Diminished value...
Easy story:
Two LCs are side by side on the car lot. Both are exactly the same color, mileage, condition. No signs of a prior wreck on either one. Both are exactly the same price.
You consider buying one and pull a Carfax or Auto Check report. The report shows one had been involved in a prior wreck. Would you now pay the same for either one?
The owner of the LC that had been in the wreck absolutely lost something of value...a clean history and the full confidence of a new buyer. Both of these equate into a loss of value. Even though the vehicle was repaired fully to spec, most reasonable people would never pay the same for the vehicle that had been in a wreck as opposed to one that had not been wrecked.
I'm in this boat right now. I'll post when the Insurance company decides what it wants to do. My LC is fully repaired and I've asked for $2500 in DV. Total cost of the wreck was only $4000 but my dealer wrote me a letter stating he would pay $2500 less for a LC with a dirty AutoCheck over one that was clean.
Dont forget Small Claims court in lieu of an attorney if you are a good presenter. Sometimes the insurance companies dont want the hassle so they pay small amounts.
If the insurance company bawks at me, thats ok. I will hit small claims and the attorneys fees for them will at least equal more than I am asking for.
Dont forget, for the insurance companies, its all a numbers game.
I'll post my outcome...
Easy story:
Two LCs are side by side on the car lot. Both are exactly the same color, mileage, condition. No signs of a prior wreck on either one. Both are exactly the same price.
You consider buying one and pull a Carfax or Auto Check report. The report shows one had been involved in a prior wreck. Would you now pay the same for either one?
The owner of the LC that had been in the wreck absolutely lost something of value...a clean history and the full confidence of a new buyer. Both of these equate into a loss of value. Even though the vehicle was repaired fully to spec, most reasonable people would never pay the same for the vehicle that had been in a wreck as opposed to one that had not been wrecked.
I'm in this boat right now. I'll post when the Insurance company decides what it wants to do. My LC is fully repaired and I've asked for $2500 in DV. Total cost of the wreck was only $4000 but my dealer wrote me a letter stating he would pay $2500 less for a LC with a dirty AutoCheck over one that was clean.
Dont forget Small Claims court in lieu of an attorney if you are a good presenter. Sometimes the insurance companies dont want the hassle so they pay small amounts.
If the insurance company bawks at me, thats ok. I will hit small claims and the attorneys fees for them will at least equal more than I am asking for.
Dont forget, for the insurance companies, its all a numbers game.
I'll post my outcome...
