Diminished value after a fender bender

Cmarsdavis · Jun 10, 2017

Man you guys are on it. Thanks for the input. Time to run some numbers...

Cmarsdavis · Jun 10, 2017

MikeyMcFly said: ↑

My understanding is that CarFax will only show an accident in the event of a police report.

My wife's tC was bumped in the front in a parking lot, hit by a car on the side in a parking lot and she scraped a parking pylon at a gas station. All three repairs were completed using insurance and none showed up on the CarFax. I had blindly assumed that since the repairs went through insurance they'd show up.

My Vette has definitely been bumped and had a fender resprayed and has a clean CarFax. I was upset once I realized that while I was doing some unrelated work. The repair was done quite well so I didn't notice while I was purchasing it.
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I got a police report. For some reason I didn't trust the kid that hit me.

MikeyMcFly · Jun 10, 2017

Cmarsdavis[OP] said: ↑

I got a police report. For some reason I didn't trust the kid that hit me.
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Fair enough, so that will definitely show up then. It was definitely a wise decision, and the rest of the thread has the perfect advice on how to deal with it.

sigrooms · Jun 10, 2017

Cmarsdavis[OP] initial post: ↑

So I've had 2017 SR5 for all of two months and this 21 yr old kid bumps me from behind in his new BMW (that his daddy paid for). I've been babying my Taco since I got it so needless to say I am less than thrilled. Looks like all I need is a new bumper, so it isn't too bad. Turns out he has good insurance so I asked them about the loss of value my truck will now receive. They now want me to prove what that value would be and submit it to them. So, my question to you all is...what would be the loss of value to YOU. Obviously this is subjective, and I'm just going to use the responses for my letter to them.

Thanks!
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Insurance companies only use NADA when looking up vehicle values to plug into their formulas for policy creation.

1bad2k · Jun 10, 2017

That's their job. Tell them to present an offer to you or else you can just use a lawyer who works in finished value (yes there are actual lawyers that specialize in this lol.)

TejasTaco · Jun 10, 2017

If your VIN is on carfax, that's 3-5k in DV.

AZDuck97 · Jun 11, 2017

My advice... don't get your hopes up.

I went through a similar situation when my truck was 6 months old. There's a thread on here somewhere but I'm too lazy to dig it up right now.

Anyway, got rear ended by an idiot, 100% his fault, damage ended up being over $12k. No bent frame or suspension damage, purely cosmetic. Best I could do was about $600 for diminished value. I don't think that was far off from reality. I took my truck into a dealer for an appraisal after repairs were made, and compares that number to KBB/NADA/etc. Not much different. But keep in mind, this is NOT official and the other insurance company will likely not care about anything you tell them about diminished value UNLESS you are willing to hire an expert on your own dime to come up with a DV estimate. These services could cost up to $1000. Don't bother with the online diminished value estimates - again, the insurance company is likely to laugh at those numbers and not care. You need a professional "real human" to provide an estimate and after you pay them, any additional $$ you may have gotten will likely be lost.

Your other option is hire a lawyer. But again, you need real proof not just "damn I'm pissed, I want $5k" And, you're paying for the lawyer on your own dime too, likely negating any additional $$ you may have received.

I know, it sucks. I was pissed for a long time after my incident. Still am. Fucking asshat should permanently lose his license imo...

But you can be nearly certain you won't get what you want. Or anywhere close.

smitty99 · Jun 11, 2017

AZDuck97 said: ↑

My advice... don't get your hopes up.

I went through a similar situation when my truck was 6 months old. There's a thread on here somewhere but I'm too lazy to dig it up right now.

Anyway, got rear ended by an idiot, 100% his fault, damage ended up being over $12k. No bent frame or suspension damage, purely cosmetic. Best I could do was about $600 for diminished value. I don't think that was far off from reality. I took my truck into a dealer for an appraisal after repairs were made, and compares that number to KBB/NADA/etc. Not much different. But keep in mind, this is NOT official and the other insurance company will likely not care about anything you tell them about diminished value UNLESS you are willing to hire an expert on your own dime to come up with a DV estimate. These services could cost up to $1000. Don't bother with the online diminished value estimates - again, the insurance company is likely to laugh at those numbers and not care. You need a professional "real human" to provide an estimate and after you pay them, any additional $$ you may have gotten will likely be lost.

