Diminished Value

Monarch

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Dec 19, 2024
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Tennessee
Wife’s new Luxury plus with 1500 miles was hit in the door and down drivers side by a guy in his eighties. Gets out walks up to her and says that looks like a brand new car. She responded that it was. He comes back with “that’s what happens to them”.
What do you think the loss of value due to being involved in accident that will be on its record? Repair estimate is 9500.00. Door won’t be available until end of March.
 

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Monarch so sorry that has happened. I do believe that the repair can bring your GX back to pride status. Before you let any shop start on the repairs, make it clear that an exact paint match only will be acceptable to you. I think a sample of the paint should be provided for you to approve before the actual finish is applied. If you talk to the shop beforehand then you will know they are willing to do that work. The repair will not devalue your rig if care is taken. It might be necessary to paint a larger area than the door to make it look new.
 
Monarch so sorry that has happened. I do believe that the repair can bring your GX back to pride status. Before you let any shop start on the repairs, make it clear that an exact paint match only will be acceptable to you. I think a sample of the paint should be provided for you to approve before the actual finish is applied. If you talk to the shop beforehand then you will know they are willing to do that work. The repair will not devalue your rig if care is taken. It might be necessary to paint a larger area than the door to make it look new.
"It might be necessary to paint a larger area than the door..."?? Um, did you see the picture?
 
Wife’s new Luxury plus with 1500 miles was hit in the door and down drivers side by a guy in his eighties. Gets out walks up to her and says that looks like a brand new car. She responded that it was. He comes back with “that’s what happens to them”.
What do you think the loss of value due to being involved in accident that will be on its record? Repair estimate is 9500.00. Door won’t be available until end of March.
I feel your pain happy no one was hurt
 
I'm shopping lightly used cars right now (Porsche) and I just skip right over the ones with an accident and repair noted (such as on Carfax). All the auction sites give the seller a hell of a time when an accident is reported. I'd consider one that was in an accident but I'd expect it to be nearly $10k less in price (my target price is about $75-80k) with full details and no structural damage. The truth is that no one wants a car that's been in an accident, even if was just the door skin and a fender or two that had to be replaced and repainted. I'd say that guy just cost you $10k easy and I'd wring it out of his insurance company.
 
Depe
Wife’s new Luxury plus with 1500 miles was hit in the door and down drivers side by a guy in his eighties. Gets out walks up to her and says that looks like a brand new car. She responded that it was. He comes back with “that’s what happens to them”.
What do you think the loss of value due to being involved in accident that will be on its record? Repair estimate is 9500.00. Door won’t be available until end of March.
what a jackass to try and be funny after hitting someone else’s car.

Yes, even if it is restored to exact pre-wreck condition, there is a diminished value to it if traded in. As Bluegill noted, when an insurance claim is filed, it will show on Carfax reports. Trade in value will undoubtedly be affected as it allows the salesman to go for the jugular.

If you sell it privately as is, then it is up to the buyer to do their own research and you might be able to get a good sell price on it. The used GX550 pricing in my area is essentially the same thing i paid for mine, and actually more expensive than MSRP in some cases because supply is still so low.

Check your state laws for diminished value options, and his company may have to pay up. Any damage to engine components or frame is worse for devaluing it than cosmetic body damage. You’d have to get a licensed 3rd party appraiser to value the vehicle and then submit to insurance company. The companies usually make you pay for the appraiser
 
My wife’s Land Cruiser FE was hit in left rear door by an elderly guy back in July 2024. He was insured by Progressive which was a total PITA so I filed a Small Claims lawsuit. (Helps that I am a lawyer)

They finally paid full repairs, at body shop of my choice, and $6,500 in diminished value. I got a written opinion on DV from the sales manger of local Toyota dealership.

Good luck, it took nearly 6 months to get all the necessary parts….
 
Thanks for the imput. I hope to get a reasonable settlement without having to get attorney involved. From the little research I’ve done so far, 10% seems fair.
When a patient passes away or there’s a bad outcome for various reasons the physician and the family are sad; when a couple is undergoing the agony of divorce, when someone slips and injures themselves in a mall or grocery store or when there’s a car accident with or without injury, all involved are sorry and traumatised and wish none of this had happened.

