compensation for time and value

[JohnDaleswife]

I was hit from behind last month and got a real good dent in the back of my jeep. Complete
accident on the other partys fault. Police report states that as well. There were no injuries.
Am I due any type of compensation for my time and inconvenient. And deminished value on my jeep. I live in Georgia.

 

[Carina]

Sounds like a question for your insurance company.

 

[Pooh2]

We have had this happen twice to us. The insurance of the at-fault person paid for the physical damage to our car. I have never heard of anyone collecting money for time involved in repairs.

 

[Swimalie]

I had this happen about 2 years ago. Very minor hit from behind but it required replacement of my rear bumper. Yes, you are entitled diminished value of your vehicle. I went to NADA, Kelly Blue book and other sites and got the current value of my car based on "excellent" vs "good" (the difference is perfect condition and now, with an accident, it will always be considered good and yet the car was brand new at the time). I figured the difference for 3 or 4 sites and then got the average and submitted that to the other parties insurance company. We negotiated and settled on a similar amount. A suggestion would be to tell them you are asking for this before you settle on the repairs. I had them pay the repair place directly because I was afraid once I took the check for the repairs, they wouldn't pay the diminished value as well. Also, diminished value won't be paid if you don't get the car repaired and take the repair check instead.

You have to ask for diminished value, the other party's company won't offer it. Your insurance company won't tell you anything about this since the other person is at fault and your insurance company has nothing to do with the claim. There is no compensation for your time, however. This just covers the difference of when you sell the car and it has been repaired versus one that was never repaired.

I hope this helps. I fought hard for mine, weeks of negotiations but I was determined to get them to pay the difference for when I sell the car.

 

[cvjw]

Also in Georgia, and unfortunately, have had lots of experience with wrecks that aren't our fault in the last few years. You will get a check for the diminished value of your car. According to my State Farm agent, you get no say in the amount, it is a formula that is standard for all insurance agencies in the state.

When my son was hit in a 10 year old car ($4500 in damages), we received $100 in diminished value. When my husband's car was hit (twice in a year), he received a few hundred dollars both times and his car is only a couple of years old.

You do not get anything for your time and trouble unless you have medical bills because you were hurt in the accident. The other insurance company will reimburse you for the costs.

Good luck - I understand how exasperating this whole process is. I have had to go thru it multiple times in the last few years

 

[hsmamato2]

wouldn't the insurance companies be dealing with this question? I know this happened a few months ago to us, and they gave us a check to cover damages to be repaired,etc no problem

 

[tvguy]

After watching way too many episodes of Judge Judy/Alex/Joe Brown/Million I'd say.....it depends on what state you live in.


But, it is not uncommon for rental car companies to charge you for lost rental income if you damage one of their cars. Basically, you continue to rent the car until it is fixed.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

After watching way too many episodes of Judge Judy/Alex/Joe Brown/Million I'd say.....it depends on what state you live in.


But, it is not uncommon for rental car companies to charge you for lost rental income if you damage one of their cars. Basically, you continue to rent the car until it is fixed.

Judge Judy never gives plaintiffs money when they want to be compensated for the inconvenience and time spent due to dealing with accidents or other legal issues which are not their fault!

 

[tvguy]

Judge Judy never gives plaintiffs money when they want to be compensated for the inconvenience and time spent due to dealing with accidents or other legal issues which are not their fault!

True. Those shows kind of compile the laws of several states.

Sometimes there are totally wrong. Watched one Judge Joe Brown on an "as is" car sale. In most states, as is, means, as is. But in California, unless the car is being sold to a junk yard, the SELLER is always responsible for the car passing a smog check. You can't make a deal that the buyer will do it., He ruled that as is, is as is, which, since the case was in California was incorrect.

 

[EMode]

Also in Georgia, and unfortunately, have had lots of experience with wrecks that aren't our fault in the last few years. You will get a check for the diminished value of your car. According to my State Farm agent, you get no say in the amount, it is a formula that is standard for all insurance agencies in the state.

When my son was hit in a 10 year old car ($4500 in damages), we received $100 in diminished value. When my husband's car was hit (twice in a year), he received a few hundred dollars both times and his car is only a couple of years old.

You do not get anything for your time and trouble unless you have medical bills because you were hurt in the accident. The other insurance company will reimburse you for the costs.

Good luck - I understand how exasperating this whole process is. I have had to go thru it multiple times in the last few years

Do you not get the repair paid for or is the diminished value payment in addition to that?

OP, I was rear ended a couple weeks ago. I immediately contacted the guys insurance company to get the claim going. They had to hear from him before agreeing to cover my damages. I got an estimate they sent me a check and will pay for anything else found when doing the actual repair. They are also paying for a rental car for me while my car is being worked on. I do not get any additional money for my time and/or inconvenience.

 

[JohnDaleswife]

The diminished value is in addition to the car getting fixed. I know I won't get much, but hay anything is better than nothing, right? I figured I will have to retain counsel in order to get it and that will eat 1/3 of it, but still if I were to get a couple hundred bucks, why not?

