Friends, recently I successfully reclaimed the diminished value on my 2012 R8 spyder that was in a rear end chain collision where I was the car that was hit. If you are interested in hearing the story and the process by which I succeeded, I can discuss it here, as I did on the R8talk board. It might help someone else who is (or will be) in a similar situation. Let me know if you're interested.

 

Not sure about NJ but in CA its impossible. I would like to know more.

 

Put me down as interested. While I do not have a DV claim, hope to never have one, I welcome reading about someone who successfully collected DV.

 

I believe CA is just like NJ, you can collect DV from an at-fault party. You cannot collect from your own insurance company in NJ.

Take a look at this: http://www.collisionclaims.com/calif...inished-value/

 

My 2012 R8 V10 spyder was in a 3 car rear end chain collision, where I was the front car and the police had me with 0% fault. The R8 had about $22,000 in damage and required a new transmission. I was pretty pissed off when I learned that my 2012 R8 V10 spyder with just 3000 miles had lost 20%-25% of its value, even though it was repaired by a Audi certified R8 repair shop. It just didn’t seem reasonable that I should bear that loss.

Not knowing exactly how to proceed, I contacted two companies (http://www.collisionclaims.com and http://njdiminishedvalue.com/about-u...lue-total-loss) that specialize in appraising vehicles for DV to get an estimate of what my car should be worth if it were not involved in an accident and what it was worth now that it had been in the accident. Both companies were helpful, and Matt Mehan of MMI spent some research time gratis to determine if he could help. Richard Hixenbaugh from Collision Claim Associates provided me with alot of advice.

But there was a problem. In order to prove diminished value, you have to show tangible evidence, i.e., “comps”, for comparable cars that have been damaged, repaired and then sold. If it were a Porsche, Mercedes or even Ferrari, that information can be found. But, since the R8 is a very low volume, relatively new model, they just could not find any comps for a 2012 V10 spyder with 3000 miles, and therefore told me that they really couldn’t help. Both companies gave me some general advice, but I was kind of on my own here.

So I went a different route, though riskier. Every time I looked at my spyder, I was ticked off – I don’t have to explain to you guys that buying the R8 for me was an emotional purchase. For this reason, I decided I would trade-in my 2012 repaired R8 on a 2014 R8 and thereby establish (lock-in) the loss in value. It was risky because I knew I would take a huge bath on the trade-in and at the same time could not guarantee I’d get a penny back from the insurance company for the diminished value. It could have been a very expensive “experiment”.

I took my 2012 R8 to a number of Audi dealers and they were very consistent with what the car was worth repaired and what it would have been worth if it were not in an accident. I had that documented on letterhead by the dealers. The dealer with the car that I decided to trade for (a 2014 R8 plus) did some research for me on Manheim auction prices for undamaged 2012 spyders with similar mileage, and the general manager of that dealership wrote a strong supporting letter. The last piece of the puzzle was the actual sales receipt for the 2014 Plus, which showed what I got for the trade-in.

The letters from the dealers, my sales receipt for the actual trade-in and the police report were presented by my attorney to the disputed claims adjuster for the at fault’s insurance company. My own insurance company was not involved and you cannot put a claim for diminished value to your own insurance - most policies specifically preclude that. My attorney warned me that if the claim were denied, the only recourse was to sue the at-fault party directly which would take time. Even if you win, if the person doesn’t have the money to pay the claim, you have a “paper victory” only.

Over a period of 1-2 weeks there was back and forth negotiation until a settlement that met my requirements was met. It wasn’t the full diminished value, but plenty close enough to make me happy and coupled with the 20K discount on the Plus, I am satisfied. I would have never traded my 2012 for a 2014 if it had not been in the accident, but it was the only way I could see to get back what it should have been worth. The insurance adjuster told my attorney that locking in the true diminished value via the trade-in was the factual, deciding factor. An "interesting" strategy that the adjuster attempted was to claim that my 2012 R8 with 3000 miles on the odometer was actually worth MORE because the insurance company had paid for a new transmission. That argument did not survive.

