Diminished Value Help

Hey guys, I have a 2019 cement DCSB offroad with every option.
Back in May I was t-boned as pics below show. Damage to most of the passenger side of the truck, front, axle, drive shaft, t-case, and FRAME. The initial quote to fix was 25k but the total ended up being near 35k due to more findings/bad quote. Anyways, the truck has a clean title but has had a frame replacement and a lot of work. Before the wreck I would say it was 9/10 exterior and the interior is still 9.5/10. The shop did a fantastic job but now its time to get diminished value. What do you guys think is a good number to be satisfied with?

Initial hit was rear quarter, rear axle took most the hit:


It was raining and we spun and hit fronts:

Fixed:



The shop did let me pick out what I wanted with the given money for repairs (and add own money), I was able to change to a 2020 grille, SS3 fogs, and deaver leaf pack. Ditch lights, shocks and wheels were waiting to go on when the accident happened.

Thanks in advance for the advice.

 

Diminished value claims very by state, so I’d check with your agent or where I live there is a repair shop that advertises help with diminished value claims, that route might be worth your time.

 

Be careful that a shop like that doesn't take a percentage of your settlement in return for their "help".

 

$35K to fix and they didn't total it?

 

You are probably gonna want a lawyer for that much of a diminished value claim, or(what I would do) take whatever they give you sell it to Caravana/Carmax etc while the resale values are hot. If it were mine I would be sitting in the parking lot at Carmax the same day it came out of the body shop.

 

They probably used all the money and then requested a crazy supplement to keep the car from totaling. Lol that’s why the shop was blaming the adjuster for a bad quote/hidden damage.

I would check to verify the shop did most of the repairs and replacement. I wouldn’t be surprised if they just pulled the frame and pocketed the replacement cost as profit.
If a shop is letting you get aftermarket parts it usually means they made a lot of money off you. To afford letting you get whatever you want.

shops make a crazy markup on oem and Lkq parts. They get it at wholesale prices and get the full retail pricing from the insurance company.

 

I thought the same thing. The shop said insurance was too deep in the hole to back out now. They should’ve totaled it from the beginning but they didnt. I have talked with lawyer friends and friends in insurance who say this shouldn’t be a issue getting this. I just dont know how much is enough (enough would’ve it being totaled and a new truck but that didnt happen). And I forgot to mention that my insurance valued the truck at 47k at the time of the accident. In indiana it has to be over 70% to be totaled. It was at 68% and i was just about to get it back then the t-case had to get done, putting it about 70% but at that point it had been 4.5 months and a lot of money already spent so they did that and completed the repair.

 

They shop was very upfront with me, i have the sheets for how much they got from insurance for each part replaced which was spot on. The time constraints came from the frame, taking two months, the adjuster not wanting to accept the axle was bent (i talked to them), and then the t case stuff. The shop and I had very clear communication and I visited many times to check on it.

 

Also for the money i got to use for aftermarket parts, they showed me that they got say 180 for fog lights, 200 for grill, etc etc, and wrote me a check for for that exact amount. I had to pay a little extra but well worth it.

 

Carmax and vroom only want to give me 32k, and even with the damage its not worth lowballing myself and taking that. Maybe if I had 10k for diminished value in my pocket then yeah I would, but not I dont right now.

 

I mean here is your starting point. You said this was in may, the repairs on the accident? Hopefully you didn't sign any type of release after the repairs were done and you were happy with them.

If you have paper work with what they valued your truck at get as many comps as you can for a 2019 tacoma 4x4 with similar mileage and take an average then subtract from 47k and offer them the difference.

Did they mention what was available in PD? is there even money left in the coverage?

 

i dont think any money is left as it was supplemented 3 times. I did upload many docs showing the value of the truck of atleast 42k and in my letter to them I brought up that they valued it at 47k, so there is no reason I should have any less than the difference between that and 32k.

 

If you mean supplements payments to the bodyshop that’s different, i would ask what the property damage limits are or if any is still available.

So if they had 50k PD and your repairs were 35k and no other parties involved there could be ~15k to cover your D/V claim.

Also many people think it’s that simple, but They aren’t going to base it off a trade in price from a dealer and lose more money. There are also a lot of adjustments that are made in adjusting for comparables.

That’s usually when people go full Karen if they aren’t happy, Lol

 

Have you run a Carfax or an AutoCheck on this Tacoma? It may or may not help your case with diminished value. Typically the accident is described as minor, moderate, or severe. It may also say “vehicle was towed from scene”...Which is not something pleasant to read for a prospective buyer. I bought cars at auctions for over 20 years. Everyone now has the ability to scan a car‘s Vin number and see if it’s been an accident. If it was minor I would still buy the car, if it was moderate or severe I stayed away. Mostly because of what my employer thought of that, not necessarily me. Any car can be fixed right and be nearly as good as new. As time passes on a vehicle gets older an accident becomes less significant part of its history. But it is a big deal on a late model. If it were mine I would get a Carfax or AutoCheck report. If it says moderate or severe I would include that in my case for diminished value....Because it truly does diminish the value as far as resale goes. But it could be just fine to drive for another 20 years.

 

thanks for the info! And yes I do have a carfax for it! Here is the damage portion. I included this in the diminished claim and talked about it multiple times in my letter.

 

Thank you! I understand what you are saying now. And yeah i would hope it would be that much, but the other factors as you mentioned wont get me 17 k or whatever. I am hoping for at minimum 5 but would be happy with 8+. I’ve talked to them multiple times saying just because the truck is good, physically I am good. But financially I am not until I am payed DV.

 

Well… That is what every person that pulls a Carfax it’s going to read unfortunately. It sucks because a good shop is perfectly capable of making a truck like yours nearly new again. The bad part is trying to convince the next buyer of that. I do not think there is any question that the way that Carfax is worded will definitely cause concern where ever you would go to trade it or sell it. There is a very strong case for diminished value because of it. It’s damn near impossible to get Carfax to change their wording. And of all things most of it comes from a police report. Most police officers are not qualified body repair persons. So you can have a case where a simple accident could be made to look like a significant amount of damage was done even if it wasn’t. Although in your case it does sound like it was significant. I would use that report to the best of your ability to try to collect some additional monies. And if you try and don’t succeed it doesn’t mean you have a bad truck. Before Carfax ever existed people drove vehicles for years and years and never knew they been in an accident before they owned them. I bought my daughter a nearly new Chevy Malibu in 2012. In 2014 she rear-ended a car on I 465 in Indianapolis. Car was in the shop for two months with almost $10,000 in damage. I own this car again because when she bought a new car I bought it back from her and gave it to my second child to drive during high school. You could never tell it’s been an accident unless you read the Carfax. So if you do end up keeping your truck don’t feel like you’ve made a concession to do so. It’s not like they don’t come from the factory brand new with paint issues because anybody that reads any of these forums knows that’s not the case.

 

Good luck EVER selling it. Should have been totaled.

Was it a no fault wreck?

 

The other driver was at fault, ran the stop sign.

 

I appreciate it. I am also happy with how my shop did and want to keep the truck, no reason to sell as I believe the shop did a fantastic job and the truck is almost exactly how I want it. But yes the whole reason for this post was if I do decide to sell in a year or 10 years, that wreck will always look nasty on the carfax and scare away buyers. Thankfully I am not posting this to get help selling the truck, just help to take away my future financial burden of somebody elses doing.