I leased an Acura MDX in September. Last week I was taking my elderly father to a doctors appointment and while putting him in a wheelchair, someone racing through the parking lot struck the drivers door and put a big dent in it. He tried to take off too.
The police ruled the other driver at fault.
I contacted my insurance company and they told me I have two options. Pay the deductible and let them go after the other drivers insurance company, or I can go after the other insurance company myself. I haven’t decided but I wanted to see what everyone’s advice was. I’d prefer my insurance company do it but that’s because I’ve never dealt with something like this before.
When I called my insurance company, I also asked about dismissed value as a result of the accident and they informed me that they don’t cover it. I would have to go after the other guys insurance myself.
Next I called the dealer and they said DV isn’t an issue on a lease as long as the repairs are made using Acura parts.
I’ve also read a lot of threads on here about DV, and I get the impression that DV is hard to be reimbursed for, and I’m not even certain whether it’s something I need to worry about with a lease. I just don’t want to have to write a check at the end of the 3 yr lease.
So what do you guys recommend? Should I handle it myself or allow the insurance company to do it? Was the person I spoke to at the dealer correct ie as long as the repairs are made using Acura parts etc I won’t be charged for DV? Any other insights or advice will be greatly appreciated.
if you know the other insurance, just bring it to the best shop in town and let them handle it. Don’t worry about diminished value, you’re not getting it and not paying it, if the repairs are quality. Seems like a slam dunk case here.
If you have the other drivers insurance info, make the claim with their company (if other party hasn’t done so already). If there are hurdles make a claim with yours.
I disagree, let their insurance fix it. First I would get three quotes on fixing it or pick the best body shop and then tell their insurance company that you want the SUV fixed at XYZ shop. And also tell them you want a rental car waiting. Because if you wait until your insurance company takes care of the repair you will have to wait. But if you contact their insurance company and tell them when and where you are going to drop off the SUV then the control is in your court. Don’t worry about DV because after the lease is done, the SUV generally goes to auction. Let them deal with DV. I made the mistake once when someone hit my new car and tried to go through my insurance company, which by the way tried to raise my rates and would have taken more than a week in half for adjuster and drop off at their body shop. After that (my cars have been hit by other drivers) I go directly to their insurance company which speeds up the process. Again make sure they supply a rental and make the process as easy as possible for you since it’s their insurance company’s job to fix your car.
Sorry for the long winded answer to this. But it is important to understand your situation and that no one can answer your questions without being an expert in your state.
Most insurance companies will reimburse your deductible if they collect from the other company. Find our if yours in one of them. If not you could pursue the other company. Depending on who they have that may be easy or difficult. The vehicle is going to be fixed either way. If your with a big reputable company I would personally file with my own to avoid the headaches of someone else company. (IE this is the time you are glad you have the best insurance and not the cheapest insurance). Also on your policy it will detail how much per day you get in rental car expenses. It is probably higher than what the other company will be required to pay (meaning you could get a much nicer vehicle if you use your coverage and not be stuck in an economy box for 2 weeks). Also note here if you have an OEM part endorsement on your policy you will want to use that policy for repairs. Standard insurance companies will use non oem parts when available and some will actually use recycles parts from other totaled out vehicles that have not been damaged.
Your first steps are to determine if the vehicle is drivable. Any leaking fluids, no working lights or hanging/dragging parts mean it is not drivable. In this case you should get a rental car right away and do not drive your vehicle. If it is drivable just make an appointment with your preferred shop and give them the claim number (from your or the responsible parties insurance company). In most states you can choose what shop you go to. All insurance companies will have preferred shops. By using one of them you will usually cut your time in shop down (they have a relationship so an adjuster will not need to come out and look at the vehicle to verify repairs).
In most cases the original estimate will change and the shop will need to do a supplement to the original quote. They will not know the full extent of damage until they tear down the vehicle. This is another reason to use a preferred shop because if you do not the adjuster will probably need to make a second visit to the shop to verify the further repairs. This can delay your repairs by a few days for each visit. It is also important to note that the rental car is only paid for during the time of repair. So drop your car off the day the work is starting (assuming it is drivable). Don’t drop it off on Friday afternoon with work starting on Monday or you may find yourself responsible for a few days of the rental car expense).
On the DV claim. It is rare they are ever paid out and many states do not recognize it. Technically you do not own the vehicle so the leasing company is who would collect the funds anyway.
On your rates raising if you file the claim on your policy. Most companies will not raise your rate at all for a not at fault claim (in most states, some states allow this practice). Some do (Progressive comes to mind in states that do not allow it by changing your rating factor–ie accident free discount goes away even if it was not your fault).
Moral here is there is no right or wrong answer and you need to do what is the best for your situation. Claims processes are very state and company dependent. Hopefully you have a good agent that can answer all of the questions for you so you do not have to rely on the internet for answers that may or may not apply to your situation.
Has anyone had success getting a DV claim for a lease? Technically you own it, so it does affect your buy out at lease end if you intend to do that.
My wife got side swiped by an amazon delivery driver. 100% their fault. Police report etc. Their insurance company offered $500 for DV, seems like a standard first offer from them.
2018 stelvio $54k msrp. I’d imagine with an accident it prob lost around $3,000 in value at least. I’m sure I can get an attorney to do it and pay them 1/3, but would prefer not.
Technically the captive owns it until they don’t.
People have reported here with mixed success. Since their insurance doesn’t know it’s a lease or not, it’s worth pursuing. See if you can get them up to a couple grand.
There’s a difference between paying to rent a car for 3 years and a bank giving you loan with collateral attached to it. They don’t necessarily “own” the car. They sure will repossess the collateral if you don’t pay though.
Similar to not paying your mortgage. There’s a reason personal loans are so expensive to finance, no collateral.
Not in PA. We just have our name on the reg, which makes it nice as you can transfer plates at the end of the lease to the new car and don’t have to get new.
If you already had previous damage on the vehicle, it’ll be pretty hard to say that another claim caused further diminishment of value.
Also, you can’t really quantify the loss until you go and sell the vehicle. Since you lease it, that’s much harder to do, unless you buy out the lease, and sell it. You have to show a realized loss. A tree could fall on the car and total it today, would you still have a DV claim from this accident? No. Until the loss is realized, there’s no DV and most states don’t accept or provide coverage for it. Georgia is one of the few.
