tmfstyle

My 8 month old 2015 TDI Prestige with 2500 miles was rear ended at speed and sent into another car. Highway patrol determined I was not at fault and ticketed car that rear ended me. Extensive damage rear and front.

I think the car should be totaled but the insurance company hasn't decided yet. I don't want the car back. Insurance company (State Farm) says they will repair if cost does not exceed 80% of cars value. Car's MSRP was $60K. All in with Audi Care I paid about $59K before tax. Blue book was high $40's before crash. My friend, a car guy, thinks repairs will be $30-40k. They will repair up to a cost of $39k. A car with a carfax showing $30k+ of repairs won't be taken as a trade by a new car dealer and will be difficult to sell.

On the bright side the car performed brilliantly - passenger compartment perfectly in tact.

I know that I am screwed. Heard that insurance companies pay a max of $10k for diminished value. Anyone have any experience with diminished value claims or how to sell a repaired car that has been badly damage

JimVonBaden

Make sure your insurance company includes the value lost for a damaged car. They will try to ignore/avoid this, but it is completely valid and within the fine print of most insurance. Also include loss of use, rental, time off work lost income, deductible and insist on 100% Audi parts.

rbradleysd

I've gone after companies for DV claims. It's a long process but I came out the winner in the end. They tried to pretend it wasn't law until I pulled the CA laws (CA luckily has very pro consumer laws on the books) so it's worth exploring. I'd check your state verbiage first

carfan1111

I did this when I was rear ended in my RX. I did 2 things:

It was repaired at a lexus dealer, so I had their trade in guy give me two WRITTEN quotes: quote for my repaired car, and what the quote wouldve been for a car that was not damaged (it was like a 1500-2500 difference).

AND

I got a diminished claim assessment by an online company (just google it for different sites, basically you put in the car info and cost of repair, and it gives out a retail number)

I forwarded both of these to the driver at faults insurance company, who sent it to their lawyers who offered me 1k, then we negotiated it up to a more reasonable number

Deckardk

A diminished value claim on this car will be a lot and likely require a lawsuit. But yes, get the proper estimates, then consider a small claims action listing both the other driver and their carrier as Defendants.

This is not to be construed as a substitute for legal advice.

Mrclopec

I ACTUALLY HAVE EXPERIENCE ON THIS WITH STATE FARM IN CALIFORNIA

I was rear ended by an uninsured motorist in the State of California. It was deemed not my fault. In California, there is no first party diminished value, but there is third party. Usually in an insurance contract between you and your insurer there will be a clause that states they don't pay it. When you arent at fault and are dealing with the other driver's insurance company, they will like to tell you they don't pay it either but at the end of the day, their contract is with their driver and NOT YOU. You are under no obligation to adhere to any of their contractual rules other than ones that are set in stone by law. But, my case was unique as I was not at fault and the other driver did not have insurance. The problem lied in the fact that I was using my uninsured motorist which turned the claim back into a first party claim rather than a third one. I demanded that my insurance carrier State Farm pay the diminished value of my vehicle as the result of the negligence of another driver. They still refused. So, I took them to small claims. At the end of it, the judge did rule in State Farm's favor that they did not have to pay the diminished value due to the verbiage in my policy agreement. However, the judge turned to me and said I have every right to go after the responsible party who hit my vehicle. State Farm's rep spoke up and agreed. I promptly replied that I would like to but State Farm will not allow me to do so. Their rep and the judge looked really confused and wanted to know what I was talking about...You see, State Farm has already begun subrogation on my behalf and stated that any money I receive from the uninsured motorist, I am to turn over to them immediately. The judge was very upset with State Farm and asked them if they had already started subrogation to which State Farm replied 'yes'. The judge then told state farm that when they subrogate for their client, they are required to subrogate for all of my damages and not just the ones that THEY have paid for. Any money they get from the uninsured motorist through their subrogation efforts will have to continue to pay me before they can then start to repay themselves. I am closely watching for when State Farm finalizes a settlement with the uninsured motorist and once they have, I will be taking them back to court for the remainder of what I am due.

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer. Just very determined.

Deckardk

^ Very useful information. And this is why one just goes ahead and sues the lot as an opener.

motoguy128

Hard to say. This is one reason that "Gap" coverage is often pushed.

Keep in mind, you paid $59k, but on the used market it's probably now only worth $45k. Depreciation on Germans Luxury cars is really, really high. On the plus side, you can pick up 8-10 year old used BMW's and Audi's dirt cheap and still drive 90% as good as new for

ex-quattro PETE

I'm currently trying to figure this whole DV thing out myself, too. Our Q5 got rear-ended, albeit lightly. Im in Michigan, which is a no-fault insurance state, which means that my own insurance (Liberty Mutual) will be paying for the repairs, even though the accident was not my fault. LM is telling me that according to the terms of my policy, I cannot claim DV. Honestly, I've looked through the policy and can't see that stated anywhere, but I am not a lawyer.

On the other hand, LM told me I cannot file a DV claim with the other party's insurance (State Farm) either because you cannot claim benefits from two different insurers for the same accident. I'm not quite sure I'm buying that, but again, I'm not a lawyer.

I'm trying to reach out to Michigan's Insurance department to see what course of action is available to me. I know companies like St. Lucie will gladly gather up the necessary evidence of DV for me for $275, but I don't want to pay them if at the end of the day I'm unable to file a DV claim.

getliquid

In Ontario, Canada I got the 5 year depreciation waiver, which means 5 years from the day you purchase the car new, if its totaled, they will pay you the purchase price. I had a brand new 60K MDX ran off the road by a teen driver who didnt check her blind spot, send me into a hydro pole at 30mph/hr, the insurance adjuster wanted to fix it LOL, the body shop ran the estimate over 70% and totaled the car, that was before the car was even up on the lift.