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Old 12-29-2016, 01:22 PM
 
6,922 posts, read 7,003,598 times
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(I posted this in the car insurance forum, and received no responses. So I will try posing in this more active forum)

I live in New York State. Several months ago, my nearly new (less than a year old at the time) car was rear-ended by another car. The other driver openly admitted fault to the police, the accident was considered 100% his fault, and his insurance paid for my car to be repaired. As far as I can tell, the car was in pre-accident condition after being repaired. There were no injuries.

However, since the car now has an accident on its record, it loses much of its value. In fact, a dealer offered $0 for my previous car for no reason other than the fact that it had an accident on its record (in that case, my fault) that didn't even cause any damage.

Since, through no fault of my own, my nearly new car is now nearly worthless, what is the law in New York about recovering the diminished value? I read a lot of conflicting info online about the law in NY? The other driver's insurance company says that insurance does not cover diminished value, since it is nothing more than a scam created by dealers. Whether that is true or not, my car is still worth far less than it was before the accident, through no fault of my own. I thought that the at fault driver's insurance company was responsible for making me whole.

If New York does allow me to file a diminished value claim, then what is the procedure?

If New York does not allow me to make a diminished value claim, then do I have any further recourse, such as taking the other driver to small claims court? In that case, who do I take the court: the other driver, the owner of the vehicle (the driver's father), the insurance company, the passenger who caused the distraction, or all of the above?

Or, am I just out of luck?

I should ask another somewhat unrelated question: this accident shows up on my driver abstract, even though it was not my fault. The abstract lists all accidents, regardless of fault. However, many employers refuse to hire anybody who doesn't have a "clean" driving record. Is there any recourse that I can take to get the accident removed from my abstract, or am I just out of luck?

Thank you.
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Old 12-29-2016, 03:10 PM
 
Location: NYC
20,550 posts, read 17,582,450 times
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I understand your pain and I've been rear ended before in NYC too and fortunately I don't have a fancy new car nor will I ever have one in NYC.

Twice I was rear ended I took pics and I want to go through claims but the person at fault rather pay for the damage. Although the damage wasn't extensive, it lowered the value of the car and required time for me to get the car repaired and chasing people who are at fault is a pita.

This is why anytime a family member or friend shows off a brand new car to me I cringe inside for them. There are too many novice drivers in NYC that aren't paying attention or slow reaction time.

In NYC you really can only drive beaters because it's gonna get scratched, scraped, or hit one day. Just a matter of time no matter how careful you are.
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Old 12-29-2016, 03:24 PM
 
31,744 posts, read 26,654,270 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vision33r View Post
I understand your pain and I've been rear ended before in NYC too and fortunately I don't have a fancy new car nor will I ever have one in NYC.

Twice I was rear ended I took pics and I want to go through claims but the person at fault rather pay for the damage. Although the damage wasn't extensive, it lowered the value of the car and required time for me to get the car repaired and chasing people who are at fault is a pita.

This is why anytime a family member or friend shows off a brand new car to me I cringe inside for them. There are too many novice drivers in NYC that aren't paying attention or slow reaction time.

In NYC you really can only drive beaters because it's gonna get scratched, scraped, or hit one day. Just a matter of time no matter how careful you are.


Live in NYC and have never in my life seen so many bad to horrible drivers.


Between the fresh off the boat taxi drivers, Uber drivers, illegals (NYS, NJ and PA hands them drivers licenses like candy), the old, and novice/poor drivers you don't know which way to look.


Within NYC you have large numbers of persons who come from Podunk, USA and haven't driven in any city much less one as congested and whatever as the City. As such they behave as if they still were out in the woods some place.


Some of the worst are those driving Zipcar and other car share vehicles. There is a reason why so many of those cars are busted up, even though they are < one year old.


OP:


Google is your friend: https://www.collisionclaims.com/new-...inished-value/
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Old 12-29-2016, 03:32 PM
 
6,922 posts, read 7,003,598 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vision33r View Post
I understand your pain and I've been rear ended before in NYC too and fortunately I don't have a fancy new car nor will I ever have one in NYC.

Twice I was rear ended I took pics and I want to go through claims but the person at fault rather pay for the damage. Although the damage wasn't extensive, it lowered the value of the car and required time for me to get the car repaired and chasing people who are at fault is a pita.

This is why anytime a family member or friend shows off a brand new car to me I cringe inside for them. There are too many novice drivers in NYC that aren't paying attention or slow reaction time.

In NYC you really can only drive beaters because it's gonna get scratched, scraped, or hit one day. Just a matter of time no matter how careful you are.
The accident was in NY State but not in NY City. Does that matter?
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Old 12-29-2016, 03:33 PM
 
6,922 posts, read 7,003,598 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BugsyPal View Post
How should I know whether or not to trust that website?
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Old 12-29-2016, 03:39 PM
 
Location: PSL
8,224 posts, read 3,476,519 times
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Try your luck trading it into a dealership in MA/CT/VT?
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Old 12-29-2016, 03:39 PM
 
31,744 posts, read 26,654,270 times
Reputation: 24579
Quote:
Originally Posted by mitsguy2001 View Post
How should I know whether or not to trust that website?

Just research (online or whatever) "diminished value New York", and or contact an attorney. Either will provide you with the answers you seek faster and of a far more accurate nature than random postings on Internet.
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Old 12-29-2016, 03:47 PM
 
Location: Southern Arizona
9,595 posts, read 31,608,830 times
Reputation: 11719
No where close to New York, MitsGuy . . . but I feel your pain.

A few years ago I was about to purchase a relatively high-end vehicle with a Salvaged Title and learned via some very basic, non-expert research that the value drops by at least 25% up to 50% regardless of the repair quality.

Damn Shame, isn't it?
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Old 12-29-2016, 04:40 PM
 
6,922 posts, read 7,003,598 times
Reputation: 4335
Quote:
Originally Posted by BugsyPal View Post
Just research (online or whatever) "diminished value New York", and or contact an attorney. Either will provide you with the answers you seek faster and of a far more accurate nature than random postings on Internet.
I have already searched online, and find conflicting info. I was asking here, hoping that perhaps I could get a response from somebody in New York (not a lawyer or an insurance company) who has first-hand knowledge with such claims. It doesn't seem that anybody so far has any useful info.
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Old 12-29-2016, 06:30 PM
 
31,744 posts, read 26,654,270 times
Reputation: 24579
Quote:
Originally Posted by mitsguy2001 View Post
I have already searched online, and find conflicting info. I was asking here, hoping that perhaps I could get a response from somebody in New York (not a lawyer or an insurance company) who has first-hand knowledge with such claims. It doesn't seem that anybody so far has any useful info.

Only information that you can and should trust will come from an attorney, insurance company and or someone with direct knowledge in any official capacity regarding this matter.


Anyone can give you anecdotal information about their "cousin's girlfriend's sister's brother's best friend", but that isn't going to help you in the long run.
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