 

[Swimalie]

The diminished value is in addition to the car getting fixed. I know I won't get much, but hay anything is better than nothing, right? I figured I will have to retain counsel in order to get it and that will eat 1/3 of it, but still if I were to get a couple hundred bucks, why not?

My car, a loaded Subaru Forester was 13 months old when I was hit and had to get a new bumper. My car's value was still pretty good (around $25,000) but I only got $800 in diminished value. Don't plan on getting a whole lot and it might not be worth getting a lawyer as they might take the entire amount you get.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

Diminished value is in addition to the cost to repair the damage. You will have to ask for it/demand it. Nothing for your time and inconvenience though.

 

[EMode]

Thanks for explaining, we don't have diminished value payments in my state. If you are entitled to it why not see what you can get.

I was curious and it turns out some people here may be entitled to it. I'm so mad about being hit, I'm going to look into it.

 

[tvguy]

Okay, I'm having a little bit of a problem getting my arms around the idea of diminished value. The repairs should restore the car to the condition it was in before it was damaged. If the repairs don't, it's going back to the body shop on their dime until it is restored to the pre-damage condition.

 

[EMode]

Okay, I'm having a little bit of a problem getting my arms around the idea of diminished value. The repairs should restore the car to the condition it was in before it was damaged. If the repairs don't, it's going back to the body shop on their dime until it is restored to the pre-damage condition.

The repairs should, and the place that is doing mine has a lifetime guarantee. However if I ever go to sell the car, it being involved accident can be a red flag to buyers so I can see the diminished value argument.

Out of curiosity I just priced my vehicle for private sale on kbb, there was a $1000 difference between the options if I choose "had some repair/body work".

 

[tvguy]

The repairs should, and the place that is doing mine has a lifetime guarantee. However if I ever go to sell the car, it being involved accident can be a red flag to buyers so I can see the diminished value argument.

Out of curiosity I just priced my vehicle for private sale on kbb, there was a $1000 difference between the options if I choose "had some repair/body work".

Interesting. I checked my commute car and there is only a $200 difference.
But, I do keep my cars forever. My family car will be 27 years old in October.
Had my first commute car 16 years paid $3,600 for it new, sold it for $300. My second commute car I had 18 years, paid $14,997 for it new, sold it for $500. I've had my current commute car 11 years. So the total combined value of the cars I have gotten rid of wasn't $1,000.

 

[EMode]

Interesting. I checked my commute car and there is only a $200 difference.
But, I do keep my cars forever. My family car will be 27 years old in October.
Had my first commute car 16 years paid $3,600 for it new, sold it for $300. My second commute car I had 18 years, paid $14,997 for it new, sold it for $500. I've had my current commute car 11 years. So the total combined value of the cars I have gotten rid of wasn't $1,000.

My car is less than a year old so that is probably why its a $1000 difference. We keep our cars forever too, my dh's car has almost 250K miles on it. The truth is I will probably keep this one for a long time so by the time I was ready to sell it my value would be more like $200. I had never heard of diminished value and it did get me thinking, afterall I'm still in the "I'm angry I want to punish someone for banging up my newish pretty car" stage
I'm sure next week when I get my car back and it looks brand new I'll forget all about it.

 

[Ranger111]

I figured I will have to retain counsel in order to get it and that will eat 1/3 of it, but still if I were to get a couple hundred bucks, why not?

YMMV as they say, and there are LOTS of attorneys out there, but it sounds as if you expect you can get an attorney to take this on a contingency basis.

In my experience, that is doubtful. You can probably retain an attorney, who will agree to write a boilerplatd letter "demand letter" (although they will not tell you the boilerplate part), for whatever their hourly fee is $180-$300, would not be far off.

And, maybe write a letter or two more for no additional cost, but, and again, you could find a totally different circumstance, they will not guarantee any recovery and you will have to pay the attorney, no matter.

So, say Kelly BB says "$1,000." It is possible the insurance firm will agree to that, but it is more likely they will claim it is an inflated number (which in my experience, may be true).

So, you dicker and haggle and maybe you settle on $500-$700...minus a few hundred for an attorney -- so you get a few hundred -- MAYBE....or MAYBE not.

My point, and I do have one -- you can check out a NOLO PRESS book on car accident claims from your local library, write your own demand letter and get the same result in my experience -- thereby saving you the lawyer fee....and, again, there is no guarantee that you willl get much, if anything, unless you go to court -- and for a few hundred....well....

If you do not seem to be getting anywhere after trying this on your own....then maybe go the attorney route, if you want to try it.

This is all very uncertain, because state laws vary, insurance companies vary and the circumstances of any claim also vary.

 

[Swimalie]

So, say Kelly BB says "$1,000." It is possible the insurance firm will agree to that, but it is more likely they will claim it is an inflated number (which in my experience, may be true).

When I checked KBB, NADA and one other (can't remember) after my accident, the diminished value ranged from $1600 down to $600. I settled on $800 since I keep my cars for more than 10 years and by then, it won't matter as much. But I was surprised at the difference in the value from one company to another.