2014 Corolla LE Plus - Diminished Value

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BDaniel

New Member
#1
#1
So I get my New 2014 Corolla LE plus and life is good :)
My gas milage is hovering around 40 range driving to work and back.
Then while driving to work a tractor trailer hauling glass swerves over in front of me. In doing his quick lane change he shatters a massive amount of glass which showers my car like a white out snow blizzard.
He rapidly changes back lanes in the opposite direction as we near the off ramp to try and avoid me. I chase after him and yell at him and get him to pull over (as I am taking pictures of his company rig with ID number conveniently on the door).
Once I get him to pull over he admits he saw the glass "fall" and I get his insurance information.
So I call in to work and go to the dealer where I bought the car for an estimate.
New lights, new fog lights and bezel, new windshield and paint the entire front end and mirrors, roof and half the doors to blend.
Over 5000 dollars !!!
Now I have to wait for their adjuster to agree to the damage.
But for my questions.
The way I understand it Toyota will not buy any vehicle that has been damaged in an accident for a certified used vehicle.
Is this true?
Also how much did this degrade the value of my vehicle?
She is less than a month old 1700 miles - first payment is not even due yet :-(
 
B

BDaniel

New Member
#3
#3
Mainly I am trying to figure what amount I should ask for due to the repairs lowering my resale value even though I may keep the car long enough that it does not matter.

No one wants to pay full price for a car that shows an accident on car fax!
 
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DIMINISHEDVALUE

New Member
#6
#6
Diminished value advice from an appraiser

Donabed Kopoian said:
I've never heard of insurance companies compensating for diminished value either, most likely because the difference drops dramatically with age.
Click to expand...
Rules about diminished value - In every state except Michigan, you can make a diminished value claim against the insurer of a third party that was responsible for causing the damage.

In only Washington, Kansas and Georgia can you make a diminished value claim against your own insurance company.

Regarding whether or not Toyota can certify your repaired vehicle if air bags did not deploy, check with your dealer whether it can be certified if there was any unibody damage. Banks may also refuse to finance these cars so diminished value can be significant - up to 50% of the trade-in value, believe it or not.
 
Donabed Kopoian

Donabed Kopoian

6 Speed Master
#7
#7
I was rear-ended by someone (nothing major, scuffed up the bumper and broke a couple tabs on it) and they certified the car when I traded it in for the '14. Usually they only care if the airbags deployed or not.

When you make the claim, I imagine you have to prove it by going to a dealership and having them appraise the car, right? How does that work?
 
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DIMINISHEDVALUE

New Member
#8
#8
Donabed Kopoian said:
When you make the claim, I imagine you have to prove it by going to a dealership and having them appraise the car, right? How does that work?
Click to expand...
I won't go into the many reasons why that is a bad idea but I will just point to one - the insurance company will tell you that the dealer wants to buy the car cheap so they have a vested interest in giving you a higher diminished value figure.
 
Scott O'Kashan

Scott O'Kashan

Super Moderator
#10
#10
So the driver of this truck saw the glass fall off the truck and tried to get away? If he had, I wonder how he thought he was going to explain the missing glass?
 
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BDaniel

New Member
#12
#12
There are places that specialize in valuation of the vehicle depreciation after a wreck.
They ask for a full report of damages and repairs and then charge you for a certified report.
It was my hope that someone here had intimate knowledge of such things and could save me the trouble or at least give me information that would direct me to a trusted source.
 
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