My Black Beauty Was Hit
03-10-2014, 08:26 AM
#32
Thread Starter
Body shop replaced the AP2 lip. I saved the old one, it has a couple small cracks in it but can probably be salvaged for someone who doesn't need it to be 100% perfect.
03-10-2014, 10:25 AM
#35
Thread Starter
December 27, 2013
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Plymouth Rock Assurance
Property & Casualty Claims Department
P.O. Box XXX
Lincroft, NJ 07738
VIA: USPS Certified Mail
RE:
Claim No. XXXXXXXXXXXX
Your Insured: XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Policy No. XXXXXXXXXXXX
Date of Loss: 11/16/2013
Dear XXXXXXXXXX,
This letter is to notify you of my formal demand for monetary compensation due to the inherent diminished value of my vehicle caused by the negligent actions of your insured.
• Whereas the negligent actions of your insured caused damage to a personal vehicle (2006 Honda S2000 VIN JHMAP21486SXXXXX) Support: Attachment 1
• Whereas the proliferation of electronic sources makes accident records/vehicle history information more readily available than ever before to both dealers and private buyers.
• Whereas this claim is made entirely separate than that for the physical damage to the vehicle, which has been repaired.
My demand for the inherent diminished monetary value of the vehicle is $X,XXX.XX which represents the difference in the value of the vehicle before and after an accident record (Support Attachments 2 – 2F).
Remit payment of $X,XXX.XX to the above address for settlement of my claim for inherent diminished value.
Submission of this claim, for the diminished value of the vehicle, is made strictly based upon the inherent loss of monetary value of the vehicle due to the actions of your insured and does not supersede or replace any other claims made for vehicle repairs, towing, car rental, or other transportation costs.
Respectfully,
Mr. gofast
OK so that was the letter. The support consisted of printouts of a completed eBay Motors sale, Edmunds, NADA, KBB, and Auto Trader as well as a spreadsheet summarizing the values and showing my calculation(s). The biggest help here was the Auto Trader printouts. They have an "Instant Trade-In Offer" tool where they provide a value which, if your car matches the condition you indicate, you can have a reasonable expectation of getting from a dealer. Nice thing about this tool is it lets you indicate whether the vehicle was in an accident and, using the dollar amount of the damage, it calculates the value. So if you include a before and after you've got a great baseline; the at-fault's insurance company found it VERY hard to argue that specific piece of my support.
Hope that helps someone in the future.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Plymouth Rock Assurance
Property & Casualty Claims Department
P.O. Box XXX
Lincroft, NJ 07738
VIA: USPS Certified Mail
RE:
Claim No. XXXXXXXXXXXX
Your Insured: XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Policy No. XXXXXXXXXXXX
Date of Loss: 11/16/2013
Dear XXXXXXXXXX,
This letter is to notify you of my formal demand for monetary compensation due to the inherent diminished value of my vehicle caused by the negligent actions of your insured.
• Whereas the negligent actions of your insured caused damage to a personal vehicle (2006 Honda S2000 VIN JHMAP21486SXXXXX) Support: Attachment 1
o Your insured admitted fault and was issued a citation of careless driving.
• Whereas the aforementioned personal vehicle now has an accident record that will be inextricably tied to it. • Whereas the proliferation of electronic sources makes accident records/vehicle history information more readily available than ever before to both dealers and private buyers.
o National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) (www.vehiclehistory.gov)
o Carfax (www.carfax.com)
o AutoCheck (www.autocheck.com)
• Whereas the nature of this personal vehicle creates heightened consideration of accident history by potential buyers o Limited production: The Honda S2000 was a special production vehicle, produced only between 2000 and 2009, with less than 66,000 total units sold during that period in the US.
o Model no longer produced: Production of the S2000 ceased in 2009, therefore, low mileage cars, such as mine, are much harder to come by.
o Regarded as a desirable sports car, collectable in nature: This car is kept by me as a collectible sports car. It is garage-kept and driven only 6 months out of the year.
o The particular personal vehicle in question has won awards at car shows, is used on a limited basis, and overall was treated as a collector car.
o The vehicle at the time of the accident had less than 27,000 miles and is driven less than 5,000 miles per year.
• Whereas the validity of such claims has been upheld by New Jersey State Appellate Court (Premier XXI Claims Management v. Rigstad, 381 NJ Super. 281) • Whereas this claim is made entirely separate than that for the physical damage to the vehicle, which has been repaired.
My demand for the inherent diminished monetary value of the vehicle is $X,XXX.XX which represents the difference in the value of the vehicle before and after an accident record (Support Attachments 2 – 2F).
Remit payment of $X,XXX.XX to the above address for settlement of my claim for inherent diminished value.
Submission of this claim, for the diminished value of the vehicle, is made strictly based upon the inherent loss of monetary value of the vehicle due to the actions of your insured and does not supersede or replace any other claims made for vehicle repairs, towing, car rental, or other transportation costs.
Respectfully,
Mr. gofast
OK so that was the letter. The support consisted of printouts of a completed eBay Motors sale, Edmunds, NADA, KBB, and Auto Trader as well as a spreadsheet summarizing the values and showing my calculation(s). The biggest help here was the Auto Trader printouts. They have an "Instant Trade-In Offer" tool where they provide a value which, if your car matches the condition you indicate, you can have a reasonable expectation of getting from a dealer. Nice thing about this tool is it lets you indicate whether the vehicle was in an accident and, using the dollar amount of the damage, it calculates the value. So if you include a before and after you've got a great baseline; the at-fault's insurance company found it VERY hard to argue that specific piece of my support.
Hope that helps someone in the future.
03-10-2014, 12:13 PM
#36
Community Organizer
That is some REALLY good information for anyone going at an insurance company for diminished value.
03-12-2014, 12:01 PM
#39
Thread Starter
Like I said, it's salvageable for someone who's not looking for something perfectly perfect. I was thinking of getting a fiberglass repair kit and applying a patch to the inside for strength, after that maybe a quick respray to hide the crack and someone could use it and probably fool people from a few feet back.
03-13-2014, 06:40 PM
#40
Justin, great information. Thanks for taking the time to post up the process. It's quite sad that the impetus is on the aggrieved to cover all bases and be informed on the minutiae of the paper work; I'm sure many just sign on the dotted line to get it all over with.
I'll pick up the damaged AP2 lip to go with your bumper that's currently on my beater.
I'll pick up the damaged AP2 lip to go with your bumper that's currently on my beater.