Mickey_D wrote:
Week before last a large "Road Construction Ahead" sign blew over and hit the passenger side of my 2014 Ram 2500. Got lucky and tracked down the TXDOT inspector overseeing the road project and he identified the sign owner and they admitted that it was improperly ballasted and they accepted liability. Truck goes into the shop this week for repairs ($6503 is the present estimate). The local dealership estimated a $1500 to $2000 diminished value hit due to CarFax even with a good repair and advised getting a diminished value appraisal and then go after their carrier.
I did contact my insurance company (State Farm) right after the accident and they offered to cover the claim less my deductible and then refund the deductible after the other company settled. My agent said that contractors insurance companies are normally very hard to deal with and often take the threat of a lawsuit to get things moving. He did state that my carrier could not cover diminished value because of the way the law was written in Texas. My BS detector did perk up on this, but with as messed up as our legislature is I would not be surprised.
Tell the dealership and all insurance companies, that YOU do not authorize THEM to report any information about your truck. That you will be checking with CarFax to make sure no one has reported the repair to them. Repair shops and insurance companies get payed to report your information to these companies. Not sure if State agencies get paid or not for title information but you can stop the others from reporting your information at least in Ohio.
This diminished value is BS if you ask me. As long as you used a quality Bodyshop there should not be any issues. The biggest issue is making sure you have the vehicle rustproofed in the repair areas. If you don't the inside of area could have bare metal that will rust in very short order. Repair panels need to be primed and cut in. That black coating is to protect it during shipping and storage only. So it is imperative that the underside be primed and painted before they are installed! Remember welding, spot welding or brazing will expose bare metal that can not be primed and painted. I would not recommend having the bodyshop do the rustproofing but having it sent out to a rustproofing shop.
Good luck with your repairs I hope everything works out for you.
Don