  The
concept of diminished value claims is new to most people and it can
be a little difficult to understand.
Example:
Lets say you have a van that was bought a year ago for $30,000 and
it's blue book value is now $27,000 because you've taken good care
of it and haven't driven it more than usual. Your driving along through
an intersection and someone runs the red light and smashes into your
van's back door going over 35 mph. Luckily the air bag comes out and
you have your seatbelt on so you are just fine. Your van, however,
is a different story. It has some serious dents in it and when you
take it to the body shop to get an appraisal, the cost of repairs comes
to $4325! You take it to the automobile repair shop and the body
shop does an excellent job. Your van looks about as good as it did
before the accident. However, you decide to buy a sportier car that
meets your new lifestyle now that the kids have gone. You list your
van for sale in the Auto For Sale section of the newspaper at $27,000
and buyers come to look at the car the following weekend. The first
thing they ask is "Has the vehicle been in an auto accident?" Even
if you didn't tell them the van was in an accident, the buyers could
still look up the van's history. Once they found out about the accident,
the buyer would no longer be willing to pay you $27000, but instead
would offer $22,000. In this case the diminished value would be $5000.
Original value - after accident and repairs value = diminished
value claim
$27000 - $22,000 = $5000
If you've already settled with the insurance company on the body
damage, you probably can still file a separate diminished value claim
in Oregon or Washington state if the
repairs were done recently.
Contact Peterson Law Offices NOW for a free diminished value claim consultation if the accident happened in the
Portland Metro Area! |
