There is a law in georgia that requires the insurance company to pay you the diminish value when the appraiser come to appraise your vehicle before repairs.

I got rear ended on my 01 Supercharged Frontier 3 days after I got it, and the rear bumper was pushed in along with some bent bumper brackets. Total for repair was around 900.00. The insurance company gave me 150.00 on the spot for the diminishing value. Got a new bumper and some minor paint and body work on my tailgate.

 

From my own past experience USAA has always been great. My wife previously had AIG who would not even return our calls after she got hit. She had an 02 Altima with $14,000 dollars damage. The car was worth about $16K at the time - 2 years ago. They refused to total it until we got a lawyer involved. We had 6 months of rental car before we could get resolution from AIG - then they said they wouldn't cover her anymore. This was her first claim ever in 15 years of driving.

Her altima was a base model but only had 6,000 miles on it. The entire front end was ripped off the car. She got hit by a full size truck head on. She swerved so the impact was not completely square, but both her front wheels were gone. the engine was pushed into the passenger seat, all the airbags went off and the dashboard broke around her legs.

AIG wanted to have the front of a different altima welded on to the back of her car, then straighten the back of her car (even her rear window broke from the impact) and call it a day. They assured her that it would be just as good as her car was new.

USAA does my house, my car, my motorcycles, and my loans for the car and bikes. Whenever I have had a claim, they have taken great care of me very quickly - usually better than I expected. Always fair.

 

A general rule of thumb is dimished value should be 20% or greater of the cost of repair. So on 14k I'd expect 2.8k or higher to be a fair value. Also if they want to play hardball, take them to small claims court, cheap and effective way to get what you deserve.

 

Got a call from an Apprisal Group of America, and they claim the loss is closer to $11,000. They are charging me $325 for an apprasial ,so that I can submitted to USAA. Hope they budge. My adjuster is a hard ***.
Thanks for any input.

-Jackal-

 

The saga continues... Apprasial Group of American out of Oregon quoted a dinminshed value of $10,800. They sent a Fax to USAA, lets see how they respond.

-Jackal-

 

In July 2005, I was in a major rear-end incident in my G35 Coupe. It required about $11,000 in repairs, and it's in very good shape from the outside. However, when you open the trunk, you can see weld marks.

The incident involved six cars, and the driver who started the wreck was killed. Out of his $50,000 collision coverage, State Farm paid out about $48,000.

I would like to pursue the remaining $2000. However, does it change the situation if my car is leased, since I'm technically not the owner?

 

Hey, I had a 2003 350z which suffered severe front end damage that was 0% my fault and both insurance companies agreed. My insurance company, USAA would not total the vehicle even though it was going to cost 15,000 to "repair". This would have involved completely replacing the passenger side frame rail and the entire front of the vehicle. I spoke with State Farm (the other individual's insurance company) and told them that if they did not total the car that I would immediately be fileing for dimunition of value. In the end they totaled the z, that's how I ended up with the g35 coupe. I don't know if you are in the same situation where you can deal with another insurance company. USAA would not budge on the car, but they have been great with my wife's medical expenses from the accident.

Good Luck!

 

After spending $325 for an appriasal that set the diminutive value at $10,800 and resubbmiting the claim, USAA will not budge and will stick with the measly $2090 amount for a $14K damage + bent frame. What should I do ? Any lawyers out there ?

-Jackal-

 

i was also involved in a car accident. hit and run with witnesses and police report. someone changed lanes on the freeway 11pm onto my car without looking or signaling and threw me over to the shouder and through a wooden sign, good thing i was in a g35 or else i would have ended up in a ditch at 65mph. i was sideswiped on the front end and a before i knew it i was at a 90 degree angle. i was able to control the car pretty nicely from that position other than that unavoidable sign glad to have a car like this and cant wait to get this baby back. my car had 15,000 worth or damage. 05 fully loaded g35. new bumber, hood, roof, both fenders, 2 rims, headlights(06 projectors of course) its in the process of gettting repairs so i havent gotten it back. so my question is can i still go after diminished value? i have farmers ins. california

 

Call an appraiser to total it for you if possible. Not worth all the headach.
I've retained a Lawyer out of AZ. We'll see how much more he can get out of USAA.

-Jackal0