The only ones happy and adding to their bank balance and calculating how to enrich themselves due to other people’s misfortune, are the attorneys. I am sorry for the accident. I hope the matter is resolved satisfactorily and I am glad you are not thinking about involving lawyers in this situation.
 
My wife’s Land Cruiser FE was hit in left rear door by an elderly guy back in July 2024. He was insured by Progressive which was a total PITA so I filed a Small Claims lawsuit. (Helps that I am a lawyer)

They finally paid full repairs, at body shop of my choice, and $6,500 in diminished value. I got a written opinion on DV from the sales manger of local Toyota dealership.

Good luck, it took nearly 6 months to get all the necessary parts….
Did you go after medical? Currently, I am without a lawyer and about to close on a claim north of yours. Wondering if I did get a lawyer involved it will be higher.

Thanks for the imput. I hope to get a reasonable settlement without having to get attorney involved. From the little research I’ve done so far, 10% seems fair.
Not always. Depending on the extent of the damage and assessors valuation but its a good estimate.
 
Wife’s new Luxury plus with 1500 miles was hit in the door and down drivers side by a guy in his eighties. Gets out walks up to her and says that looks like a brand new car. She responded that it was. He comes back with “that’s what happens to them”.
What do you think the loss of value due to being involved in accident that will be on its record? Repair estimate is 9500.00. Door won’t be available until end of March.
It really depends on who is assessing the value. Carmax has been a bit more forgiving over the years if the car is otherwise clean while some franchise dealerships I've gone to have tried to rake me over the coals. The delta was 15% for a relatively minor incident.

In most markets Lexus has "Lexus Certified" body shops. I would try to find a body shop that is a preferred provider by both your insurance company and Lexus to make your life a bit easier.

FWIW, I'm sorry to hear this has happened to you. My OT+ with less than 250 miles has had 2 incidents in it's short life. Vandalism on the roof requiring $2,500 worth of repairs, and the dealership drilled the license plate bracket into the grill and bumper requiring them to replace both. To make matters worse, I got hit by a new driver in my Land Cruiser while the GX was in the shop.
 
It really depends on who is assessing the value. Carmax has been a bit more forgiving over the years if the car is otherwise clean while some franchise dealerships I've gone to have tried to rake me over the coals. The delta was 15% for a relatively minor incident.

In most markets Lexus has "Lexus Certified" body shops. I would try to find a body shop that is a preferred provider by both your insurance company and Lexus to make your life a bit easier.

FWIW, I'm sorry to hear this has happened to you. My OT+ with less than 250 miles has had 2 incidents in its short life. Vandalism on the roof requiring $2,500 worth of repairs, and the dealership drilled the license plate bracket into the grill and bumper requiring them to replace both. To make matters worse, I got hit by a new driver in my Land Cruiser while the GX was in the shop.
Looks like we aren’t the only ones with bad luck! We did get into the shop in our area that is certified for repairing Bentleys and exotics. Hopefully that means they are good at what they do.
 
Wife’s new Luxury plus with 1500 miles was hit in the door and down drivers side by a guy in his eighties. Gets out walks up to her and says that looks like a brand new car. She responded that it was. He comes back with “that’s what happens to them”.
What do you think the loss of value due to being involved in accident that will be on its record? Repair estimate is 9500.00. Door won’t be available until end of March.
I'd expect about $10k drop in resale value today. As the car ages, that will shrink along with normal depreciation. Good news is there shouldn't be structural damage, so if you plan to keep it, that accident won't cause you future problems.
 
I'm in an adjacent field. My property damage experts tell me that 10-20% is usually the range. I could be biased but 10% seems low to me for this particular car and the type of damage I'm seeing. There are pleny of places where you can get a favorable report to send to the insurance company but the truth is they will probably not be too moved by your arguments so I wouldn't spend too much on it.
 
Wait until repairs are completed to your satisfaction, then tell the insurance company that you want to file a Diminished Value claim. We got $2100 on a new Subaru that got hit at 600 miles and that car was about $32k new. This was 4 years ago. That should be worth closer to 9 or 10K after repairs.
 

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