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Wrecked 2014 Jeep JK

2K views 13 replies 8 participants last post by  KCJK14 
#1 ·
Back in the middle of December another driver ran a red light and we collided. The other driver was ticketed and their insurance took full liability. So far the grill, passenger front quarter panel, fender, front passenger upper and lower control arms have been replaced. I transferred the remaining repairs to my dealership because my body shop is unable to set up new gears. The dana 30 inner C was bent on the passenger side so the axle housing is being replaced. I am looking to pursue a diminished value claim due to the vehicle being less than a year old and having extensive under carriage damage. The repair bill is in the neighborhood of $8,000 and has yet to be completed. My question is the first step is to run a CarFax and determine if my VIN will be flagged with suspension or structural damage. Does anyone know if I purchased a report now, before the repairs are completely finished, the report would have a chance of showing this damage? I spoke with a diminished value appraiser local to me, his advice was not to pursue a diminished value claim if the CarFax does not have flags on it. I would prefer to only purchase one CarFax report to see if it is flagged due to the cost of the report and the cost I will incur having a professional appraisal. Any advice would be appreciated, first wreck and from speaking with various appraisers/legal counsel diminished value claims are challenging to value due to "no standard" in calculating value loss. Thank you for the time reading this long post. The other driver's insurance is claiming that there is no such thing as inherent diminished value.
 
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#3 ·
I do agree retaining legal counsel might be the way to go. However, with the relatively small amount that "might" be awarded, a rough estimate with speaking from people might be around $4,000 if there are flags on the CarFax. Retaining a lawyer will not be contingent based, they want an hourly fee ranging anywhere from $150-300 an hour. If I was able to find a lawyer willing to work off contingency I would be looking at losing anywhere from 30-40%. It seems to obtain a contingent based agreement, I would need a substantially larger potential settlement. For example, adding in injury claims, but I did not sustain any injuries from this accident which I am grateful for. As you can see from these numbers a $4,000 settlement can quickly be eaten up by retaining upon an hourly basis or losing between 30-40%. If at all possible I will be attempting to submit a professional appraisal and negotiate from there. If all else fails, I will be taking the other driver to small claims court to avoid a lawyer and presenting my findings based on the professional appraisal. This appraiser will also testify in small claims court.
 
#6 ·
Thank you for providing that link. The hardest part is how inaccurate carfax can be. Body shops and dealerships are not required to report to carfax. Talking to the body shop it sounds like they do not report to carfax but the service advisor believes they do, he said he would get back with me next week on whether or not they will report the repairs.

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#8 ·
I would pursue the diminished value claim asap. Weather or not it gets reported to Carfax, you still have the right to receive monetary compensation for diminished value.

As for when Carfax posts accidents, I've seen it happen after repairs are done and not at all. I'd wait before checking.

Also, you should ask your dealer to pull the report for you, for free. If you bought the vehicle there or are having service done there, they should do it as a courtesy.
 
#9 ·
That blows about a new vehicle getting wrecked. Yikes! :eek:

I don't know that I'd immediately involve a lawyer? I had a friend that bought a two-year old KK that had issues with the roof leaking, and after multiple attempts, he couldn't get it fixed. He involved a lawyer, which Chrysler wouldn't buy back the vehicle but they did pay a settlement. He said it was a pain in the ***, and he almost wanted to drop the suit as he even had to do a deposition, but he said that the lawyer wanted his piece once it was in process and he'd have to pay him off if he didn't go through with it.

When all said and done, after paying the lawyer his percentage, and paying the taxes on the full settlement, he walked away with a couple grand (and immediately traded it in). I guess it was similar to diminished value due to being a lemon. I share all that simply because a lawyer isn't always the immediate answer to resolve a situation.

But anyway, do you intend to keep the Jeep? I've got a body shop in my family and unless a vehicle is totaled, they always go by that a repaired vehicle should always be 100% of what it use to be. Insurance just has to keep paying the bill until it is. The body shop and dealership can keep calling up the insurance company on your part telling them that this or that still isn't just right.

Good luck with it.
 
#13 ·
I guess I am in the minority here and chalk something like this up in the "**** happens" folder. I'd just want my vehicle repaired to how it was before the wreck. Before anyone brings judgement I had this happen to my wifes 3 month old Kia and had it repaired and didn't seek any additional $$$.

It all depends on where you trade you vehicle in at for trade in value. Some will give you less some could care less.
 
#14 ·
An insurance company is required to repair your vehicle to the same condition your vehicle was in before the wreck according to my insurance agent. So let's say the jeep looks just like it did before the wreck... Is that restoring it to the same condition even though it is worth less? That's the gray area that makes it challenging...

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