We Are First Settlers!

Don't know if this is the right place, please move this thread if I'm in the wrong place.

Tues morning on way to work, my 2008 Cayman S was hit on the passenger side by a Nissan Altima making a right turn on red. Police had cited the driver for failure to yield causing a traffic accident.

The damage is to my passenger door too the right rear wheel well.

I'm already in contact with my insurance and the other driver's insurance. The good part is, the other insurance company is taking responsibility. I'm fairly confident, the repair will be fine.

The issue I need our fellow members' advice is the diminished value with this 7000 mile car purchased last summer. When I'm ready to sell or trade it, there will be a huge stigma associated with this accident thanks to Carfax. How do I pursue this issue with the insurance company now? What should be the equitable amount? I'd contacted my dealer, but they don't want to be involved. Any suggestion will be greatly appreciated.


Jacob

I tried several years ago on a car that was vandalized. It was 10 days old with about 200 miles... They said "pack sand".

Alex Bell at Nationwide would certainly have a more informed answer for you.

Chris

Jacob, my guess is that your recourse is probably limited to demanding that all replacement/repair parts are new OEM Porsche parts. This is the best thing you can do for maintaining value, and if there's any way to have this documented, I'd certainly do so. If I were buying a used Porsche, and I knew the owner had gone to the trouble of ensuring the repair was "Porsche Certified" , my fears would at least be minimized. I might even contact Porsche to see if they endorse a particular repair facility for "certified" repairs. They may not. But your situation appears to come down to the inherent risk of taking any automobile on public roads. And I can't think of any insurance company that would guarantee that resale value will not be affected by their damage repair. I would think their liability is limited to simply restoring the aesthetic and functional attributes. Yeah, CARFAX and AUTOCHECK are great when buying a used car, but they can certainly work against you after an accident. Again, however, by getting the repair done correctly and documented, you are probably doing the best you can do to protect the long term value of the car. Good luck!

Jacob as we discussed "Diminished Value" is something the insurer for the other driver will pay to you assuming this insurer has accepted responsibility for the claim. Not only are they liable to you for damage to your car, but they are also liable for the dimished value of the car. That is a subjective number. Some people will not even worry about prior damage on a car. As for a Porsche, a smart buyer will find out your car was damaged, and that buyer would not be willing to pay as much for your car as he would with no damage. I might shoot for $5,000 to start for this loss in value.

Now if this were a claim where it was your fault, your insurer would not be responsible for this diminished value as was the case with another poster here. In that case, your Collision coverage will only repair your car to as new condition without any adjustment for value.

Alex Bell

Hey! I didn't vandalize it myself..... wtf?

Cool that it sounds like Jacob has recourse.

Chris

Thanks, everybody for your input. You guys are awesome.

The other driver's insurance is taking responsibility for the accident. The representative was all friendly about setting up an appointment with an adjuster, etc.... until I brought up the subject of diminished value. She became less forthcoming or even annoyed, but I've another person I will have to talk to about that particular claim.

I think it's a murky issue few ppl know about, and the laws applicable to each state apparently differ. From what I can put together, that claim (for diminished value) can only be filed after selling or trading the vehicle, and will require proof of loss. Sounds like I will have to hire a 3rd party assessor to determine the value of the loss, and it is not clear how much negotiating will follow.

So... that's where I'm at. For the time being, I will concentrate on getting the car fixed, and documenting the repair as many have suggested, and doing some additional research on the DV issue.

Alex, that's the rough figure I thought might be equitable too. But I suspect getting that out of the insurance company will be like prying the gun out of Charlton Heston's cold, dead hands.



Jacob

Thanks for the inside scoop Alex. I was completely unaware of this "Diminished Value". I had a similar situation some years back. If I only knew then what I know now...


I'm sure this info will be beneficial to all of our membership - you're the Man!


Marco

More proof of expertise within our club. Thanks Alex for the insight...had no idea there was such a thing as "diminished value". Great stuff.

We settled on a diminished value when my wife was side swiped on interstate 10 in MS by an 18 wheeler in our new 1999 Exporer. It took a year to settle the case, and after the lawyers got their fair share hardly seemed worth all of the trouble.

We did not ask for medical (I was active duty and there was no need for it), all we wanted was the vehicle fixed to as new condition and the difference that was assessed by a seperate firm on the value after the accident. The trucking company's insurer accepted responsibility, but argued on diminished value.

My wife still has a great fear of driving near big trucks (almost to the point that she freaks out).

Good luck and I hope it all works out for you.

I was rear ended in my Cayenne 2 months ago and have just successfully gotten $500 diminished value out of State Farm. This was not nearly as much as I would have hoped for, but is better than $0. State Farm would not accept any type of evaluation of the value from a dealership or otherwise - stating that the only way to know the actual loss of value would be for me to sell my car and give them proof of the difference in money that I actually received for the car.