Has anyone ever *actually* been paid a realistic amount for vehicle diminished value after a wreck?

Wife's van got smashed front and rear back in December by a schmuck in a Hertz rental SUV. Did almost $8k worth of damage to our 2017 Sedona. My body shop put it all back together while the Hertz self-insurance provider (ESIS) jerked everyone around.

So now we are to the diminished value claim part. The minion at ESIS sent me an offer for a whopping $400. I spent a few hours collecting my evidence that the actual diminished value is roughly $3k. My evidence include three different retail values (including Manheim retail for good measure) and even a van local to me for sale that has similar damage/miles. So the minion ignores me for a few weeks and sends back a new offer for $550. Someone isn't listening...

If my now wrecked van burned to the ground right now I'd maybe get $15k for it. But to buy a similar one at retail it would be $18k. The whole idea for diminished value I thought was to make up that gap. I've been talking to a few friends and almost none of them have ever gotten anything close to what the actual DV for their vehicles. Zero. It has always been a paltry amount.

Seems that in the state of Georgia I can actually claim DV via my own insurance. I may go that route and let my own insurance then subrogate. Even with my high deductible it would be a hell of a lot more than the current DV offer.

I have settled 4 DV claims last 10 years . All I went against insurance company of party who hit me. I haven't involved my own insurance company, so haven't done the subragation route myself 

$9,500

$11,700

$4,500

$16,100 

everytime, I used an appraisal company to have vehicle appraised and report written. $300. 
 

initially I haven't gotten denied on all 4 claims. 2 of the claims I was able to settle by writing two more settlemen demands. Took me 6 months 

other two  took me 11 months and 9 months. 
 

persistence. 
professionalism. 
having all docs in order helped me settle 

all my DV claims, I have  also settled for Loss of Use claims. 

I've done it 2 times, both times paid the $300 to the "pro" and turned that in. Done. Best $300 you'll spend. 
 

Right now it's only your opinion.  Give the guy "proof" from an expert and he can check the box and move on. 

Thanks everyone. A friend of mine also suggested using a DV service. Looks like that is the road I'm taking.

I did take the time to file a complaint with my state's insurance commissioner for some of the shenanigans they tried to pull. Probably won't win me any fans at ESIS, but if nobody blows the whistle then they will keep crossing the lines of the law.

Oh, the other party is using ESIS? Yeah, they're a E36 M3-show from my minimal encounters with them. 

Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) said:

Oh, the other party is using ESIS? Yeah, they're a E36 M3-show from my minimal encounters with them. 

Yeah, when I found out my wreck in Georgia was being handled by an office in Florida, I knew there should be shenanigans. I did get them to provide me with a rental car, which was a minor win.

I also called Hertz and let them know ESIS's handling of my claim was having a negative effect on my perception of the Hertz brand. ESIS was blowing me off before the call to Hertz, then suddenly they wanted to get things moving. Odd how that works. There may be a Hertz office two miles from my house, but I wont' be renting from them any time soon.

My focus svt was totaled .  I think they gave me five grand for it.  I was shocked.  It had an aftermarket supercharger that may have made them give me more money.  I bought the car back for like 300 bucks.  I then sold the entire car for $1500.  The car was an 01.  I thought that was a good deal.  I dealt with usaa, if that matters.

One time I was having a problem with Allstate .  My agent suggested I contact the state insurance agency.    Settlement was swift.

This was NYS,  does your state have such an agency ?

Well after filing a complaint with the state insurance commissioner they stopped ignoring me and upped their offer by a whopping $100. The van lost $3k in value, they are offering $550.

So how did everyone pick a diminished value expert? Some seem shady just by doing a Google search.

I used the guy mentioned here and know 2 others that have used him

http://www.acs-md.com/diminished-value/

I ended up hiring a local guy via word of mouth. He sent me the appraisal today and a customized "FU" letter to send the insurance company. The appraisal packet is pretty damn thorough, and way better than my initial effort. I'm demanding not only the DV for the vehicle, but the $400 it cost me to have it appraised. They have five days to reply before I file suit in magistrate court. This should be interesting.

slefain said:

I ended up hiring a local guy via word of mouth. He sent me the appraisal today and a customized "FU" letter to send the insurance company. The appraisal packet is pretty damn thorough, and way better than my initial effort. I'm demanding not only the DV for the vehicle, but the $400 it cost me to have it appraised. They have five days to reply before I file suit in magistrate court. This should be interesting.

