre and post accident, then send that to the insurance company. If they balk at that, then get an attorney. My $0.02.

 

[Weather Man]

Sad, but insurance companies will just ignore a Joe Smoe, as noted above, they don't ignore attorneys.

 

[BRNG ITT]

I'd go to your local dealership and have them give you bids to buy your truck pre and post accident, then send that to the insurance company. If they balk at that, then get an attorney. My $0.02.

I was thinking this same thing, and considering your expertise, I’ll be doing just that. I’ll also be researching a good attorney like Travis suggested in the meantime.

 

[ford fanatic]

Following...

 

[BRNG ITT]

Following...

I’ll be sure to update the thread as I make progress through the end result.

 

[ford fanatic]

I’ll be sure to update the thread as I make progress through the end result.

Thanks, i'm always curious to the outcome of these kind of situations.

 

[sleek98]

Had to hire an attorney to get them to pay mine. Their offer was for 1,600 to pay the 3,300 repair bill, yep they were not even going to pay the full repair bill. Hired an attorney, sent them the filing notification and magically they offered 12,000 for me to go away.

 

[13COBRA]

I was thinking this same thing, and considering your expertise, I’ll be doing just that. I’ll also be researching a good attorney like Travis suggested in the meantime.

We do it 5-10 times a year for customers, and I've never seen an insurance company flinch at it. As long as the dealership is reasonable, so will the insurance company.

It's just common sense. A typical customer will not pay the same for a vehicle that has an accident on the history report, as they will a clean history report. Some cars it might be $500 difference, others might be $20k+. I wrote one last year on a 2017 GT350 that had 789 miles on it, that was hit and had over $30k in damage. The customer ended up getting an additional $14k in diminished value.

 

[CV355]

***EDIT*** - Saw that this was already suggested. +1 on the solution!

We had that exact situation play out last September. Here's what we did:

Bring the vehicle to a dealership (preferably the one you bought it from, if it was from a dealer). Have them give an offer value assuming no accident, and then again with the accident record. Give both documents to the insurance company as proof of diminished value. We actually won that battle last year- it went so smoothly that we actually changed our insurance over to that company.

 

[BRNG ITT]

We do it 5-10 times a year for customers, and I've never seen an insurance company flinch at it. As long as the dealership is reasonable, so will the insurance company.

It's just common sense. A typical customer will not pay the same for a vehicle that has an accident on the history report, as they will a clean history report. Some cars it might be $500 difference, others might be $20k+. I wrote one last year on a 2017 GT350 that had 789 miles on it, that was hit and had over $30k in damage. The customer ended up getting an additional $14k in diminished value.

***EDIT*** - Saw that this was already suggested. +1 on the solution!

We had that exact situation play out last September. Here's what we did:

Bring the vehicle to a dealership (preferably the one you bought it from, if it was from a dealer). Have them give an offer value assuming no accident, and then again with the accident record. Give both documents to the insurance company as proof of diminished value. We actually won that battle last year- it went so smoothly that we actually changed our insurance over to that company.

Very good info on both parts. Thank you guys for your help.

 

[svtfocus2cobra]

With your explanation on the other tires needing replacement, you should be able to have the shop write that up in a letter with the details of why and how as you explained and submit that to the insurance company for supplement. With your explanation a case could be made that the vehicle would not be in good mechanical order once completed, and the insurance companies have to ensure that the vehicle is proper condition in regards to everything pertaining to the accident.

 

[_Snake_]

Call these guys before you call an attorney.

Auto Appraisal & Diminished Value | Auto Damage Experts

Their point of contact in Tampa, Barrett, helped me immensely and I walked away with more money in my pocket than if I had hired a lawyer.