Diminshed Value Claims

rgatijnet1 wrote:
Actually diminished value came about primarily because the auto industry switched from vehicles with frames to unibody construction. With a vehicle with a frame it was easy to tell if a vehicle was repaired properly. With a unibody type vehicle they will cut off entire sections of the body and ATTEMPT to duplicate the same rigidity that the factory obtained with their robots and in a carefully controlled environment. When a unibody type vehicle is sent to a repair shop, that is working with the insurance company and has time limits and a budget, there is almost a 100% probability that corners will be cut and once put together and covered with body filler and paint, you cannot tell if ALL of the welds were done and if they meet the same(they don't) quality as those that came from the factory.
I am sure there are some here that work at body shops that will swear that their repair is just as good as what came from the factory. That is a myth put out by the insurance companies to convince owners that their vehicle was properly repaired. There is not one single body shop anywhere in this country that can cut off a section of a unibody vehicle and install a new section that is as good as what came from the factory, with the amount paid by the insurance company. There are too many points of contact that cannot be properly attached/welded by a human after the vehicle has left the factory. They can look pretty after the repair but the damaged vehicle will never be the same.

If you take your car to billy bobs body shop in a broken down backyard garage, then yes there will be problems. If you take it to a reputable repair shop the repair will be just as good if not better than the factory! I have worked in a body shop that did things methodical. They took there time but the repair was always better than new. This is where inspecting any vehicle comes in.