Depreciation after an accident

Take a quick read through that. Some states it's a yes, some a no.

I will not know unless I try.

 

Some states do require a depreciation be paid to the owner: I hit a deer in 1995, and in 1999 my 98 Tacoma was in a hailstorm. The 95 truck was repaired, and on the 98 I just took the money as depreciation since I did not want the truck stripped and completely re-painted. I worked on all the dents as I had time over several weeks and got most of them out, and the next owner was told, and was happy to just see a few small smooth divots and nice paint versus evidence of over spray and mismatched color/texture. About 2-3 years later the State of GA vs State Farm settled an ongoing suit dealing with diminishing value, and I received 2 checks totaling ~ $3400.00 for diminished value. About $1400.00 was for the Tacoma, which I was surprised to get since it was clear I was not going to do a 100% repair, just fix what I could and use the money to counter a lower resale value years later. Paying demisted value has to affect rates charged by ins co's, but I see it as a good thing; if someone has a used vehicle that should bring; we'll say $18,00.00, but because of a past repair only brings $16K, then it was the result of the accident, and it is a loss that should be insured.

 

Well said. I also have to say I would almost expect a 16 year old that doesn't know the ramifications of insurance fraud to say "go for it". But not an adult.

I don't feel like spending the rest of my life pretending I can't work a job, can't do yard work, can't push my kid on a swing, and worrying if that car parked down the street every morning is someone watching me, waiting for me to slip up. It's a crime, ya know? Ask the people who lived three doors down from me, he faked an on the job injury and was caught washing his car and having a good ol' time. Ask him if you can find him now, that is. Not sure where the county jail is around here, good place to start through.

I also have this birth defect called a "conscience". I think insurance rates for the truly good drivers are high enough, and believe stealing money from an insurance company isn't going to help lower them. Essentially I'd be stealing from the honest people.

Lawyers are rich enough already too, IMHO.

 

I am the manager of a large body shop. We are a direct repair for 13 INS co. State farm is the largest that we deal with. Your claims rep will guide you through this without a problem. I can tell you that a lawyer will be a waste of time and money as the INS co. Have more money and lawyers than any of us. Typically as I have seen, lawyers tend to slow the process than want you to pay them. There for you have gained nothing, not to mention that if you get a lawyer then the INS co gets the feeling that you have no faith in them and they will start to drag the process out. You can get in touch with the claims office at 1-800-448-4587. You also have to remember that there is no way to measure Dim value. In theory and spoken word from some INS co and dealers is that if all repairs are done properly than there is no dim value because vehicle is restored back to preloss condition. In reality every consumer is either affraid of purchasing a vehicle that has been in an accident or just use it to their advantage to get a lower cost on a used vehicle. Usually it is because of the later. But if a vehicle is repaired properly and refinished properly than is it really less of a vehicle than it was before the accident. If you are honest and polite with the rep than they will be more willing to satisfy you. The only rebutle you may get is that it has no dim value till you are ready to sell vehicle as the value differances of your vehicle today will be greatly different than the value in 5 years. Just ask them questions and ask if there is recourse when you go to sell if buyer uses this against the sale. If you have questions or need assistance then let me know.

 

Thanks Cajun1, so far State Farm (the kid who hit me insurance) has been more helpful and courteous than my own company (think lizard). He mentioned the diminished value issue to me before I'd even asked about it, so I really don't foresee a problem either.

It'll all work out for the best in the end, I have a feeling.

 

keep it in high spirits as they did not become the largest for no reason. And I promise if the " lizard " knew they were going to have pay then they would have acted differently. As far as your truck, at this moment the most important thing is that the shop repairs your vehicle properly. If it is raining when you go to pick it up, then ask them to pull it inside and dry the repair area so you can look at it. They should not have a problem with this. If it is sunny than ask to view it from different angles of sun light as most shops will use angles of sunlight to hide flaws. You have the right to refuse the repairs till they satisfy you and trust me state farm will stand behind you and make sure the shop completes the repairs correctly

 

Food posts cajun_1!! I'm glad we got a professional like you to chime in with some advice.

 

So, after the Toyota body shop delayed the fixing of my truck from last Friday, until Monday, then Wednesday, and now who knows when, I thought I'd send them a thank you note.

After two weeks, they discovered they did not have the proper spray-in bedliner. Then they found out they did not have the hitch. Then they figured out they didn't have the RR tail light lens. Then they had "a few badging issues". Then they ordered the wrong seat track.

