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Sorry to dig up this thread again. Car is still being repaired.
When I told the lawyer I’ve been talking to, that the other party’s liability limit was only $10k, he doesn’t seem willing to help anymore. I’ve called many attorneys but they all just deal with personal injury cases. Does anyone know a lawyer in California who would handle such a case (for diminished value and loss of use)? To sue the other party directly?
Also is there a recommended appraiser? Seems most don’t even look at the car, which doesn’t make sense.
Also when the car is fixed, does anyone here want to buy it? When they were going to total it, they offered $85k plus tax. It will have brand new black surround tail lamps and it has 12k miles. The car is fully loaded with every option, and has a full leather interior. I’ve always babied it.
I will have the grey surround clear tails for sale
The same thing happened to me in 2011 with my 2009 Vantage Roadster. I paid an attorney on an hourly basis - since I had hit the other parties liability limit of $50k for Diminished Value and Loss of Use. You should be able to recover from your own insurance if you have adequate "under-insured" coverage for property damage. They will cover any amount in excess of the 10k limit you hare hitting with the other party.
I used Rocco Avellini for the Diminished Value report. He flew to LA from his office in Vegas (Wrecked Check Car Scan Center) to inspect my car and when my attorney presented the diminished value claim/with his report they (State Farm) agreed to pay the full amount, which was over 30k for DV. The loss of use claim took it over the other party's limit of 50k.
In this case, your DV report will have to be done with any photos of the damage and the body shop estimate, since its already being repaired.
I had trouble finding a DV appraiser and called a couple attorneys that had a PI practice and typically only did cases on contingency. If you want to PM me, I can chat more and share my DV report/attorney with you.
Get a copy of Hemmings Motor News from the news stand and look in there under Services Offered and you will find a number of auto related attorneys who specialize in this sort of thing.
This thread got me thinking and asked my insurance agent what the deal was on diminished value and the like... Basically, if you want to avoid this; get an agreed value policy. An appraisal needs to happen first. I called the service manager at the local AM dealer and hear his thoughts and said that was the way to go as well. The insurance agent provided me with a list of appraisers they use and I am scheduling an appraisal.
I wonder how much it'll raise my policy? The Aston is my primary car, but I only drive like 4-5k miles a year.
The way I understood the agreed value policy (I have one with Chubb) is that if the car is totaled, you can get the "agreed value" instead of some lower market price. Chubb had an estimated the value of the car and I simply had to provide them a higher value - the number I wanted to them to mark it at and their premium was recalculated.
You don't have a diminished value claim if you are at fault and go through your own insurance. If you are hit by a third party and make a claim through their insurance you should be made whole. If the damages exceed their policy limits, you could make a claim through your insurance company, but I think the essence of "agreed value" is for a total loss and not for an indirect DV claim.
After 449 days, I got her back today. New cosmetic parts are black surround clear tails and black background wings emblems and AM valve stem caps (my original green emblems are for sale if anyone is interested). Now, the long process of getting diminished value and loss of use. Total insurance bill was over $72k.
It's nice to be home, incredible example of the last good Vantage's. Very tasteful specifications, nice touch with the black inset wings and carbon lights added.
JW
@rohnin - at one point you weren't sure if you were going to keep car because of the accident. Is that still the case? Just curious if time and the qualify of the repair have changed your mind.
Really glad to see the car back as it should be, especially since it's a GTS.
Time to start enjoying the car again. I would suggest a good amount of driving (an excuse to have some fun)in the course of making sure any bugs are out before you release the insurance company and repair shop completely. Some adjustments may be required after a few hundred miles. Again....it's a good excuse to make up for lost seat time!
Wow, 449 days to estimate and repair a Vantage GTS. It's mind-boggling. I sincerely hope you get every penny you deserve from diminished value (which, if I'm correct, is somewhere around $25k) and loss of use for more than a year.
This thread reminds me of an ordeal I had a few years back. I bought a used e39 BMW M5 (which was the best car I've ever owned until I bought my Vantage). A year into ownership it got wrecked and my insurance company sent out an adjuster to look at it. They quoted a wheel and some cosmetic body repairs for a couple thousand bucks and gave me the number for some BS collision repair shop in the area. I said no, and paid to have it towed to my local BMW dealer's service center for a real estimate with genuine parts. The next day they gave me a $26,000 repair bill. It needed an entire new rear subframe, suspension, and a host of other parts. Gave it to my insurance company and they totaled the car out.
Even if the shop had repaired it and the insurance had paid for it to be done properly, the car would always have that stain on its history, and diminished value is always a knockdown, drag-out fight with any insurance company. In my case it wouldn't have been worth it to pursue on a car that only cost me $20k, but if I had your GTS I definitely would. I think the best you can do is to get a current appraisal with consideration of the damage, and get values for undamaged comps as close to your spec as possible and give that to your lawyer. That's what I would do, at least.
But it's still a beautiful car and, since it's been fixed properly, should still be an absolute blast to drive. Good luck!
