auto loss of value depreciation

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My 1996 ES300 Lexus was hit 10/99 by a motorist who ran a red light and stated "he got tired of waiting for the light to change". The damage to my vehichle was approx. $10,500.00. I filed a claim for loss of value depreciation. The appraiser came out at $1500-I counteroffered (no less than $2500 and the insurance adjuster stated that I needed written documentation to support my counteroffer). I got a Lexus dealer to give me written documentation which was a range $3500-4500 for loss of value. Submitted to the insurance adjuster who said that it was not sufficient documentation and that there was no range for negotiations and the final offer was $1500. We asked him to put it in writing which he did. Based on my research loss of value may range from 25%-33% of the damages. I live in N.C. Do you have any info on depreciation due to loss of value?

 

[Lianne]

This sounds all too familiar. I too live in NC, and was in an accident causing almost $9000 worth of damage to my 1996 Acura. It was the other guy's fault, so I filed with his insurance company a diminished value claim for the loss of value on the vehicle. The insurance company (AllState) offered $1500 and wouldn't budge from there. My Acura dealerships were much less helpful than your Lexus dealership -- they all said they wouldn't put anything in writing. AllState said I would need to have my own appraisal done to dispute their figure. I did -- I hired Wreck Check to appraise the loss of value. Their appraisal came in at $2600. Faxed that to AllState, they still didn't negotiate. At that point, I had to file a lawsuit in Small Claims Court to get anything over their $1500 offer. I couldn't sue the insurance company since it wasn't my insurance company and they, therefore, had no obligation to me. I had to sue the party that hit me. My accident happened in Raleigh (where I live), but the person who hit me lived in Charlotte -- so I'd have to go to court in Charlotte. I came oh-so-close to filing the suit (got the papers, wrote out the check for the filing fee)...but I finally caved in and just took the $1500. By that point, a year had passed and I was sick to death of dealing with the accident and the losers at AllState. If I could have gone to court in Raleigh, I would have pursued the case on principle if for no other reason.

If you decide to dispute the insurance company's amount, I highly recommend Wreck Check. They have an office in Raleigh and one in Charlotte (maybe more). Their fee was $125 -- and they use a software program to calculate diminished value, so it's the least-biased (and most robust) appraisal you can get. (The program houses all sorts of data on similar vehicles with similar damage, etc.) The website for the Raleigh office is www.diminishedvalue.com. Good Luck!

Lianne

 

[[email protected]]

Would you please email at the address given for user name and tell me the name of the adjuster.