Does anyone know about/range for the dimished value of a 2003.5 G35 Coupe fully loaded with 14,700 miles?
As some of you might have read, I was in an accident July 31st, banged up my G pretty good. Looks like it is not going to be totaled. About $16,000 grand worth of damage so far. The other person who was invovled in the accident was responsible, so her insurance company is paying 100%.

What I am looking for now is a range of how much to ask for a dimished value check? How much value do you think my car lost if I was to trade it in after it was fixed (no matter how good of a job was done)?

I'd like to know what everyone things.

-Rhon

CCoupe.. Premium Package, Aero Package, Navigation, Performance Wheel & Tire Package, 35% tint all around
Coming soon: MB Quart 6.5 components for front and Infinity Basslink sub in trunk!

 

I am in this process now, I paid for a diminished value report($400) that is not recoverable. I had about 4k damage, diminished value about 3k. 04 coupe with 10k. I would guess you would be about 10k.

 

have they completely torn the car down to make sure they have covered everything in the estimate ? with 16k in damage there is usually more hidden damage, this could increase the amt of damage and put it at a total loss. I would insist the car be totaled. the arguement I used when this happened to me in another car was that if they did not total the car and repaired it and anything happened to someone in the car because of the car being unsafe they would be held responsible for putting me back in an unsafe car. It worked they totaled the car. a car with that extent of damage is NEVER the same. for diminished value I would as for $15,000.00 this might also help them to decide to total it. considering if you tried to sell it , no-one is going to give you more than 15k considering the damage. If you sell the car you are required to disclose it has been in an accident.

good luck hope it works out

 

One of the things the insurer who was paying for damage when my Audi was hit required was a Dminished Value form to be filled out. It required a "qualified person" to write on paper what the value would have been without the crash and what the value now is with the cash. I believe it was Nationwide. Find out how the form and the process works. It may be moot to get our opinion and ask for a specific amount if you have to go through the same process I did.

2004.5 Coupe/5AT/Ivory/Everything but front spoiler/Nismo CAI/Crawford V5/Crawford Cats

 

Hey if the car is leased and involved in an accident. Regardless of what, once the car is fixed Infiniti has to take the car back right? I mean once the work is under warranty and all.

 

I was in a car accident where I was rear-ended by a drunk driver back on March 7. I had about $18k worth of body/frame damage.. and the care is still in the stereo shop and that should be around $3k. I went to the infiniti dealership and they signed a form saying that they value the car at $16k. They basically took the KBB value which was approx $32 and divided it in half. Btw, my car was a 2003 with 15k miles.

Goodluck, I know I need it,

Chino

 

Diminished Value is not recognized in every state by laws. I've only heard a couple of states actually passing laws. But no guidelines have been set forth, AFAIK. It's a very grey area. Diminshed value is what people claim the value of the car to have dropped simply because the car has been involved in an accident. It has nothing to do with whether or not the vehicle was repaired properly or can be restored to 100% pre-loss condition. This is the body shop's responsibility. Not the person who is responsible for the accident nor the insurance company's responsibility. A vehicle totals when the cost of repair is more than the value of the vehicle. So if there is an issue with the repairs, the body shop needs to address it with the insurance company to make sure the necessary repairs are paid for. If at this point the repairs exceed the value of the car then the car would have to be totalled. Using this as the basis of your argument would be weak. If the car is repaired and there are problems, then ultimately, the carrier should pay for the additional problems. It's not like a bodily injury claim where you might consider future medical expenses on a serious injury.

The premise is that if someone tries to sell their car the buyer will not pay as much. But this is difficult to prove. There is certainly concerns that a car buyer has, but to what extent? And if the car was repaired properly to the manufacturer's specs then what difference is there between this car and a car that wasn't involved in an accident?

And if diminished value is that big a factor, why don't dealers have diminished value lots? If we were to say that a vehicle's value is half of the KBB value as a result of an accident, where are these cars located? I'll buy a repaired G35 for 15K and score me a great deal. Lets be realistic. And dealership opinions tend to be biased. Think about it. They are in the business of making money. They hope to sell you a brand new car with the money you get from an insurance company. And if the car was repaired properly and otherwise within the scope of the used cars they will sell on the lot, there is a good chance they will sell the vehicle themselves and charge market value. So you trade in the car for $15K or so, and then they sell it for $30K and then sell you a new car as well...hmmm? In CA, dealers do not have to disclose frame damage to a potential buyer unless the frame was not repaired properly. So as long as it's repaired properly do you think they will say something? In some cases they might not tell you even if it wasn't repaired properly.

