Diminished Value Advice

I was rear ended yesterday. I was stationary. Low speed. Nobody hurt. Driver immediately got out and apologized saying he wasn't concentrating and he knew his brakes needed attention as he should have been able to stop but couldn't. Rear diffuser is cracked in at least three places and has been pushed onto the rear bumper causing minor damage at the edge.

I expect the claim to be $5k-ish assuming nothing else is broken. But I'm getting the car checked out properly tomorrow to confirm that.

Anyways, I asked State Farm about diminished value and their position is "if the car is repaired to its pre-accident state then there is no validity to a diminished value claim, that said, we would be willing to review documentary evidence to the contrary".

So... advice from the collective wisdom of FChat please. Worth pursuing and if so, how to go about it...

Thanks in advance everyone. Sad day, but nobody hurt.
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I live in GA and have collected twice on diminished value claims. Feel free to PM me if you want to talk. The big question you will have to answer is this, is your state a diminished value state or not? If so then you can collect, if not then you are screwed.

 

According to Google in CA - 1st party no, third party yes. Although the third party is also State Farm so I doubt they will be that motivated to go after themselves.

 

When my Ferrari was hit the other parties insurance paid for the repair. Once that was done I told them thanks now we need to address diminished value. I showed them a letter from my local dealer stating the value of the car before the crash and the value now, from that point we started negotiating. It took a while and a threat to file a lawsuit but they eventually cut me a check for 5k and the damage was about 25k.

 

State Farm is very funny. The problem is that they are supposed to make you whole. Returning the car to pre loss condition is not necessarily making you whole. They must indemnify the claim. How much DV on a bumper job? I would think not much because it's common to have bumper respray. Does lower air deflector come in color or in prime. If in color not much here. Talk to your dealer but State Farm must entertain it.


R

 

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/458-italia-488/381966-my-baby-returned-home-long-soap-opera.html

See post #6

 

I am not an expert here ... but, if your car's info hits Carfax or other reporting agency, then diminished value is definitely an issue. If the damage was such that it never gets to Carfax, then I would think it is questionable if there is diminished value.

Steve

 

Thanks Jim, I hadn't seen that thread. I just e-mailed Lance

 

Carfax seems to have "arrangements" with dealers, some insurers etc. to obtain its information but there is no guarantee a claim will find its way on to their report. I have no desire to hide anything, I just don't want a potential buyer years from now having a knee-jerk reaction to a Carfax report saying "vehicle was in an accident".

 

Loz very sorry to hear about this :-( I know you just got the car and were so excited about such a special car. Glad everyone is okay. You should at the very least have the car fully repaired w original Ferrari parts, unless you wanted to get an equal value aftermarket carbon fiber diffuser I know Glenn at Exotic Car Gear has a nice one...maybe you can get that in leue of the factory one, a chance for a cool looking cf piece. Glad the damage wasn't too much, keep your head up bud, everything is going to work out just fine

 

Thanks Sunir. Yup I have a very good guy who can identify exactly what was damaged. I will get that repaired properly and she will be back on the road in no time. And I won't be driving in SF rush-hour again... (I had got delayed in the south bay and knew the drive across town was going to be a pain).

 

Yes, the problem is Carfax. I had a similar situation in which my car was simply scratched by an impact under 2 miles an hour. While the damage was extremely minor, the Carfax report really was a problem when I went to sell the car. Several dealers wouldn't even consider the car because it had a Carfax report, and others low balled me really badly and weren't willing to listen about how minor the damage was. If I have a minor incident like this in the future, I will not tell my insurance company and I'll just pay for it out-of-pocket. Better to lose a few thousand dollars after an accident than tens of thousands when you sell.

 

That thread is unbelievable. And I never got my question answered and frankly..well, I'll just leave opinion to myself.

 

Same here...my son's 4Runner received about $3K damage...responsible party had State Farm. They told me I needed a statement from the a dealer indicating a loss of value due to the accident. I went to the dealer, got a letter to the effect "value is reduced by $2000 because of the crash". I negotiated a check for $1350.

