Diminshed Value Claims

TonyandLesley wrote:
PastorCharlie. That is exactly what we understand also. "Any" vehicle that has suffered damage will suffer for diminished value, private sale or trade. So of course our concern is this in itself. This so called "diminished value" industry (when we do have to deal with it) is a very grey area. Trying to show "post value" after incident-repairs seems to be a very big hurdle.

That is exactly right and why people check with CarFax and the other available websites to check to see if a vehicle has a record of any accidents. Determining the dollar amount that it decreases the value is ambiguous to say the least. On our vehicle it was a unibody type of construction so I did not feel that it could ever be repaired to the structural integrity that it had prior to the accident. On your RV, if all of the damage was cosmetic, rather than structural, then I am pretty sure that it could be repaired to be as good as, or better than, new. As I mentioned before, just tell the insurance company that you want it repaired and that you want an additional $X,XXX dollars for incidentals and see what their response is. If the amount that you are asking for is not ridiculous, they will probably just pay it and move on. If you keep using the "diminished value" argument, they will use their lawyers to push back against you. They do not want to set a precedent. Unless you are looking for some kind of a windfall from this incident, just ask for a reasonable amount and move on.