Your other option is hire a lawyer. But again, you need real proof not just "damn I'm pissed, I want $5k" And, you're paying for the lawyer on your own dime too, likely negating any additional $$ you may have received.

I know, it sucks. I was pissed for a long time after my incident. Still am. Fucking asshat should permanently lose his license imo...

But you can be nearly certain you won't get what you want. Or anywhere close.
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Oh yeah you were the guy cussing on camera!

smitty99 · Jun 11, 2017

AZDuck97 said: ↑

My advice... don't get your hopes up.

I went through a similar situation when my truck was 6 months old. There's a thread on here somewhere but I'm too lazy to dig it up right now.

Anyway, got rear ended by an idiot, 100% his fault, damage ended up being over $12k. No bent frame or suspension damage, purely cosmetic. Best I could do was about $600 for diminished value. I don't think that was far off from reality. I took my truck into a dealer for an appraisal after repairs were made, and compares that number to KBB/NADA/etc. Not much different. But keep in mind, this is NOT official and the other insurance company will likely not care about anything you tell them about diminished value UNLESS you are willing to hire an expert on your own dime to come up with a DV estimate. These services could cost up to $1000. Don't bother with the online diminished value estimates - again, the insurance company is likely to laugh at those numbers and not care. You need a professional "real human" to provide an estimate and after you pay them, any additional $$ you may have gotten will likely be lost.

Your other option is hire a lawyer. But again, you need real proof not just "damn I'm pissed, I want $5k" And, you're paying for the lawyer on your own dime too, likely negating any additional $$ you may have received.

I know, it sucks. I was pissed for a long time after my incident. Still am. Fucking asshat should permanently lose his license imo...

But you can be nearly certain you won't get what you want. Or anywhere close.
Click to expand...

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/hes-dead-jim.448402/

AZDuck97 · Jun 11, 2017

smitty99 said: ↑

Oh yeah you were the guy cussing on camera!
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Hah! Yep, that's me.

smitty99 · Jun 11, 2017

AZDuck97 said: ↑

Hah! Yep, that's me.
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Sucks man. Nothing worse than your brand new vehicle getting schwacked like that.

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Diminished value after a fender bender

#21
Cmarsdavis [OP] Well-Known Member

#22
Cmarsdavis [OP] Well-Known Member

#23
MikeyMcFly This is heavy, Doc.

#24
sigrooms Well-Known Member

#25
1bad2k Well-Known Member

#26
TejasTaco Grab a taco

#27
AZDuck97 Active Member

#28
smitty99 I also bought a 4Runner

#29
smitty99 I also bought a 4Runner

#30
AZDuck97 Active Member

#31
smitty99 I also bought a 4Runner

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Diminished value after a fender bender

#21 Cmarsdavis [OP] Well-Known Member

#22 Cmarsdavis [OP] Well-Known Member

#23 MikeyMcFly This is heavy, Doc.

#24 sigrooms Well-Known Member

#25 1bad2k Well-Known Member

#26 TejasTaco Grab a taco

#27 AZDuck97 Active Member

#28 smitty99 I also bought a 4Runner

#29 smitty99 I also bought a 4Runner

#30 AZDuck97 Active Member

#31 smitty99 I also bought a 4Runner

Products Discussed in Entire Site Forum: 3rd Gen. Tacomas (2016-2023)

#21
Cmarsdavis [OP] Well-Known Member

#22
Cmarsdavis [OP] Well-Known Member

#23
MikeyMcFly This is heavy, Doc.

#24
sigrooms Well-Known Member

#25
1bad2k Well-Known Member

#26
TejasTaco Grab a taco

#27
AZDuck97 Active Member

#28
smitty99 I also bought a 4Runner

#29
smitty99 I also bought a 4Runner

#30
AZDuck97 Active Member

#31
smitty99 I also bought a 4Runner

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