If you’ve been in an accident, your insurance company will cover you for any damages made to your vehicle. However, one aspect of your vehicle that may be harder to repair is any reduction in value your car takes after an accident.
It’s important for Plainfield, Indianapolis, Fishers, and Bloomington drivers to know how their car’s value is affected by an accident and what they can do about that. Fortunately, Andy Mohr Collision Center has created this guide to what you should look out for when assessing depreciation caused by a collision.
How Much Value Your Car Loses After an Accident
After you’ve been in a collision, you can have your vehicle repaired extensively to get it back in good shape. However, what many drivers find later down the line is that their car is worth noticeably less than what it would be if it was never in that accident.
Your car’s permanent record shows a car accident associated with its VIN. Any driver who looks up your vehicle for a car history report will be able to know exactly what your car has been through. Even though your car has been well maintained, a bad history report can result in less overall value.
The value of your car after an accident depends on whether or not the accident you were in was major or minor. Small accidents may reduce the value of your car by a few hundred dollars. Larger accidents may cause reductions in value of a couple thousand dollars, though.
Is There Anything I Can Do About My Car’s Lost Value?
Yes, while in many cases you may not be able to recover your car’s value, there is something you can try to make up for it. In some cases, drivers may be eligible to apply for a diminished value claim. A diminished value claim is a way for drivers who were in an accident to receive financial restitution for any lost car value after a collision.
Typically, when you make a diminished value claim, you’ll send your application to the insurance company of the other driver. However, whether or not you receive payment really comes down to if you were definitively not at fault.
In cases where you caused the accident or in cases where fault is a bit muddy as in a multi-car collision, diminished value claims may not work. The key to successfully receiving payment for a diminished value claim is making a clear and concise argument and being persistent.
Get Your Car Back in Good Shape at Our Collision Center
It can require quite a bit of communication to get your car back to the way it was after a collision. Luckily, you have us! At Andy Mohr Collision Center, we work to help make it easy to get everything back together after an accident. We’ll work with you to contact your insurance company to get you on the road again.
If you’re a driver in the Plainfield, Indianapolis, Fishers, and Bloomington areas, schedule an appointment with our collision center today.
