Larry, you can always file a claim for diminished value, which is viable in all 50 states. THE BEST guy in the business is Richard Hixenbaugh, of Collision Claim Associates. You can find him online, tell him I referred you.

The bottom line is that your car is now worth less, period, and since the accident was not your fault you are entitled to be made whole. The best site for info on this is, well, Richard Hixenbaugh's, found here:

www.collisionclaims.com

Not sure he operates in FL, but he'd surely be happy to refer you to someone down there. I only make recommendations when I am darned sure they're the best. Take this one on my word.
CATTMAN

 

Thanks John --but my claim was not considered an "accident" .It's not even filed under collision but rather it was a comprehensive claim . Road debris or a pebble hitting the windhield is not a collision issue.

In my case it's just a dent and scratch and even with that only that portion of the door was painted .

I do think its not the same as a new car with all original paint (even 1/2 a door counts) .. but i am not going to worry about diminished value with something this insignificant.

In fact the dealerships still offered to take it in trade for an RS. one of my close buddies still wants to buy my car "if you ever sell it" .

Even they thought it was a big nothing. I am aware that i am very picky with my car's upkeep .

The way i look at it is .. these cars are exposed the the wear and tear of driving and as much as one tries to keep it nice there's no gurantee .

 

diminished value is such a shady and subjective area of the (anti-)insurance business. In my years of working for GEICO, I've only seen one diminished value claim make it past my supervisor, and it was denied by our manager. Heck, one of my customers was even at fault and had been advised by her "lawyer friend" to raise the question of diminished value. It was her first question when she walked into the shop. I could barely stand it to not laugh at her. She argued about it for a while, though.

First thing that happens is that we're going to fix whatever part of the repair is unsatisfactory. We'll bend over backwards to get this part done.

Long story short, diminished value nearly always requires a lawyer's support, and more often than not is simply a way for said lawyer to make money. Remember, no matter how much a lawyer claims he's "fighting for you", he's actually just fighting for his paycheck.

And like Larry said, who are you going to try to get the diminished value from? It's not your insurance company's fault the debris hit you, so they're not going to pay for it. You could try to sue the shop for it, since they did the repairs, but I'd recommend never walking into that shop again. Or you could try to sue the state for not properly maintaining the roads, but the insurance company most likely won't be trying to pursue that one. There needs to be a clear line of fault in order to even start pursuing diminished value.

Larry, I'm glad everything came out great for you. Now continue to drive the hell out of the car and enjoy it.

And again, if you can't live with it, let me know. I'll suffer with it for you

 

Oh, and if they didn't tell you at the shop, no wax or automatic car washes for about the next 30 days. The paint is still a bit soft and needs to fully cure.

 

automatic car washes

 

I had a fender replaced and the paint was perfectly matched. However some overspray got on my rear bumper and wheels. I had to return the car to get it removed. I suggest you go over every inch of your car and make sure you do not have overspray.

 

Larry, glad you are satisfied. That is all that matters!

Let's see some pics when you have the computer thingy figured out.

 

When I had my Cayman S a couple of years ago, a fellow Brit (I assume it was that family) took a golf club to my car in the Walmart carpark (I know, my fault, Walmart in the Porsche). He did some serious damage to the rear quarter but it was all taken care of under insurance.

The point of the matter is, I took it to a guy in Orlando named Dan Brennan, owner of Brennan's bodyshop. My CS was basalt black, so not an easy colour to play around with at all yet one week later, the car was back as new and the job they did was absolute perfection. To top it all, the insurance co. short changed him on the work, he just told me not to worry about it and absorbed it himself. A good bodyshop can do just about anything with a car and you'll not even realize it, so have faith!