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1Adam12's avatar
1Adam12
Explorer
Apr 05, 2018

2016 Ram 3500 Crash / Diminished Value Result

This is a follow up post regarding the crash I had with my 2016 Ram 3500 Mega Cab DRW. I was sitting at a red light in August of 2017, and was rear ended at 35 MPH by a Class C Motorhome towing a vehicle behind it. We were not towing our RV at the time.

The truck had $13,500 in damage. After nearly four months and three trips back to the body shop, the truck wasn't right. I traded the truck with full disclosure. The accident was clearly visible on CarFax as well.

The truck had less than 12k miles on it and was garage kept. Before the crash it had a trade value of $52k. After the crash it was $45k, confirmed at four different dealerships. I heard lots of speculation and opinions on diminished value with no clue how it would turn out.

To settle the property damage portion of the claim, our attorney hired a diminished value expert who examined the car at the body shop and completed a comprehensive report.

I was able to recover the value lost as a result of the crash.

There are obviously lots of factors which can change the outcome. I'm posting this information to share a real world outcome, in hopes it may help someone who may find themselves in a similar predicament.
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  • ScottG's avatar
    ScottG
    Nomad
    Apr 05, 2018
    That's good to hear.
    Thanks for coming back here and updating us.
  • Slownsy's avatar
    Slownsy
    Explorer
    Apr 05, 2018
    I wish we had known about this a few years ago, was also rear ended but only miner damage to rear bumper which was paid for, but when we later traded it in for a new vehicle vi took a major drop in price beacase of the car fax report.
    Frank.
  • Lwiddis's avatar
    Lwiddis
    Explorer II
    Apr 05, 2018
    “I'm posting this information to share a real world outcome,...”

    In Florida. Other states will have different outcomes. Generalizations are almost always...wrong.
  • Desert_Captain's avatar
    Desert_Captain
    Explorer III
    Apr 05, 2018
    Always insist on compensation for "Diminished value" when your vehicle is in a {Not your fault} wreck. As noted above, the fact that it has been in an accident will follow it forever and the subsequent trade or sale value may be significantly diminished which comes right out of your pocket.

    :C
  • NJRVer's avatar
    NJRVer
    Explorer
    Apr 05, 2018
    Slownsy wrote:
    I wish we had known about this a few years ago, was also rear ended but only miner damage to rear bumper which was paid for, but when we later traded it in for a new vehicle vi took a major drop in price beacase of the car fax report.
    Frank.



    X2!
  • Perrysburg_Dodg's avatar
    Perrysburg_Dodg
    Explorer
    Apr 05, 2018
    NJRVer wrote:
    Slownsy wrote:
    I wish we had known about this a few years ago, was also rear ended but only miner damage to rear bumper which was paid for, but when we later traded it in for a new vehicle vi took a major drop in price beacase of the car fax report.
    Frank.



    X2!


    Every Car-Fax report I have looked at said either "minor accident" or "major accident", if you still had your repair/damage report that could have been used to stop the steeliership from robbing you. Or you could have given the insurance company and bodyshop written notice to not report the repairs.

    Don
  • jfkmk's avatar
    jfkmk
    Explorer
    Apr 05, 2018
    Perrysburg Dodgeboy wrote:
    NJRVer wrote:
    Slownsy wrote:
    I wish we had known about this a few years ago, was also rear ended but only miner damage to rear bumper which was paid for, but when we later traded it in for a new vehicle vi took a major drop in price beacase of the car fax report.
    Frank.



    X2!


    Every Car-Fax report I have looked at said either "minor accident" or "major accident", if you still had your repair/damage report that could have been used to stop the steeliership from robbing you. Or you could have given the insurance company and bodyshop written notice to not report the repairs.

    Don

    Agree with hanging onto the repair information. My SUV was hit while parked and suffered minor damage. When I traded it in I brought the repair info to explain the carfax and got a decent price.
    Don't agree with not reporting the accident. Not sure if that is legal or not.
  • minnow's avatar
    minnow
    Explorer
    Apr 06, 2018
    How much did you have to pay the attorney and the diminished value expert ? Those costs have to be deducted from your net.

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