Philr56

My 14 Stingray was hit in the right rear quarter panel and lower valance. My car was parked at the time and the driver (18-year-old) hit it with the center of her front bumper. The damage appears to be surface with scrapes and scratches on both areas, but the collision pushed in the lower air vent housing, but it rebounded back into shape. Of course, I'm going to have the rear section thoroughly inspected and will not settle for a cosmetic repair. I want all of those parts replaced. My question, will I have to fight her insurance company (State Farm) for loss of value?

BJ67

If the car is repaired correctly, there really is no loss in value unless the incident shows up on car fax indicating a collision loss. Then you would have a concern. If the insurance company and the body shop do not report the collision loss, it stays off the radar.
A sizeable loss with multiple panels replaced etc, again a different issue
Your loss sounds minor.

Philr56

Will know more once I have the car inspected next week. My real concern is finding a body shop that has experience with the C7.

BJ67

Sounds like a rear bumper cover replace or repair, any high quality body shop can handle it.
If you were in Connecticut I could help.

n2toys1

Was the police called? If so, it will show up on your car fax. At least it did for me, as a scuff in the bumper cover cost me a blemished car fax and prospective corvette buyer will pass on yours some day. I never even made an insurance claim. All over a few hundred dollars in damage. Really sucks.

nassuabluec5

I would file a claim for diminished value on your Stingray. A vehicle that has an accident on it's Car Fax report will take a hit in value. I have been hit twice; one in a older Lexus - less than $700 in damages, but it was an issue for the dealer when I wanted to trade it in. I did not file a claim and should have. The second time was in a Ford Escape that was less than a year old. I was actually on my way home from talking trade in value with my dealer in placing a preorder for my C7. I filed a claim for diminished value. I had to establish how much the value was dismissed by the accident; which was pretty easy because I had a pre accident trade in value and a post accident trade in value. Most dealers will not help with this, don't want to get in the middle I guess.The insurance did not cover the full value from the dealer, but very near after much persistence and discussion. Good luck!

Philr56

I took look with a flashlight and noticed crack lines in rear bumper cover. They appeared in waves, indicating stress cracks all along the body. Saw them on the black lower valance as well. Most definitely will have to replace both. And yes, 911 was the first call I made. Don't want to leave anything to chance. I'm determined to get this done right and I appreciate all the feedback.

EcoBrick Bob

A friend got sideswiped in his BMW 650 Conv last winter down here in Naples. Both he and the guilty party had State Farm. While SF wasn't easy to deal with, and it took over 4 months to fix his car, he got nearly $5K in diminished value as he traded his BMW on a new Merc E550 Coupe and could prove he got less than the value of an accident free car.

So... it can happen, but you may have to get a dealer to document the diminished value. In my friend's case, no dealer would help him, but he used sales info to get his money.

Good Luck!

ben dover

DV rule of thumb is 20% - 25% of the cost of repairs, but you'll probably have a fight on your hands. Good luck, I hope you get it repaired to your satisfaction.

Mr Snappy!

Huh? Where did this "rule of thumb" come from?
Diminished Value has nothing to do with the costs of repairs. It has everything to do with the tainted value of the vehicle because it has been involved in an accident.

A $1,000 repair on a new C7 Is going to cost you a TON OF MONEY if it ever shows up on CarFax, not $200.

beachcomber

My wife's new Jaguar XJ was barely tapped in the rear by a guy that didn't pay attention and let off the brakes. Barely dented this chrome strip on the back....I'm talking barely noticeable. But, ended up having to replace the rear bumper cover and sensors for some ungodly reason. Cost was $5500.... Whatever, their dime not mine. Nonetheless I filed for dimensioned value and got (fought) for $2,650. Not sure on what the formula is, but fight them hard and you'll get something. Use that cash for more mods!!

U8 DU5T

My previous car was rear ended twice. I filed a diminished value claim and received a settlement both times. Pm me your email address and I will send you instructions on how to file a claim along with a sample letter. I bought the information online from a diminished value website.

grandpawmoses

I had someone hit me in the front fender of my Toyota FJ. They were insured and I asked for depreciation. Just had to make a phone call to their agent & got $2500. Not sure if you could get anything if they were uninsured & the repair was on your insurance.

sly1

Absolutely true. In my case I was sideswiped by an SUV on a country road. I was driving a 997S which sustained a little over $10K in repairs, and I was able to recover $5,400 in diminished value from the other driver's Insurance company.

I paid $150 for a detailed report from an estimator who specialized in diminished value claims. I mailed a copy of his report to the Insurance company, and they did not contest his report. There's no need to get a lawyer involved, unless the Insurance company contests the diminished value claim.

The only downside was that I had to sell my 997 to CarMax since no Porsche dealer wanted my car in a trade. So I lost the advantage of being able to get the sales tax offset on a trade-in.

AORoads

Or you can use that cash to save up for your future insurance payments since if lots of DV claims get processed, everyone will pay more. Insurance isn't going to lose money or make less because of payouts. Just sayin'....

nmerhaut

From what I remember, Georgia is/was one of the few states where a victim could get DM for an accident caused by another. I researched this in '08 when we were tail ended by a woman going 30-35mph, causing @ $9000 damage.

It will definitely show up on Carfax and the question I always ask is, "If you're faced with 2 identical used cars at the same price but one has been shown to have been in an accident, which one would you choose?"

I suggest you research Georgia laws on DM and go from there. There are companies that will evaluate your damage and give you a report for insurance purposes on DM.

Keep us informed.

BJ67

Don't confuse DV versus getting the damage repaired. At one time some states would pay a DV until the vehicle goes into the shop for repairs (damage cars with out safety issues). If the vehicle ended up in the shop, full allowance for repairs are paid less payment for DV.
Any one not repairing there damages were never over paid.

red2012

I think it's safe to say NOBODY really knows how a claim or accident gets on a carfax. I for a fact and some friends have had claims where carfax's showed up and didn't show up under the same circumstances. It's a crap shoot. I had four claims on my Miata all under different circumstances and not one showed up on a carfax and the claims were put in 2 years before I checked it.

11B250

In FL, if a crash was reported to DHSMV, it will show up. However, just because a police officer gets there, doesn't make it to DHSMV. a crash report must be generated. In most cases, some departments and officers can put in notes and do a drivers exchange of information. This will keep it off carfax. Sounds like you did get a crash report generated though, which isn't always the best course of action if damage is minor.