[NickBlaine]

Three weeks ago I was rear-ended at a stoplight coming home from work. Car wasn't too bad, took it like a champ. No airbags deployed, but I have seatbelt malfunction and airbag lights on. Rear bumper and exhaust got replaced, but no trunk or rear quarter panel damage.

Overall, cost is around $3k before sensors and modules are replaced/reset at BMW.

Question is, how do you go about getting loss of value from an accident? This is the only accident for the vehicle. It's a '10 335xi with just under 50k miles. State Farm is the other guys insurance. Are there specific formulas, geo market rates, etc?

[Kolyan2k]

Its state dependent so check the laws in your state. In MA you get big fat 0

[E90Graphite07]

Originally Posted by NickBlaine

Three weeks ago I was rear-ended at a stoplight coming home from work. Car wasn't too bad, took it like a champ. No airbags deployed, but I have seatbelt malfunction and airbag lights on. Rear bumper and exhaust got replaced, but no trunk or rear quarter panel damage.

Overall, cost is around $3k before sensors and modules are replaced/reset at BMW.

Question is, how do you go about getting loss of value from an accident? This is the only accident for the vehicle. It's a '10 335xi with just under 50k miles. State Farm is the other guys insurance. Are there specific formulas, geo market rates, etc?

At least in TX, the process is that you find an auto appraiser to appraise your vehicle. The report will show notes and the 'depreciated value'. You follow up w/ your claim to the insurance adjuster. They comp back the cost for getting your vehicle appraised (approximately like $500 down here) plus the difference of the depreciated value vs. current market value. I ended up getting over $4000 on an incident on my previous Honda Prelude. The process was given no delay after faxing over the report/results to them. Check was sent out that same day.

[bad karma]

The term you are looking for is "diminished value," and in all but three states it can only be claimed by the party that was not at-fault (which it sounds like that's the case here). The best way to do this is to have an independent appraisal done to discern the diminished value, then to submit a diminished value claim to his insurance company. They may perform their own investigation to figure out what to pay out, but my understanding is that you don't have to accept their offer if you don't find it fair.

A further way to get solid numbers is to take the car to a couple of dealerships once repaired and have them give you a *written* offer of what they would pay for the car. The difference between that number and whatever the Blue Book is for trade-in value is your diminished value. Getting quotes from a couple dealers in addition to an independent appraisal will give you more leverage against his insurance company. You may also ask your own insurance company for guidance here, as they will sometimes go to bat for you.

Unfortunately this process involves a fair bit of legwork on your end, but the result will generally be a considerable payout to you. The smart thing to do with the money would be to apply the entirety of it to the principal of your loan, so that you owe what the car is worth. If you choose to spend it on mods, well, I can't say I blame you. The money is rightfully yours, do what you want with it. I've successfully won diminished value claims a couple of times and definitely had fun with the result.

[NickBlaine]

Thank you for the responses. I contacted an appraisal company, and waiting for them to get back to me.

Hopefully I will get the car back soon so I can get all of this taken care of.

[XM_Rocks]

Originally Posted by NickBlaine

Thank you for the responses. I contacted an appraisal company, and waiting for them to get back to me.

Hopefully I will get the car back soon so I can get all of this taken care of.

What state are you in?

[NickBlaine]

Originally Posted by XM_Rocks

What state are you in?

Indiana