Automobile Diminished Value Claim - Accident

[danielbmartin]

Originally Posted by lottamoxie

If you saw my car you would never know someone had backed into it in a shopping mall parking lot. That's because it has *new* original equipment (2 doors and a rear quarter panel). Not hammered out, but brand new parts.

New parts, especially new original factory parts, are likely to fit well and resist corrosion. However no bodyshop paint job can ever match the factory paint. The color match may look perfect two months after the repair but not two years after. The bodyshop paint won't age the same as the original. [So says One Who Knows.]

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[FRANKLIN]

St Lucie Appraisal is the company that formulates diminished value reports using only dealer quotes - no formulas, auction results or other quickie methods.

[lottamoxie]

Well it's too late. I was not going to pay $300+ for an appraisal to maybe get more $$$ than the $700 estimate the first independent appraiser calculated. So if the 2nd appraisal came in at $1K, then I made nothing because the net would be $700 anyway. Not worth it to me. I'm keeping this car until it no longer makes sense to keep it...it will be fully depreciated by that time anyway, at least 10 yrs old and probably more like 12 to 13 yrs if my history continues. I kept my last car for 13 yrs and only sold it (private party) because it was getting to the point where I would need to invest some major $$$$ into it (possible transmission issue, etc) and it wasn't worth it to me to keep throwing $$$ into it.