Diminished Value Claims

What is diminished value?

Diminished value is the difference between the value of your car pre-accident and post-accident.

Has your car decreased in value after a car accident?

After an accident, the value of your car decreases. It’s inevitable. It happens even if you can’t see any evidence of a repair.

Restoring your car to its pre-accident condition will not restore the car’s prior value. Your car is different now. Would you pay the same amount for your vehicle now knowing that it was in an accident? I doubt it.

How does your car lose value after an accident?

As much as we don’t want to admit it, your car’s value decreases after an accident.

VIN reporting services track a lot of data on a car’s history. Accidents are one of the data points collected. If you were to try to trade your car in now, you would get less because the car was in an accident.

This reporting rule is a good thing. You should know if the car that you might buy was in an accident.

Yet, you can’t get around having the accident be on your car’s permanent record. Your car’s value has dropped because an accident is now part of its history.

Insurance companies don’t want you to know about diminished value. They don’t want to pay any more than they have to. Their primary concern is and always will be profit.

What can you do to recover this lost value? You need to file a diminished value claim. In Las Vegas, Nevada, you can only do this against the person that caused the accident.

What is a diminished value claim?

Nevada law supports diminished value claims against an at-fault third party.

A diminished value claim seeks recovery for the decrease in value that resulted from the accident.

You have to prove your damages. You can try and estimate the value of your car on your own using vehicle valuation tools. However, a qualified appraiser will provide a better estimate.

If the insurance company is not willing to negotiate, smalls claims court is the next option. The appraisal will help you in court.

Filing a diminished value claim can be a complicated process. Insurance companies don’t want to pay for the value you lost and will fight you through the process.

If you have any questions, give us a call or have us call you. We’re always happy to help. That’s why we’re here.