Advice on diminished value insurance compensation for 16 LX (1 Viewer)

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Feb 17, 2015
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Quick details below:

-Unfortunate accident
-70+ year old distracted driver ran his Vette Stingray into my ‘16 LX with 15k Miles.
-Other driver admitted fault, and tried to write me a check on the spot for the damage (amongst acting strange overall)... so I call the cops for a police report. I expect this police report to flow thru to Carfax and show an accident.
-Other driver was found at fault by police and cited for careless driving.
-I expect his insurer to pay for all of my damages, but with the age, cost, and mileage of the LX, I’m worried I’ll take a bath on it with the accident listed on a CarFax.

As a result, I’d like to position this for a negotiation for a diminished value payout as well to mitigate some of the risk I have if / when I trade. While it’s a very minor accident, any potential buyer will use it to lowball me.

Has anyone had experience with this? If so, can you share your experience? I know this will be tough to get out of an insurance company, but I really don’t want to take no for an answer on it....

Pics of damage are attached....

Thanks!

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Looks very minor. That type of accident does not affect value. Just keep good picture and repair bill listing all repairs for any future buyer.

I would have consider taking the check.;)
 
I don’t have direct experience but a colleague went thru this for a 1 year old Honda Civic. He found a 3rd party that specializes in building a case for accidents like these this and got a nice check from the insurance. I think his cost for this 3rd party was around $300 so well worth the investment
 
For major damage 20% of value of car for this? Meh, as suggested take a bunch of pics and retain for future.
 
Sorry my fingers pressed “post” before I was done

So secondly, I bought a 13 that was in two small bender that probably looked like your. The private sell was completely up front and told me what happened. I did my research the seller had the receipts and I checked them out with the body shop that did they work as well as showing it to a local
One here for a second opinion. I bought the LC for what was inside. Well maintained and perfect inside. The minor benders didn’t bother me nor did I try to low ball the seller.

HTH
 
Thanks for the feedback everyone. Yes, I’d hope any reasonable person would be able to see through a Carfax accident report and look at the details. My concern is that if I trade back in at a Lexus dealer for a newer model year, or even a 300 one day, it will be used against me by the dealer because of the accident designation. If I sold to a private party I have less concern because I can easily explain the details.
 
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I learned quite a bit about this process as I was rear ended coming home from the dealership after purchase. I had an individual that does appraisals for diminished value claims come appraise the vehicle. It's important to note that he does not work for any insurance company as many do and the insurance folks will drive down the actual loss as they are paid by the insurance companies. Nevertheless, I had lost a significant value on the truck. My accident happened in another state and a court filing had to be filed in the state of the accident and not in my home state.
I would shop for someone in your area that specializes in appraising diminished value and have their assessment on the vehicle. You can then call the guys insurance and explain you are pursuing a diminished value claim once you have an idea of what the loss is. They may settle with a small check, DO NOT CASH IT. If you are unhappy with that, I would place a call to your attorney to then send a letter to the insurance company. If the claim is significant, it may end up in small claims court and from the knowledge of the gentleman who helped me with my claim, you will always win if it gets that far. His experience is that a typical result is 80% of his appraisal.

Personally, your damage isn't very bad and I would place the phone call to the insurance company but you aren't looking at that much damage that would effect the value of your vehicle. Another thing you can do if you choose to get an appraisal is to take it to your local tax agency and get a reduction on personal property taxes as the value of your truck has decreased so that may save you some money. Best of luck!

For reference, this was a new tailgate and rear bumper (5k in damage) and it was assessed as a 17k loss of value.
 
I have done diminishing value couple of times. Report is roughly 250-300. They can take pictures etc which documents how the repair was done. Then do market research of accident report impact. Unfortunately insurance will never pay you what in the report and take more a repair cost into consideration. Your accident looks more as bumper replacement so wouldn't expect much from insurance. You can always after take them to small claim court and most likely you will get slightly more. When choosing an appraiser I would recommend local as insurance knows remote person will never come to testify.
 
Keep in mind that once any accident shows up on Carfax, Lexus will not resell a vehicle as CPO.
 
Looks very minor. That type of accident does not affect value. Just keep good picture and repair bill listing all repairs for any future buyer.

