A friend of mine was in an accident with his three month old Lexus RX 350 SUV. The car has about $23,000 worth of damage, but is not totaled because it is such an expensive vehicle.

He was hit blindside by a vehicle that just cut across the road without looking. The other driver was at fault, and was cited.

My friend does not want to keep the Lexus now that it has been wrecked. The problem is that the dealers want to reduce the trade-in value because it has been wrecked.

He hired a lawyer, but the lawyer says he can not sue for diminished value. The lawyer says you can not sue for personal property in the state of Florida. If you can't sue for diminished value, how do you get it?

Thanks for any help...

 

PM me if you want Ill give you my wifes cell phone number. She is the District Insurance manager for AAA.

 

I didn't know lexus made an RX 350? I thought they only came in 300, 330, 400h?

His lawyer must be pretty incompetent if he can't think of some how to get the money. Tell him to get a new lawyer. A good lawyer should know at least 3 different ways to go about suing for the same thing.

 

Has the frame of the vehicle been damaged? If so that should total it out. 23k worth of damage sound like frame damage.

 

^^^^^what he said. It can def be gotten. I got it for just superficial damage to my bumper and fender. BUT they really tried to get out of paying it. We practically had to file a lawsuit against the lady that hit me to get her insurance to pay it out.

Your friend should have an attorney send a letter on his behalf indicating they have 10 days or something to pay or you intend to file a lawsuit for the dim value, costs, fees, etc.

 

good question jb, id like to learn about this too.

the 3.5L v6 is their new engine so they are putting it in everything. they also have the 4.5L v8 coming out soon.

 

His lawyer is incompetent. Case law says that you can obtain payment from a third party for diminished value in Florida. He can't get diminished value from his own insurance company, but he can get it from the other driver's.

He needs to get a letter from the car dealership stating how much the vehicle has depriciated now that it has been damaged and present it to the other insurance company.

I know this is true because I helped my mom get $1000 for diminished value when her Corolla was rear ended.

If you want, I can get a referral for your friend, or maybe one of the lawyers at my office can represent him if the other insurer isn't one of our clients.

Attached is a letter from a lawyer citing case law.

 

Thank you very much, Sean. You see things in a very clear manner. I appreciate the redacted document too.

Thanks again!

 

I'm glad I can help.

 

Sean's the outside lawyer, I'm the inside insurance guy...

First thing from the carrier's perspective is that everything wrong with the vehicle needs to be repaired. If not, you won't get a diminished value claim paid in most cases. Secondly, the ratio of damages to you car relative to the value and resale is another factor. A $23k hit to a Lexus will make for a rather large DV claim.

The last thing to keep in mind is that it is just as subjective as evaluating an injury claim. Anyway, Sean and I do this all day for a living. I can give you exact details if you need them...

 

interesting. i just looked it up. my mother just picked up a 400h 2 weeks ago. i thought i was going to hate it, but its really nice..love the navi. the salemen told my parents the 0-60 is 5.1 .. didn't believe that for a second. it's actually 6.9 with 91 octane or better.

(sorry for going off topic)

 

I appreciate the tips...

I'm not sure what you mean by "everything wrong with the vehicle needs to be repaired."

They have insurance and are getting the car repaired. Do you mean that they have to make sure the body shop repairs everything, or am I missing the point?

Thanks. I appreciate your and Sean's help. Right now I'm just trying to find out what the deal is on DV. My friend has confidence in his lawyer, but everyone has confidence in their lawyer. I don't want to see them get gypped by not knowing the legal aspects of DV.

Thanks again for your help!

 

[QUOTE=_jb]I appreciate the tips...

I'm not sure what you mean by "everything wrong with the vehicle needs to be repaired."

They have insurance and are getting the car repaired. Do you mean that they have to make sure the body shop repairs everything, or am I missing the point?QUOTE]

Um, who is repairing the vehicle--his OWN insurance carrier or the AT FAULT driver's? Diminished Value is almost guaranteed not to be covered under HIS OWN POLICY--IT MUST COME FROM THE AT FAULT CARRIER. What I mean is this: he's getting the car repaired; a shoddy repair job was performed and paint isn't blended well, parts are crooked, etc; the at fault carrier will send him back to get the paint adjusted and the door aligned and then when all the issues are basically worked out--or the repair shop quits trying--he makes his DV claim.

It helps to get three or more quotes from different dealers. It also helps to have an independent adjuster write a DV analysis. Remember, a dealer is going to shaft anyone with any vehicle--regardless of the condition--on a trade in--their total incentive is profit. Further, if Lexus is doing the repairs, there is less of a DV argument or quality issue as THEY are doing the repair.

Anyway, it's subjective and we can help the further along you get...

 

Cass is right. florida case law from the Supreme Court prevents you from getting any DV from your own insurance carrier. DV must be claimed against the other carrier if it was their insured's fault.