Diminished Value decreases and Total Loss Values Soar!

September 21, 2021By Justin Petty No Comments

Diminished Value decreases a bit while Total Loss Values Soar!

Diminished Value Claim severity is dropping, while total loss settlement values are increasing!  The effects of high demand on the automobile market.
  
As chip shortages and high demand for used vehicles continue, I’ve seen a couple of trends.
 
1.  Minor to moderate accident histories on a vehicle are less damaging to the re-sale value than has been the case prior to approximately April 2021. 
 
2.  Most of the auto claim industry’s preferred vendors for market valuation reports haven’t caught up to the increased prices on used vehicle.
 
These two trends have dramatically affected the distribution of the percentage of cases we handle that are either total loss cases or diminished value cases.  Specifically, a lot more people are seeking out our assistance for appraisal clause help because they believe they are getting a “low-ball” offer on their recently totaled vehicle.  Spoiler. . . . they are normally right in their belief.
 
Although we are now doing more appraisal clause work than diminished value work, diminished value has not disappeared, nor has the increase in demand for used vehicles eliminated the potential for an economically viable pursuit for diminished value recovery. 
 
What we’re seeing is that instead of the typical reduction (for a prior collision and repair history) of between 18% – 25% (depending on make/model/market), dealers and individuals are willing to bear a bit more risk and the deduction for a prior collision and repair history is not as severe in this current market of high demand. 

Markets change. 

Diminished value won’t be going away, but the severity of it is less right now due to Covid.  On the other hand, total loss payouts are on the rise. 

If you have questions or need more information regarding this subject, feel free to reach out to us and we’ll do our best to make sure you get the information or help you need. Both of our forms are below for a free consultation whether you have a DV claim or a Total Loss you want to talk about!

Kelly fought for her DV in CA!

June 26, 2019By Justin Petty

Kelly fought for her DV in CA!

Have you had trouble getting your diminished value claim settled?  

So did our client Kelly in San Mateo, CA so she hired us as her experts.  She had a 2016 Audi Q3 2.0T Premium Plus with over $20K in damage after an accident that wasn’t her fault and, although it should have been totaled, the at-fault insurance carrier INSISTED it was repairable!  

She submitted her $6100 DV claim and got the typical immediate denial.

Because California only requires $5K in property damage liability coverage, insurance companies COMMONLY attempt to use this denial / delay tactic…

Here’s how it works:

The responsible carrier will refuse to address the victim’s out-of-pocket damages (like Loss of Use and Diminished Value), arguing that the VICTIM’S insurance carrier needs to subrogate first. 

If this happens, the victim almost never gets paid for Diminished Value.  Since your own policy doesn’t cover diminished value, you MUST get it from the at-fault person’s carrier so the subrogation claim must wait until you recover your DV.  

Otherwise, the subro claim could exhaust the limits of the at-fault party’s policy, leaving you empty-handed with no way to recover.  The Made-Whole Doctrine exists to combat this inequity (search more about this topic on our blog).

Once she made everyone aware that she knew her rights, Kelly got the full Diminished Value settlement of $6100 and her insurance company was forced to wait on their subrogation claim.

Do you need a great expert appraiser to help with your diminished value auto claim?  

You can get a FREE claim consultation today to talk about your claim with one of our experts!

Randy & Sue’s Awesome Body Shop

June 25, 2019By Jennifer Petty No Comments

Randy & Sue’s Awesome Body Shop

Randy & Sue have a 2008 Lexus GS 350 that had $8500 in damages and was close to being totaled. They had no idea that they were owed money on TOP of the damages the other driver caused!

Thankfully, they knew an awesome body shop that they had used for years and multiple auto repairs and that awesome body shop knew how we helped on Diminished Value claims.

After getting our info, they signed up for a free claim consultation and got our help with an appraisal and our expert guidance through the process.

Randy & Sue fought for their diminished value loss and ended up settling for $2500!

Dear Ron (Shop owner),

First of all, thank you so much for the years of support and your extraordinary magic with our vehicle mishaps! You and your staff are “Awesome”!

When Sue picked up her GS 350 from the rear-end encounter, the quality work was superb, as always! Not to mention, you are a pleasure to do business with from every perspective, complimented by our insurance company as well.

We also would like to extend our sincere appreciation for introducing us to Justin Petty, an amazing Diminished Value expert who is very supportive.

With Justin’s guidance, we were able to obtain an equitable DV settlement from a very difficult insurance company! Another example of your pursuit of perfection and genuine concern for your customers’ welfare. We would have never known!!!

God Bless you and yours!
– Randy & Sue

Lots of insurance companies will make up stories on why you aren’t owed diminished value….don’t listen to the naysayers! Talk to a REAL expert in this very niche field and get the truth you’ve been searching for.

If you’ve been in an auto accident that wasn’t your fault and YOUR awesome body shop doesn’t know the great work we’re doing, make sure to talk about the Petty Details of Diminished Value and how we can help!

Want to know if your diminished value claim is worth it?

Do you work at an awesome body shop and want to know more about our spectacular services?

Fill out the form below for a FREE consultation and find out how we can help YOU today!

Yulian’s California DV Success

June 13, 2019By Jennifer Petty

Yulian’s California Diminished Value Success

Yulian G. lives in California 🌴 and has a 2016 Subaru WRX that sustained over $17K in damages.

He works at Yosemite National Park and, while he fought the wildfires, he was also fighting Mercury Insurance with a Diminished Value Appraisal from Petty Details to get his $7K auto claim paid. Guess what? He got it PAID IN FULL!

