One of the biggest misconceptions with diminished value claims in Connecticut is that your car needs to be high end, such as a BMW or Mercedes, to file a claim that is worth it. Not true!
An example of a standard diminished value claim.
Most of us in Connecticut own cars. And sometimes, we get into accidents. When someone else causes the accident, they owe you money for your car’s diminished value. Diminished value is the loss of value of your car after an accident. Most of the time the diminished value can be significant, and often it’s thousands of dollars, sometimes tens of thousands.
Almost all cars have diminished value after an accident. Forrest Law takes cases regularly with the most popular cars like Honda, Ford, Chevrolet, and Nissan. It also doesn’t have to be a new car. We have many clients with cars that were made in 2000 and newer. Some cars that are older have special considerations like collectability or rareness that can make a diminished value claim very valuable.
In this new information age, we are acutely aware of the advent of vehicle history reports like Carfax. The market routinely asks for proof that cars have not been in an accident or storm. Because of the market knowledge it is particularly true that the car that you own has decreased in value, most times significantly. Your resale value will plummet. You paid hard earned money for your car, don’t let someone else take away that value without compensating you. Many times insurance coverage applies and we are able to recover from that source.
In the end, there are many factors that go into determining how much you should be compensated for diminished value. The year and make are only two of them, but are by no means the single way we evaluate these claims. We have a licensed appraiser make the final determination about each client’s particular loss.
For more information on Diminished value click here for FAQs.