I would have consider taking the check.;)

I second this. I know it sucks to have your new car damaged but that looks very minor unless there’s damage we can’t see. I’m still trying to get reduced value for my front end damage from the responsible party but he’s being a “dead”beat. I guess I’ll just have to drive my 200 until it’s worth nada ;)
 
When I had my Macan, someone rear ended it while it was parked and the cost of repairs were around 10k as a chunk of the body had to be cut and welded a new body part. Anyways, I paid for an independent appraisal about $300. The estimated loss in value was about $5,200. Sent it to the third party insurance and I received no response for about a week then I threatened to take them to small claims courts which in VA doesn't require lawyers. A week later they sent me a check for $5000. The accident never showed up on carfax.
The damage on your car seems minor but if it shows up on carfax then it might lose value. You could get someone for an appraisal but if the loss is minimal then it is not really worth your time or thought.
 
Any accident on CarFax is a huge black mark, sad but true. Even if you buy a car with an accident on record you're going to have to explain it down the line to the next one. Many dealers won't take it in on trade and/or won't CPO it. I think only 2 states recognize diminished value.
 
Any accident on CarFax is a huge black mark, sad but true. Even if you buy a car with an accident on record you're going to have to explain it down the line to the next one. Many dealers won't take it in on trade and/or won't CPO it. I think only 2 states recognize diminished value.
Third party diminished value claims is recognized in all States except Michigan.
 
Keep in mind that once any accident shows up on Carfax, Lexus will not resell a vehicle as CPO.
That is not correct

Lexus has routinely sold CPO with fender benders on carfax

Here is my personal ISF I owned and bought new. I was hit in 2009. It’s in carfax.

I dumped car in 2011, at which time lexus dealer did CPO

2008 Used Lexus IS F Lexus IS-F Sport Sedan at Europlus Motorsports Serving North Brunswick, NJ, IID 17111109


Additionally there is a huge thread on clubkexus now about 3 people who bought CPo to later find out accident cars. One is suing Lexus of Austin right now to get them to take the RX back

Per club lexus (there is verified chat with lexus representatives), they will CPO a car with 4 panels being repainted
 
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Keep in mind that once any accident shows up on Carfax, Lexus will not resell a vehicle as CPO.
That’s an excellent point. There is good value on that. I spoke with the man’s insurance company and they agreed to pay all repair costs. I brought up the diminished value topic and said I am going to get my council’s thoughts as well and move forward. They appeared understanding and sent me paperwork to begin the process on it. So... wait and See I goes....
 
That is not correct

Lexus has routinely sold CPO with fender benders on carfax

Here is my personal ISF I owned and bought new. I was hit in 2009. It’s in carfax.

I dumped car in 2011, at which time lexus dealer did CPO

2008 Used Lexus IS F Lexus IS-F Sport Sedan at Europlus Motorsports Serving North Brunswick, NJ, IID 17111109


Additionally there is a huge thread on clubkexus now about 3 people who bought CPo to later find out accident cars. One is suing Lexus of Austin right now to get them to take the RX back

Per club lexus (there is verified chat with lexus representatives), they will CPO a car with 4 panels being repainted

This is true - we purchased a CPO Lexus and it had a blemish on the CarFax as well - but photos were shown and it was a minor scratch.

It is also routine for Lexus to re-spray the front bumpers of cars they CPO because they claim Lexus requires it. The sad part is they have monkeys prepping and re-spraying their cars. I saw a number of CPO cars on the lot with overspray on the lights, wheel wells, etc...
 
I don't know which state you are in but I'm in Texas and have had no problem successfully making a diminished claim. The first one was on a VW Touareg that was about 3 weeks old. The damage was minor, maybe less damage than yours. I was offered $3,600 and did not pay for a report to be prepared on my behalf. Second incident: my mother-in-law's two year old Corvette was barely 'kissed' in a parking lot and she was offered about $4k, again with no report. I would definitely make a diminished value claim, you have nothing to lose and it will reduce your vehicle's value. When you trade, paint thickness is often measured and will prove paint work even if Carfax does not show it. This happened to me when I traded my Porsche last year, with a clean Carfax.
 
I don't know which state you are in but I'm in Texas and have had no problem successfully making a diminished claim. The first one was on a VW Touareg that was about 3 weeks old. The damage was minor, maybe less damage than yours. I was offered $3,600 and did not pay for a report to be prepared on my behalf. Second incident: my mother-in-law's two year old Corvette was barely 'kissed' in a parking lot and she was offered about $4k, again with no report. I would definitely make a diminished value claim, you have nothing to lose and it will reduce your vehicle's value. When you trade, paint thickness is often measured and will prove paint work even if Carfax does not show it. This happened to me when I traded my Porsche last year, with a clean Carfax.

I was thinking of the paint thickness issue as well. When I traded in my 14 LX on this 16 LX, the first thing both Lexus dealers did was measure paint thickness when evaluating my trade....
 

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