M5 got hit....

[v3n0m]

If it's the other party's fault, don't forget to get compensation for diminished value.

[GOLFFRR]

NOOOOO! hate to see this. Hope its resolved asap

[ARKONE]

All the mechanical stuff is finally done. It's at the bodyshop now and I should have it by Easter!

[Rborrow14]

Im assuming you have the bae now. How did it turn out

[ARKONE]

Originally Posted by Rborrow14

Im assuming you have the bae now. How did it turn out

I was supposed to have the car for Easter, but now it's April. Nearly a month.

[M5Rlz]

I'd shoot for diminished value thats closing in on nearly 50% of that vehicles value if its a 2013...

[mainly]

shitty thing is resale value now that it has been in an accident. took me forever to sell mine and took a huge hit because of the accident. i was rear ended.

[mainly]

Originally Posted by v3n0m

If it's the other party's fault, don't forget to get compensation for diminished value.

easier said than done. hopefully its different where you live, but in canada, insurance companies basically dont even acknowledge the term. to them, if your car is fixed, your car is fixed. there is no diminished value. of course tell that to the next potential owner. just went through it all with my 2012.

$27K damage, 37 day repair.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by mainly

easier said than done. hopefully its different where you live, but in canada, insurance companies basically dont even acknowledge the term. to them, if your car is fixed, your car is fixed. there is no diminished value.

In the US it's entirely dependent on whether the accident was your fault or the fault of the other driver whose insurance company is paying to fix your car. They must, at some point, get you to sign a full personal injury release. They may even offer you a nominal amount (few hundred dollars) to get you to sign one of those even if you tell them you sustained no injuries at all.

The trick is to tell them you're not sure yet if you sustained lasting injuries. If you were rear-ended, then your back definitely hurt following the accident. How long it hurt and whether there was any real damage depends on the individual accident but even if your back felt a lot better 10 days after the accident, you can still say there is lingering off-and-on pain that you hope will go away in time but only time will tell. That will drive them mad.

They will push for a full release of everything, physical damage to the car as well as any personal injuries. You don't have to agree. That's when you raise the subject of diminished value to your car which you estimate will be at least 20-25% of its current book retail value. They have to fix your car whether you sign the personal injury release or not. If there is a clause over the endorsement of the check for the repairs saying you're granting a full release, tell them that's unacceptable. If they argue with you, tell them you will have to speak to your attorney.

I don't know how it is in Canada, but in the US you can get diminished value in addition to the amount of the physical damages if you push for it when it was the other guy who rear-ended you. If the damage was entirely your fault, that's a different story altogether.



P.S. -- They may send out an independent appraiser to examine the car for diminished value. That's what they did when I was rear-ended by somebody who fell asleep at the wheel while his vehicle was on cruise control. It's easy to romance those guys by simply telling them that you lifted the trunk mat and you can see slight ripples where there shouldn't be any and you put the car up on the rack and you can see where it sustained a severe rear impact. I got full repairs plus an additional 25% of book retail for diminished value. All car appraisers understand that cars that have sustained extensive body work are not worth the same as cars that have never been hit. Also, as part of the final deal, I agreed to accept their greatly increased offer to cover any future medical needs that might pop up.

[rocky]

dont forget loss of use as well.