[edtreo]

I recently have an accident and I'm claiming diminished value of the X5 from the at fault party. Does anyone have any experience in doing this?

[JAYRICHFROMMIAMI]

Some requirements which we learned from our auto diminished value appraiser. The accident had to be someone else's fault. Our car had to be owned rather than leased. Our car had no previous accidents or incidents such as hail damage, curb rash on wheels, etc. because insurance companies will use any excuse not to pay you. The auto diminished value appraisal consisted of the opinions of six BMW sales managers from dealerships in South Florida where we live. After some back and forth, all the while receiving advice from our appraiser, the insurance company gave in saying that if we had obtained an algorithm or formula-type auto diminished value appraisal they wouldn't have paid unless a judge decided in our favor. Very happy that litigation wasn't necessary. Good luck.

[GOLFFRR]

I am not expert but I hear its pretty tough to do. Im sure others will weigh in. If you can get it def will help you when you go to sell the car as once a dealer sees its been in a accident it will hit the value of the car. Keep us posted on what you end up doing and how you did it!

[edtreo]

Insurance is offering 2k. Appraisers is asking $300 fee. I'm thinking of just grabbing the 2k.

[wil33562]

I went through a diminished value claim a few months ago. The at-fault party rear-ended my wife's vehicle, it was a GMC Yukon. The total repair bill was right at $6,000.

In dealing with the other party's insurance, I told them that I wanted diminished value for my vehicle. They had me wait until the vehicle was fully repaired, about one month. I then made my claim. After about one week, the insurance company offered me $1,500. They said that was 25% of the repair cost and that was the best they could do. I countered with $3,000. The claim agent told me she could go up to $2,000 on the spot and if I wanted more than that it would have to go through an approval process. I accepted the $2,000. I probably could have gotten a little more, but I was ready to be done with the issue.

[JAYRICHFROMMIAMI]

My perception was that a minor accident will reduce the fair market value by about 15% while repairs involving structural damage or air bags reduces the car's value by almost half. Ask your dealer about it before making a hasty decision. Accepting $2,000 when your car has lost $10,000 in value makes little sense. Our appraiser gave us a ballpark figure over the phone and their guesstimate was pretty spot on.

[edtreo]

Originally Posted by JAYRICHFROMMIAMI

My perception was that a minor accident will reduce the fair market value by about 15% while repairs involving structural damage or air bags reduces the car's value by almost half. Ask your dealer about it before making a hasty decision. Accepting $2,000 when your car has lost $10,000 in value makes little sense. Our appraiser gave us a ballpark figure over the phone and their guesstimate was pretty spot on.

May I ask if you were able to get 15% ?

[JAYRICHFROMMIAMI]

Originally Posted by edtreo

May I ask if you were able to get 15% ?

Results may vary, as they say. You'll need two things - a good DV appraisal and persistence. One is no good without the other.

[bqvalen]

I did a diminished value claim on my wifes 90 day old XC60 that had $7k of damage - got $5k in dim val.

My Ford Transit work van had $15k damage and I only got $3500 dim value.

Get a certified appraisal from a dim value appraiser. Once you do that the insurance co knows your serious, they will push you off and hope you forget about it. You just have to be persistent but not to the point of being an A hole. Eventually they will come back with a lowball offer - reject it and ask them if they got an appraisal, how did they come up with their offer $?

Once they come back with a better offer, I've simply said to them - Look, lets skip all the BS and meet in the middle - worked both times.

[edtreo]

I paid an appraiser who suggested $900! Another appraiser who wants $300 fee upfront suggest that he could argue for 4-6k. I then called a local attorney and they indicate that since the damage is only $2.5k, $2 k is acceptable.