Welp the insurance company replied with their own "FU" letter and bumped their DV offer up by $50. Looks like I'm getting an attorney next. The appraisal guy has a lawyer he works with, so I'm just going to let them duke it out. Apparently he works on contingency, so he'll just take a cut of the final amount. Fine with me.

I went through this two years ago and ended up using https://www.resalerecovery.com/.

I was rear-ended in my Lexus CT200h and there wasn't a ton of damage. I had them do an appraisal (which was very thorough) and sent it to the DV department of the other drivers' insurance company. I think we were asking for something like $4,000 which I thought was a bit agressive given the car had north of 100k miles, but I figured it was worth a shot.

Ended up getting a response that said they would give me $1,500. Take it or leave it. The guy I hired said he thought we could get more if we took it to court, but it might take forever to get the money. I figured I'd just take the cash now and accepted the $1,500. I think I ended up paying him $500 of it.

My father got rear-ended right after my ordeal and I sent him over to them as well. Unfortunately for my father - the other driver's insurance company straight up refused to pay out on DV claims and so we never pursued it.

In reply to Yavuz :

Luckily in Georgia DV isn't something they can just refuse to pay. Last time this happened the insurance company actually paid me a reasonable amount for DV. But that was years ago. This time around the offer is laughably off base.

This is relevant to my interests, as I'm over a year in on two DV claims for two vehicles.  Both insurance companies refuse to make even a reasonable offer, but the numbers are right around Small Claims limits so I haven't convinced myself to hire an attorney yet.  Everything I've found online for appraisers and DV lawyers has looked shady as E36 M3.

I'll take a look at the link above, thanks for posting.

FWIW, we have an article about diminished value on the Classic Motorsports site that might help. 

Here's the link. 

No, never

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/advice-on-getting-depreciation-from-ins-companies/70720/page1/

^ There's a thread I made 7 years ago on here where I was basically told I was greedy and selfish for even asking for DV.   Also that I would never have a chance of getting paid.

Cliffnotes:  Got paid DV, ignore everyone who has no experience with the situation but has a big mouth and bigger opinions, be persistent. Your asset is worth less because of their insured. 

Well we've come to the end of the saga. After talking up a big game, my lawyer folded like a cheap suit. I'm getting the same $500 the insurance company offered BEFORE hiring a lawyer. The final amount is actually $750, but the lawyer charged $250 to do...something. And since I hired an appraiser for $400, I'm only getting $100 for DV total. berkeley.

This has been a learning moment in dealing with insurance, one I won't forget. You can't win, so don't waste time trying. Take your crumbs and berkeley off. Got it.

Yes, it takes a lot of work, screaming,  and threats. 

YMMV

Donebrokeit said:

Yes, it takes a lot of work, screaming,  and threats. 

 

YMMV

Did all three, mileage was like a carbed 454 dually GMC crew cab towing a loaded three car fifth wheel hauler at 80mph. Uphill.

Ugh.  That sucks.  20+ years ago, my wife was hit in a parking lot (while stopped) by a Hertz renter.  It was like pulling teeth.  They tried to go the 50% of claim route for "shared responsibility" by claiming the witness said both were at fault, which was a lie.  I had spoken to him myself.  When I brought that up, they finally coughed up the money.  It was a $1200 claim too.  Just ridiculous.

I have made it a point to never rent from Hertz.  Over 20 years of vacations and travel (I used to travel quite a bit), it's costs them 10s of thousands.  I'm amazed that they think it's good business to make enemies of everyone who interacts with them.

Donebrokeit said:

Yes, it takes a lot of work, screaming,  and threats. 

 

YMMV

Yeah YMMV for sure. For me it was more than worth it. My appraiser was ruthless and sent all letter threatening lawsuit with having to hire a lawyer. My cost was very fair compared to the additional amount that I got back. Definitely worth it.

I'm think it all depends if you have the right appraiser and if you're dealing with a giant rental company that's probably a different ballgame. I wouldn't hesitate to try though.

DIV is tough. It varies greatly by state and by the sort of car you have.  A Ferrari is a much better supported DIV claim than a Malibu. 

Sonic said:

DIV is tough. It varies greatly by state and by the sort of car you have.  A Ferrari is a much better supported DIV claim than a Malibu. 

Well to be fair to my wife, the Bentley was in the shop that day so she took the Sedona instead.

Hearing you say DV is tough makes me feel better though, since as I recall insurance is your thing. I'm going to use the DV check to buy parts for my E46, so at least I can enjoy the money a little.