Soooo….I got clipped last week, diminished value questions, etc.

[Fsudoles]

state farm's claims about where you can have the car repaired is a load of nonsense.

one time my wife's volvo was hit and the insurance company tried to force me to use their less costly repair shop. I insisted that only the volvo authorized shop would be acceptable. I don't remember the actual reasons but there was a law, maybe only in NJ, that I leaned on that they couldn't force me to use their preferred shop and that I had the right to chose the repair shop.

sometimes you need to be persistent with the insurance companies.

as for diminished value that is a tough nut to crack, when my tesla was hit the insurance company actually said that they were unaware of diminished value claims. after a lot of back and forth I received about 10% of the car's value, again persistence is needed.

lastly, if you carry comprehensive there should be no delay in having the repairs done, state farm is obliged to go after geico regardless of the level of cooperation of the other driver.

bottom line is that almost all of the insurance companies will attempt to pay far less than they are obliged to pay out. they do this because so many people just accept whatever nonsense they are told and do not aggressively pursue what they deserve.

good luck

Thanks for the response…and to clarify….if I am forced to go the State Farm route, they will let me take the vehicle to any of the three Porsche approved collision centers here in Greater Fort Lauderdale in spite of them not being on their preferred list, with the caveat that if the shop and State Farm don’t agree on labor costs, repair costs and there are funds due beyond what State Farm is willing to pay, I’m on the hook for the delta. In closing, all three of the Porsche approved centers are not fans of State Farm….at all….I’m paraphrasing..”they are a major pain to work with“. One unnamed shop will not let State Farm adjusters on their property….sooo, I’m hoping it’s Geico…they seem to be well received by all three of these shops. Thanks for your input.

Sponsored

 

[Jrkennedy37]

@Fsudoles regarding diminished value, that is available only in certain states. Are you in a state that allows it?

Texas does and I’ve gone through it before. Repairs need to be completed before you negotiate diminished value with Geico. You can do so on your own or hire someone to do it. Rule of thumb that I was told by BMW dealer is diminished value is approximate cost of repair - I once had about $8k damage in a car and surprisingly the accident never showed up on the vehicle’s record or carfax and was able to negotiate just under $4k in diminished value. I recall it took about three phone calls and they required some demonstration of the lost value - my sales guy wrote a note saying what his dealership would value the car at for a trade-in with an accident on record and the same vehicle without record of an accident. During the third call the opposing insurance company said they won’t offer any more through current negotiations and I settled at that amount. It’s like dealing with procurement for a large company - not enjoyable but both sides want to settle on a value and move on.

YMMV, and good luck

 

[Fsudoles]

@Fsudoles regarding diminished value, that is available only in certain states. Are you in a state that allows it?

Texas does and I’ve gone through it before. Repairs need to be completed before you negotiate diminished value with Geico. You can do so on your own or hire someone to do it. Rule of thumb that I was told by BMW dealer is diminished value is approximate cost of repair - I once had about $8k damage in a car and surprisingly the accident never showed up on the vehicle’s record or carfax and was able to negotiate just under $4k in diminished value. I recall it took about three phone calls and they required some demonstration of the lost value - my sales guy wrote a note saying what his dealership would value the car at for a trade-in with an accident on record and the same vehicle without record of an accident. During the third call the opposing insurance company said they won’t offer any more through current negotiations and I settled at that amount. It’s like dealing with procurement for a large company - not enjoyable but both sides want to settle on a value and move on.

YMMV, and good luck

Yes sir….thanks for the intel and well wishes…and my expectancy bar is set low….

Florida law establishes that drivers are entitled to compensation for the diminished value (DV) of their motor vehicle after a car accident. This is based on the idea that a reasonable consumer would refuse to pay full value for a car with an accident in the vehicle history

 

[Hirschaj]

Thanks for the response…and to clarify….if I am forced to go the State Farm route, they will let me take the vehicle to any of the three Porsche approved collision centers here in Greater Fort Lauderdale in spite of them not being on their preferred list, with the caveat that if the shop and State Farm don’t agree on labor costs, repair costs and there are funds due beyond what State Farm is willing to pay, I’m on the hook for the delta. In closing, all three of the Porsche approved centers are not fans of State Farm….at all….I’m paraphrasing..”they are a major pain to work with“. One unnamed shop will not let State Farm adjusters on their property….sooo, I’m hoping it’s Geico…they seem to be well received by all three of these shops. Thanks for your input.

I’ve heard similarly stories about State Farm so I will never consider them for any insurance needs. If I were you I’d drop them for a different company as soon as it made sense to.

 

[DIMINISHED VALUE]

Most of what others have written is true. Your car will lose 10%-15% of its pre-accident Fair Market Value if there were no structural damages. It is the structural damaged and airbag deployed cars that tend to lose almost half of their values. Your appraiser should also act as your advocate because GEICO will most certainly come back with a lowball offer.

 

[Fsudoles]

Most of what others have written is true. Your car will lose 10%-15% of its pre-accident Fair Market Value if there were no structural damages. It is the structural damaged and airbag deployed cars that tend to lose almost half of their values. Your appraiser should also act as your advocate because GEICO will most certainly come back with a lowball offer.

Thank you! I got the news today that Geico is liable for 100% of the accident/repairs. I’m moving forward with getting this in the shop and getting whole again. A bit of good news, the person at fault does have $25,000 of liability coverage instead of the assumed $10,000 so I’m definitely pursuing a diminished value claim when the work is complete. I’m going straight to the dealer where I took delivery in April to get the pre and post accident valuation done…and present all related documents to Geico. It’s an uphill trudge but I’m focused.

The work is entirely cosmetic, no parts replaced….so hopefully I don’t lose more than 10-15%.

Sponsored