It was an interesting process and not just for me. The insurance adjuster told my attorney that diminished value claims are increasing and that the insurance industry business case does not accommodate diminished value. But both the dealers and the adjuster stated that the availability of Carfax has changed the dynamic. I don’t know what this means for the future, but I can guess that more insurance companies may start offering diminished value insurance to their clients with high end vehicles. Maybe some already do, I don’t know.

Yes, I could have just hung on to the repaired 2012, but the car would never have been the same to me. As I said, an "emotional" purchase.

I don't think you would have the same problem as me with Porsches - I think that finding "comp" cars will be easier, but then again the 991 is a new model. Most attorneys will take a case like this contingently and charge 1/3 of the settlement. My attorney was considerably cheaper since he is a family member. In summary, the process took maybe 1and 1/2 months but it can be done without going to court.

 

Thanks and very interesting.

I note you did what I was advised to do in one case and that was to sell the repaired vehicle to establish the DV. But like you reported I too was worried about risk. it turned out I did not have to go that route. The new car was declared a total loss by the at fault driver's insurance company. The only thing that I faced was dealing with half hearted attempts by the other insurance company to get me to accept a 2 or 3 year old used vehicle in place of a brand new (4 week old) vehicle.

 

Good story Alan . Im glad you got what you needed. DV is something the insurance industry is very aware op, especially w/ the # of cars exceeding $100k these days.
The Inco is full of $hit when they say a repaired car is worth more, especially speciality vehicles. The insurance industry is one of the largest group of sellers at Manheim. They, on average, know the worth. Its their business to know.

 

Doesn't a one year old 160+K car normally lose about 20 percent off MSRP (comparing wholesale trade in to the original retail purchase ) ? So if the loss gap is another 5 percent to 10 percent is it really worth the aggravation, stress , and possibility that the claim is ultimately denied ? Plus in your example you did end up buying a new car which by its own merrit is an added expense even with a spotless yet used R8 (with 3K miles) . No matter how one looks at this it's a loss .

Let's say you got 10-15 K back (BTW you did not supply specific actual numbers despite the detailed explanation which means I am taking a rounded up guess) then you still had to ante up 50+k to get a new car (when you already had a new car).

Bottom line -- I think its awful that you faced these issues and I am glad it worked out to where you feel content but I just can't seem to find much of a silver lining to cheer about .

 

I think the point is that why should Alan take a hit of depreciation when he was perfectly happy holding on to his car if it were not in an accident.

I applaud him for taking issue with the situation and doing something about it. Why should he be forced to accept a car that is worth anything less than one that had not been in an accident?

 

Nice work Alan.

 

As usual your logic is impeccable (and my wife would agree with everything you said). But the reality is that there was significant emotion involved in the decision to go this route. These cars are "toys" to me and I didn't want to be reminded on a daily basis that it had been damaged. As far as the numbers, it did not cost me $50K+ to get into the new car and the DV I received was closer to $20K. As I said, it was a risk, but it worked out, IMO.

 

Alan, your post and information is valuable and therefore good to know of in case of a no fault accident. I understand entirely why you'd want to sell the repaired R8 and am glad that it all worked out well for you.
Thanks for sharing.

 

Thanks for the great information, Alan! And congratulations!

ChuckJ

 

I am going through the exact same process with my 991 and am working with CollisionsClaims. Georgia is a bit of a Diminished Value paradise as the insurance has to compensate you by law, even if you are at fault.

My insurance company proactively sent a check but the amount was way too low compared to the loss of value of the car (I checked it myself by asking my dealership what my trade in value would be). CollisionsClaims seems to offer a good service and expertise in that field and a friend has been very satisfied with what they helped him to recover.

CarFax is another story: It is certainly useful when structural damage has happened to the car and to make information about titles and ownership easily accessible. On the other hand, a 'non-clean' CarFax will cost you a lot at resale even if the car shows absolutely no trace of damage (my case for instance). Now it is up to you to stand firm on what you want for your car based on its actual condition, but you better go for a private sale.

 

How about this for f'd upped Carfax crap. Had a new BMW that was the lead car in a train of rearendings. My car had a minor scuff which i eventually buffed out at home by hand , no less. Well when I went to sell the car, the Crapfax showed "minor collision damage" and I had to sell the car for less because of that.