[jeutaryo]

Hi,

My 2013 BMW 528i was involved in a rear-end accident recently. It looked like not much was damaged, but open further inspection, there was quite an extensive damage to the rear body panel.

It was repaired by a certified BMW shop here in the Seattle area, and was recently completed, netting a final bill of $11.7k. I am looking into getting as much money possible through diminished value claim; they have already offered me a mere $1500 that I consider too low for this.

Any advice from you guys on how to handle this? The insurance company is Geico, if anyone has any experience or tips, any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[Ickdeep]

Well the first thing you have to do it figure out what is a reasonable value to claim. I don't know much about it but here is a good read: http://www.carinsurance.com/Articles...lue-claim.aspx

[Stück]

Geico is TERRIBLE for diminished value claims and they will put the burden on you to prove how the value has suffered post-repair.

Go get an appraisal at a local Carmax or something, and ask if they can provide a quote with and without the previous damage taken into account.

[BMWrules7]

Originally Posted by jeutaryo

Hi,

My 2013 BMW 528i was involved in a rear-end accident recently. It looked like not much was damaged, but open further inspection, there was quite an extensive damage to the rear body panel.

It was repaired by a certified BMW shop here in the Seattle area, and was recently completed, netting a final bill of $11.7k. I am looking into getting as much money possible through diminished value claim; they have already offered me a mere $1500 that I consider too low for this.

Any advice from you guys on how to handle this? The insurance company is Geico, if anyone has any experience or tips, any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

TBH, $1500 is generous on a 5 year old car.

$11k in damage is a sign that major systems were not involved.

Take it.

But, be careful that the diminished value settlement does not hit carfax.

If it does, I don't think I would want my car to be forever branded diminished.

[JAYRICHFROMMIAMI]

Hire an independent appraiser who will obtain the opinions of at least six BMW dealers in your area. This is important or else your claim will be buried, low-balled, delayed, etc. If structural damages your car lost 30%-40% of its value. Hiring an appraiser who uses a formula, algorithm or simply states his opinion will prove fruitless because the insurance companies know they can beat you in court. Beware - if the appraiser has an Ad on the top of the Google page, they use aformula and probably have a bunch of bad online customer reviews as well.

[TTG]

Originally Posted by JAYRICHFROMMIAMI

Hire an independent appraiser who will obtain the opinions of at least six BMW dealers in your area. This is important or else your claim will be buried, low-balled, delayed, etc. If structural damages your car lost 30%-40% of its value. Hiring an appraiser who uses a formula, algorithm or simply states his opinion will prove fruitless because the insurance companies know they can beat you in court. Beware - if the appraiser has an Ad on the top of the Google page, they use aformula and probably have a bunch of bad online customer reviews as well.

THIS!

Even then, they are going to have their expert argue with your expert and while they are doing all of that, it will cost you more to keep hiring people.

VERY basic way to calculate this is look at the KBB or NADA value of your car as a trade-in in very good condition and poor condition to get an idea.

Also, what does carfax say? Minor collision or major collision.

If you want us to comment more on the $1500, we need to know more about your car. Miles, condition, options and previous ownership history.

If you are the 4th owner and the car has 90K miles, 1500 is a very good deal.

[kinerin]

feel your pain my friend, went thru a similar situation a few years back. Not our F10 but a 2yr old Jeep GC.

Vehicle was struck broadside by other party that ran thru a stop sign. 100% other party's fault and citation issued, fortunately no injuries.

Vehicle was substantially damaged, but other party's insurance insisted it could be repaired. We discussed with them on first contact that if repaired we would pursue Diminished Value claim. They blew us off. Vehicle was expertly repaired but we knew that when trade-in time came along we were going to take a substantial financial beating.

Insurance Company did everything possible to defeat our claim but we prevailed (without an attorney) and ultimately received a satisfactory settlement.

Few tips:

We had 3 separate estimates from 3 different dealerships showing difference in trade-in value of clean title vs severe damage title (carfax).

Be sure your state honors Diminished Value Claim. Our state did (Wisconsin). And enlist the help of your state Insurance Commissioners Board if needed. We did.

Insist that all correspondence is in writing. Not over the phone. Not e-mail.

Be prepared for a long battle. They won't roll over easily. In our state the statute of limitations is 4 yrs. It took us 1-1/2yrs to settle.

Don't count on any assistance from your own Insurance Company. They're all in this together and every successful DM claim sets a precident for all of them.

Be reasonable in your claim.

Bottom line is that it can be accomplished if you have patience. And are reasonable. Our claim amounted to $7000.00 beyond the cost of the repairs to the vehicle. It would have been in the Insurance Co's best interest to merely total the vehicle at the onset and move on.

And we did it without the need of an attorney.

Good luck.