Market research would likely show a lot of cars selling at market value while having been involved in some kind of accident. Ultimately, if they don't pay you diminshed value or don't pay what you are asking, you're only other recourse will probably be to go to court. Proving diminished value may not be as easy as you think. Especially the larger the amount you are claiming. Realistically you'ld need some pretty credible data showing that cars that were damaged and repaired properly sell for consistently less.

Bear in mind as well most if not all policies will not pay diminished value for a 1st party loss. The policy verbage usually states they only pay for the cost of repairs or the value of the vehicle. I don't know if states with diminished value laws might be different or not. But in those that don't, you have to present your claim to the responsible party directly. Your own carrier can only legally try and recover the monies they paid out to you. Most will submit your out of pocket damage claims on your behalf, but if the responsible party denies it then they can't pursue it through legal action. You would have to bring it to suit yourself.

Diminished value is still relatively in it's infancy as well. This can be both an advantage and disadvantage in presenting a claim. Very little market research on this topic is really available. There are few laws in a limited amount of states. There is little to no case law regarding the matter. And being that most of the cars that are repaired are sold well after the repairs, it's hard to keep tabs on individual vehicles to compare the selling cost vs the market value. Grey areas tend to allow for arguments either way, but in most cases the defense as the clear advantage in that the plaintiff must prove the claim to some reasonable extent.

My own opinion on diminished value...I have been an auto claims adjuster for 6+ years. There can be some amount of legitimacy regarding diminished value. But in all my years noone has filed a diminished value claim to me with any real credible or convincing arguments. Most are likely just looking for additional money. It's hard to make this kind of claim legitimate as a result. I'm all for a person getting paid for legitimate claims, but for those trying to make money, it's a shame to see my own premiums getting applied towards this.

 

"A vehicle totals when the cost of repair is more than the value of the vehicle"

I find this interesting considering your a claims rep, no offence but the above statement is not true or at least not true in all states. I have had 5 cars totaled and it was based on a percentage of the damage to the cars book value, Not if the repairs exceded the value of the car.

There is legitimacy regarding diminished value I am not a professional in the auto industry but show me any car that has been in an accident and repaired by the best shops and I guarantee you i will find something that has not been repaired to the way it was before the accident. The simple fact is that once it has been damaged it will NEVER be the way it was before the accident. I myself would never buy a car that has evidence of major damage unless it was really cheap and i was lookin for a deal.



<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small"><EM>Edited by 2004G35CAT on 08/11/04 02:03 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

"I find this interesting considering your a claims rep, no offence but the above statement is not true or at least not true in all states. I have had 5 cars totaled and it was based on a percentage of the damage to the cars book value, Not if the repairs exceded the value of the car. "

The reason for the percentage is because there is a salvage credit and the possibility of additional damages, especially with newer and more expensive vehicles as the amount of damages that need to add up to total is high. without tearing the car down on extensive damages, it's almost impossible to determine what repairs need to be made underneath. There is some room for judgement and the precentages you speak of are more or less guidelines. If a car is a borderline total and the inspector believes there will be additonal damages once the car is torn down, then they will likely total the car as the overall cost of repairs will exceed the actual cost to handle as a total loss. Sorry if I wan't more specific, but this really wasn't the main topic of discussion.

"There is legitimacy regarding diminished value I am not a professional in the auto industry but show me any car that has been in an accident and repaired by the best shops and I guarantee you i will find something that has not been repaired to the way it was before the accident. The simple fact is that once it has been damaged it will NEVER be the way it was before the accident. I myself would never buy a car that has evidence of major damage unless it was really cheap and i was lookin for a deal."

Funny, I've had my previous cars repaired by body shops several times and never had an issue with the repairs. Minor problems can go missed and occassionally even bigger problems. But this is not diminished value. If there is additional damages that were missed the car should be taken back to the shop and addressed accordingly. If it is damage that was not seen before then the insurance company should be paying the additional repairs. If you actually see evidence of major damage then the repairs were not done right. Again Diminished value claims have nothing to do with whether or not the repairs were done right or were incomplete. It is a claim made for a loss of value of the vehicle just for the fact it was damaged. A court of law does not make assumptions or speculations about future damages. They must be proven. If there is damage that was missed you must provide proof of it. To prove a diminished value claim, you would also need to provide some kind of evidence to prove diminished value exists and to what extent.

 

$2,400 in Damage, 700$ Dimished value check

2004c Graph/Graph, prem, aero, Sport, Injen CAI, Gounding, heavy throttle foot.

 

$2,400 in Damage, 700$ Dimished value check. I have a 2004 and it had 1000 miles on it.

I told their ins. company that I was going to get my money one way or another and I told them I was going to get one of those sleezy lawyers from TV and sue sue sue. They called within the hour with a settlement check.

2004c Graph/Graph, prem, aero, Sport, Injen CAI, Gounding, heavy throttle foot.