 

I have used Lance Coren for appraisals of DV two times to substantiate DV claims against insurance companies. Once for a Porsche that was crashed by a valet and the second when my Maserati was side swiped. Don't expect to obtain 100% of the DV in his appraisal report. But use the appraisal as a starting point for negotiations of a settlement.

Don't forget loss of use damage if it's available in your jurisdiction (which it is in CA). I would guess that fair rental value of a 430 today is around $500/day while the car is being repaired.

Wix.com TheAutoAppraiser created by lscent based on long-left-sm

 

In California, you can only claim inherent diminished value from the third party insurance company, not your own collision carrier. That being said, even with a very comprehensive appraisal (we used St. Lucie Appraisal) the insurance company could still give you a hard time collecting the full amount. We had to go above the adjuster's head to a supervisor who took our appraisal over to one of their defense attorneys who must have told him that if I took them to court that they would lose. Because, shortly thereafter the adjuster called to offer us $11,000, just under what out diminished value was appraised at. My advice is to keep at it, don't fold under their delaying tactics and by all means don't go in there with a lame piece of evidence like a letter from a dealer because they will just toss it out. Good luck.

 

State Farm is probably wrong. You can recover generally diminished value in California, Washington, and every other state. In Washington, where I am licensed, the measure of damage for property loss in a collision for a vehicle that isn't totaled is the "reasonable cost of repair and depreciation." That basic measure is based on broad, basic precedents of negligence law.

In California your measure of damages appears to be stated thus: "t is said . . . that 'if the damaged property cannot be completely repaired, the measure of damages is the difference between its value before the injury and its value after the repairs have been made, plus the reasonable cost of making the repairs.

The foregoing rule gives the plaintiff the difference between the value of the machine before the injury and its value after such injury, the amount thereof being made up of the cost of repairs and the depreciation notwithstanding such repairs.'" Merchant Shippers Association v. Kellogg Express and Draying Co., 28 Cal.2d 594, 600 (1946). A diminished value appraiser would likely conclude that no after-market repair can truly restore a Ferrari to factory condition, and the pre-owned vehicle consumer reacts to after-market paint, after-market corrosion protection, plastic filler, and fatigued (bent and repaired) metal with hostility; as demand goes down, so does value. Your loss of use jury instruction appears to be 3903M. Verify both propositions with California counsel.

Insurance companies will offer every excuse to delay, deny, or defend diminished value claims: "the vehicle was repaired to pre-loss condition (no it wasn't - no one paints a Ferrari like the factory in Maranello)"; "you have to sell the car and realize your loss to make a claim (no you don't, you just need a qualified local appraiser)"; "we'll pay you $1,000 to make this go away (hold out - your claim is likely worth more)." I hear these same excuses in Washington in my Ferrari & Lamborghini claims and the diminished value claims I bring for BMWs, Audis, and Toyotas; it doesn't stop me from winning in the end.

You may have trouble finding an attorney who is both licensed in California and experienced litigating diminished value (sometimes fair compensation does require filing a lawsuit to show the insurance company you're serious), but attorneys can team up, so if you can find a California attorney willing to co-manage the claim (or even if you can't) then I'd be happy to chat with you about it.

 

Lawyer up if there is substantial damage. A cracked diffuser and bumper cover isn't a big deal if there is damage beyond that it may be worth higher a lawyer. My car was t boned at low speed several panels damaged repaired with all new panels by an approves body shop
Got al lawyer and got a substantial loss of value check

 

I decided not to pursue. It's a 2005, 22k miles so hardly a garage queen, I got a nice upgraded rear end and I'm going to drive it. Thanks for the input everyone.

 

wow, sucks for you of course, but imagine that guy's poor luck

rear ending a ferrari

then again, i say luck but obviously if he had neglected maintenance items, it wasn't bad luck

 

It sucks that you get rear ended and it happens to be a Ferrari. Once acident is claimed by the insurance company, it will stay on the record. Whether there was a police report or not. Anyway, great decision to drive it although it will break your heart every time you see the car. Enjoy your ride.