Stopped by there on the way back from an on-site job today. Truck was sitting in the lot. Took a look, it's pretty much back together except for the badging. They did an awesome job on the bumper and hitch.

Took a look at the back of the cab where the bed hit it. Looks perfect!

Then I walk to the other side. It was not fixed. The dent is still there. They painted over it. You could see the dent from across the parking lot.

Then one of the body men swears the front portion of the bed is supposed to be set back a half inch from the sides in the front. "It must be right because this spray in bedliner is really brittle when it's dry, so if that part got bent it would have cracked the material down at the seam". Find me another one like that....

Oh yeah, and the correct seat track? "MIGHT be here in a couple days, but don't want to promise that".

The woman who runs the body shop is nice enough, but is seriously overworked. Kind of get a "really sorry but don't really have time to hear you" attitude from her. Body mechanic walking across the yard was worse..."yeah it don't look right tell my boss" then walked away without telling me who his boss is. Body shop boss was the best of them, he at least told me he's gonna try and get it done for me in three days (but again doesn't want to swear to that).

Three weeks. Three weeks of driving a boat that drinks 20 bucks worth of gas EVERY OTHER DAY. Sorry 'bout my luck!

It's Deluca Toyota, in Ocala Fl. Think next time I'll see if I can find an Earl Schieb. WTF, same quality, but I get it back in two days!

"Toyota makes the car. DeLuca makes the difference".

Yeah, the difference between what Toyota made and what you want to give me back is night and day...

 

I had a little fender bender and had to get a new bumper and headlight $355Can which was the most expensive part of the whole shabang, so per say I put a ARB bumper on my taco does it still depreciate???

 

in the case of my shop, I am sometimes at the mercy of the dealership parts dept. In your case, your vehicle is toyota @ toy dealership buying parts in house. Sounds like they dropped the ball first on doing a thorough inspection, then on properly checking in the parts and qualifying that everything is correct. I hate to say it, but dealership body shops always seem to be the worst with the customer service end of the repair process. I think they feel that customers will always come to the dealership for repairs so they do not have to make the extra effort.

A little note for everyone to remember:
YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO HAVE ANY SHOP REPAIR YOUR VEHICLE!!!
this means it does not matter what the INS co. Says or what your dealer says. It is your choice. You will not void warrenties. The INS co.s do have certain shops set up as Direct Repair Shops that give a lifetime warrenty on that INS co work. But if a shop really believes in the quality of their work and employees, then they should give a lifetime on every repair. I give lifetime to everyone. All INS co should give you a list of shops in the area to choose from. Take your time and go look at the shops, talk to the office staff sand ask them to give you a tour. If the shop area is clean and presentable, then they are probably organized and take pride in working on your vehicle.

One more thing to check when you pick up vehicle. Look underneath, you should not be able to see any repairs from the backside or underneath any panel.

 

Depreciation has nothing to do with damage. Depreciation is the normal wear and tear (i.e. aging) of the vehicle, or any other asset.

The damage may reduce the value, I don't know, but it is not depreciation.

Thanks

 

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When State Farm issued checks in the GA vs State Farm; it was called "diminished value".

 

Sounds like an accountant talking...
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So, for example, I currently have a 2006 DC Tacoma that was in a hail storm.

It has been appraised for around $2500 in repairs. I have All-State insurance. After the $500 deductible, should I collect the check for repairs and expect an additional $ amount for depreciation? I live in Kansas City, KS. Do these laws vary by state?

 

hail damage does zero structural damages. A $2500 hail claim is probably written for PDR (paintless dent removal). They (allstate) would probably deny depreciation. Typically only a claimant not the Insured can get covered for dep value. The only way to know for sure is to talk to the claims handler. As has been stated by others in this thread, Every states laws are different.

 

Depreiciation, devaluation, diminished value...the insurance companies know which one it is when the claim comes in.

 

Sorry to hear your trouble @ the body shop. The toyota dealer who did my body work was excellent & gave lifetime warranty on the work. USAA gave me a list of repair shops to choose from & I made a decision by going to talk to a couple places first. I also had some warranty work done (not the selling dealer) & the shop mgr. coordinated that with service. He was, as you described, very busy, but had the right personality for the position. His staff was super professional too. And the shop was clean & organized. So far no issues with the work, if anything, the bumper cover looks better than the factory paint job which was thin imo. Keep em on their toes!

 

Diminished value.

I like the sound of that.