Took my vehicle, owned not leased (I know, I know), to a nationwide service center and as a consequence while I was driving on the freeway a major system failed as no fluid was put back after it was drained. The parent company paid for all repairs, $10,000+, yet refuses to provide a refund for the visit, the above service was one of several performed that morning, without having me sign a release and indemnity agreement. I refused to sign that document without additional compensation to account for possible ancillary damage to other systems/parts of the car as well as loss in value when we go to sell. I was asked to provide a formal diminished value report from my insurance company. I spoke with insurance company and as the claim was not filed through them they cannot provide said document. How do I go about proving what clearly they would like me to waive in the release and indemnity agreement they want me to sign? I tried to keep above scenario brief so please come back with questions if needed to provide insightful and constructive suggestions/advice.
Personally, I would just pay a lawyer to send them a letter. It should scare them enough to get what you need and shouldnât cost too much
How much was the cost of the visit? A few hundred? Iâm trying to get a sense of what youâre actually contesting.
If the repair was done correctly, and systems were replaced, then I would think there should be a loss in value to the car.
If no claim was filed through your insurance company, was it filed through the service centerâs insurance?
The service which caused the failure was done at the the service center. The repair to replace the failed system was done at a local dealership. Service centerâs insurance covered all costs assessed by dealership. Loss of use of vehicle, ancillary damage (yet to surface), appearance of repair on carfax, diminished resale value, etcâŚ
Do you have rental car expenses or receipts for public transport? That would be reasonable. A stretch for getting money for being traumatized and ancillary charges unless you somehow proved they were because of their error. This wonât show on a car fax report. Wonât affect resale.
This seems like a bit of a stretch. Youâre not having PTSD due to your car being repaired. This sounds like legalspeak in an attempt to gain extra money.
Traumatic experience?!?! Sounds like youâre looking to shake down someone for what essentially amounts to a mistake or oversight. Your car was repaired and brought back to you in pre-loss condition, unless you have some sort of evidence suggesting otherwise.
Iâm just going to ignore the traumatic experience part because short of you experiencing a horrific vehicle accident that is impairing your ability function, that is simply a non-starter.
What youâre talking about is being reimbursed for inherent diminished value due to the repair. In order to get this, youâll need to get an independent appraiser to inspect your car (pictures, etc.), analyze the repair receipts, analyze sales and auction reports, and provide you a detailed opinion that outlines the loss of value due to the repair. You can then take that back to the dealer and try to negotiate additional compensation.
Donât be surprised if they donât bite and you need to hire an attorney to do this for you and donât be surprised if you get nothing. Unless weâre talking about some kind of an exotic vehicle, the odds of you getting DV here are slim assuming it was repaired to like-new standards. Appearance of a repair on a Carfax is unlikely to do much - it isnât like an accident report, usually.
So as not to derail from meat of topic, I have removed the âtraumatic experienceâ language from my inquiry.
Without knowing the particulars of what failed (sounds like engine, brakes or transmission based on âfluidsâ), Iâd say that a crucial catastrophic failure of any of those systems at freeway speeds due to dealer negligence could be viewed as a âtraumatic experienceâ, but thatâs just me. The details are kind of sparse, but from the sounds of it everyone involved is lucky that nobody got hurt, or worse.
Sounds like you are seeking damages and should speak to an attorney
I know itâs hard, but try to keep thread constructive.
If you have legitimate receipts for a rental car that you were forced to use, you might be able to get that back. As someone above said, if you think there is still damage to the car, youâll need to get an independent inspection done, and present it to the service centerâs insurance company.
The other items you listed are hypothetical, and do not constitute monetary damages.
There are appraisal companies that perform diminished value reports to be used in claims against insurance companies. Google diminished value appraisals and you should get some hits on companies that perform this service.
How old is the car? If itâs less than 3 years old, you might have a good chance.
If itâs over 10 years old, not sure if you got anything to claim.
In what state did the loss occur? All states donât treat DV in the same manner. Most insurance companies will argue that if the car was properly repaired, there is no diminished value. Further, DV is not an issue if you arenât selling your car. Nobody is going to assert DV when buying a 10+ Accord or Camyre if there was a fender bender 6 years earlier. If your car is involved in an accident and is declared a total loss DV is never applied in California if the proper repairs were made on a prior loss. If your vehicle is a high value or specialty vehicleâŚthe insurance company may give you something. Otherwise you might get $100-$500 to go away. It is highly unlikely that your engine repair is going to be reported.
In California, you are entitled to loss of use for your vehicle. Generally, you are entitled to the replacement dollar amount (rental value) of your vehicle for the period of time you were deprived of its use. If the insurance carrier paid for a rental already youâre not entitled to more money.
The onus is on you to prove your claim. You better have some sound reason to argue there might be undiscovered damages. Why would a competent mechanic not be able to identity all of the damage when the repair was made? You can always file in Small Claims Court. In California you can recover up to $10,000. You will present your case to a judge, attorney representation is not allowed.
Bingo, my thought exactly. But it is still probably different from body damage that will definitely cause diminished value. There is no way to hide repainted and replaced panels, while like-for-like parts should do the job.
Thank you very much for your input. Your response was very informative and ultimately very helpful. To answer your question this did occur in CA. Again, thank you!
You are entitled to the loss in value of your vehicle at the time of the loss, not some undetermined future date when you might sell the car. Selling the car isnât a requirement for diminished value nor is it even necessary to repair the car.
Your situation is unique in that engine damage and the subsequent repairs donât always show up on Carfax or Autocheck. That fact, however, doesnât absolve you of the responsibility of disclosing the repairs to a prospective buyer - hence, the diminished value.
My own experience of having prepared more that 3,500 diminished value reports shows nearly 100% of them had to do with repaired body, frame, air bag damages. It would be interesting to research this one. Please make sure to post the results of your claim.