Hear straight from our raving fan – his email is below!

“Mercury Insurance sent me a settlement check in which the amount from your appraisal was included and paid in full!

I wanted you to know that, despite the complexity of this case, your services were ON POINT and you guys provided excellent customer service and expertise! I’m so glad that I listened to your advice!

Again, thank you so very much for your understanding, expertise, customer satisfaction and empathy. You’re a rare occasion in the business field today. I’ll make sure to highly recommend your business every chance I get! Come visit Yosemite anytime!”

Yulian G.

Want to be our next California diminished value success story?

Fill out the form below to get a FREE diminished value claim consultation today!

Cali girl Liz wins $6K in DV!

June 9, 2019By Jennifer Petty

Liz is a Cali girl 🌴 with a 2016 Audi Q3 2.0T Premium Plus who had over $20K in damages after an auto accident.

She filed for diminished value with a certified appraisal from us at Petty Details and ended up settling her auto claim for over $6000!

Now it’s back to the beach for Liz to enjoy a carefree summer thanks to our expert help.

Get your success story with help from an appraisal and our experts today by filling out our form below for a free claim consultation today!

Diminished Value on Luxury Cars

October 5, 2018By Justin Petty

Do you own a high end vehicle like a Lamborghini, Mercedes, Cadillac, Infiniti, Bentley, Rolls Royse, Porsche, Maserati, BMW, Audi, Saab, Lexus or any other vehicle that is considered a luxury or exotic vehicle?

If so, you should certainly be thinking about diminished value if you were involved in a collision! You might not know the technical term for it but you know you’re gonna be put through the ringer when you go to trade that baby in and those are the FACTS!

No matter if you backed into a tree or if some negligent driver crashed into you, it is highly likely that your vehicle has lost value because of the simple fact that it was in an accident. Even if you took the vehicle to the best repair facility around, it doesn’t change the fact that your car was once wrecked.

Diminished value is a concept that has been around for nearly 90 years.

There is law relating to it in Georgia dating back to 1926!

If you’ve been in an accident in your luxury vehicle, what the heck can you do about it?

Find out for yourself straight from our experts! 

Diminished Value Claims – Income Tax Benefits

October 4, 2018By Justin Petty

Let me make this really clear up front: We are not tax professionals!

We do not give tax advice. We are simply pointing you to information to aid in your research when filing your taxes after taking a loss in value after an auto accident.

Did you know that casualty losses are deductible from your income taxes?

In Topic 515 on the IRS’s website, it discusses the types of losses that can be claimed on your income tax.

Diminished value is specifically listed!

Reservation of Rights – What is It?

October 3, 2018By Justin Petty

This is a hard subject to explain to a lot of people.

Let me start by saying that you need to understand what is in this article before you blow your top at some insurance adjuster. There are ways around a reservation of rights defense, but you have to be stealthy and, above all, you have to remain calm.

If you have found this article, you are either an insurance adjuster doing some research or you are involved in a claim and being advised that your claim is not being paid at this time and that they are putting the claim on a “reservation of rights”.

I’m going to speak on Texas and specifically on auto insurance as Texas is my home State and auto insurance is where I have the most experience, although the reservation of rights or its equivalent exists in almost every State in the U.S. and can come about on claims that are not automobile claims.

Is Kelley Blue Book A Reliable Method for Researching Diminished Value?

September 30, 2018By Justin Petty

Recently, I had a case where an adjuster was negotiating an inherent lost market value claim based on values and condition descriptions found in Kelley Blue Book.

The amount of inherent lost value, or diminished value or DV as it is common to call it, that the adjuster was willing to pay was about $4000 less than what my research and opinion came out to.

Obviously, I argued that KBB was not accurate.

Naturally, the adjuster requested a synopsis on why I believed that using Kelley Blue Book was not a reliable method for researching diminished value.

I happily obliged the adjuster.

Want to read more about why using Kelley Blue Book (or any other online valuation guide) to calculate diminished value is a severely lacking and inaccurate method?

Do you have to sell your car to prove your diminished value? A Graph

November 11, 2016By Justin Petty No Comments

What do you think? Do you have to sell your car in order to prove that it has lost value?

does your car have to be sold

To the surprise of me and my client’s attorney, we recently had a Judge that said YES.  Insurance adjusters are trained to say YES to the title question, too. But what do you think?

The graphic with this article sorta sums up why the law does not agree with the Judge or the insurance adjusters, but I’ll go a little further to drive the point home.

No, Really…Do You Have To Sell Your Car To Prove Diminished Value?

Am I richer when the prices of my stocks go up?

Am I poorer when my stock values are down?

If average home prices around the home I own rise, am I richer?

If I trade my Lamborghini even for a Toyota Corolla, am I richer, or poorer?

If the doctor says I need a $10000.00 surgery to save my foot, am I richer if I don’t get the surgery?

If I lose my foot, and then use a prosthetic, is the cost of maintaining and replacing the prosthetic, along with the future medical costs I will incur part of the value of my claim, or does it only count when I actually go and pay for the care?

If everybody in your neighborhood paid $500 for a grill from the hardware store, and you found an identical one on Craigslist for $325.00 and still in the box, what is the market value of the grill?

If I have a Rolex valued at $22,000.00 by a well known Rolex appraiser, and I sell it for $18000.00, did I change the value of the Rolex?

If a sell price dictates market value, then there is no such thing as a “good deal”.