Mercedes-Benz Diminished Value

Each week we report on the most interesting and informative articles concerning auto diminished value claims. Regarding our diminished value appraisal of a Mercedes-Benz S550 AWD 2 Door Turbo Coupe with 17,683 miles that was involved in a rear-end collision that caused $20,811.96 in damage. The vehicle was disabled/towed and had structural damage.The claimant hired an auto appraiser near Santa Ana and made a third-party inherent auto diminished value claim for the vehicle’s loss in value. Once a car is repaired after a collision, it is worth less, often much less depending on the severity of the damage. Regardless of how well the repairer did his job, nobody will pay as much for a previously wrecked car as they would for an identical one that was never in an accident. Presenting a diminished value claim and following it through to a satisfactory conclusion is a daunting task for the average person. Obtaining a comprehensive Diminished Value Report is key.

Tesla S85 Diminished Value Claim in Los Angeles, California

We learned from these examples from sales managers at Mercedes-Benz dealers in Southern California. – It is doubtful they would resell this retail and it would end up at auction especially with this amount of damage even if repaired they would not be able to offer you full book possible a loss of 25-% ++ could go much higher. Also, normally customers that are looking for a vehicle like this they will want one with no accident at all so if they were to purchase this they would want a lot of money taken off. And also that Carfax is very powerful and anytime a consumer will see the bad Carfax it will make a more difficult sale and they will want a ton of money off and in return you will take a big hit on your trade-in, around 30-40% on average.

The opinions of unbiased experts form the basis for the most comprehensive Auto Diminished Value Appraisal available. We obtain six of them which absolutely puts the diminished value figure prepared by The St. Lucie Appraisal Company in the ballpark. This is what the car owner will experience in the real world.

Dealers providing opinions regarding diminished value were given information specific to this vehicle including year, make, model, mileage, color, options, any other pertinent equipment, date of loss as well as the nature of the repaired damages and the manner in which the vehicle was repaired. Dealer opinions are based on personal knowledge and access to auction results. Dealers were advised that this vehicle was properly repaired.

We contacted several Mercedes-Benz dealers in Southern California in order to establish how these repairs and the resultant repair history would impact this vehicle’s Fair Market Value (FMV.) Dealers were provided with an evaluation of the vehicle’s condition both prior and subsequent to repairs.

Description of damage: Disabling collision damages to the Rear with damage to structural components and no air bag deployment. Repair cost $20,811.96. LKQ (used) and/or aftermarket parts were not utilized in the repair/not factored in to the diminished value.

The average of six (6) deductions was 26.67%. This is the percentage of Diminished Value to be taken from the FMV at the time of loss.

We established that the above captioned vehicle had a Fair Market Value (Average Trade-In Value) of approximately $85,000.00 at the time of loss. The Diminished Value was $22,669.50.