Recovering Diminished Value
You may not think of this issue immediately, but down the road you may want to sell or trade the car in the next few years. Because one thing's for certain: No matter how well your car has been fixed, it's not worth as much as it was moments before the guy that hit you, crashed into you.
Why?
Because your car now has a record of being wrecked that will follow the vehicle for the rest of its life.
And if any potential buyer checks with several growing car-history service companies, any potential buyer is not going to be willing to pay as much for it as they would have before it was hit -- regardless how well it's been repaired.
It's your loss - you should get what is owed:
As discused on the other pages of this site, your car is now worth less than the pre-crash value - this loss is called "diminished value."
The amount of the value loss can be quite large, according to many consumer organizations, the value loss can be as much as 18 percent.
Scott Fredericks, vice president of CarFax, a Nationally recognized company contends that "Accident damage can affect both the safety and reliability of the vehicle, even after repairs have been made. No matter how well a car has been repaired, consumers should be wary of any vehicle that has been in a serious accident. Frame repairs, flood damage and any accident that causes an airbag to deploy should get extra scrutiny."
Third-Party Claims - The Insurance Company owes you - call our Law Firm we can help:
If someone hits you and his or her insurer accepts liability and pays for the repairs, you may also be entitled to recover the value of the Dimished Value Loss, for Texas Courts have decided that such a property loss includes lost value.
