4 sure

 

sterling in tustin estimates the damage at $52k. i don't know what speeds the vehicles were going- could be a situation where the other driver backed out of a parking spot while my friend was driving past, catching several body panels, lights, etc. that's just a hypothetical scenario- i don't know the details yet.

my friend's a fighter- he's the kind that will spend $10 to prove a $1 point, so this could be a long fight for the insurer.

and yeah, if i were looking at two bentleys, both the same except one had been in an accident and one hadn't, i would much rather have the car that hadn't been hit. i think that's true with any car, and is especially true with a high end car.

 

He should and I do not blame him. Insurance co's look for soft peddlers.

I do agree with you here as well but remember that not all car buyers are as discriminating as we may be.

 

I would say that there will be a diminished value. Why pay the same price for something that has been in something we all dread happening?

 

just an update- he has contacted the insurance company to get it to step up to the plate on the diminished value and "comparable" rental car issues (the insurance company claims a mercedes e-class is "comparable" to a bentley). if they don't respond appropriately, i think he's going to sue.

thanks for everyone's replies.

 

thought i would give everyone the rest of the story...

he did file a lawsuit. the insurer's attorney took a much more realistic approach to things and recognized it was a slam dunk for my friend. my friend hired an appraiser, turned in the report, and the insurance company paid up to policy limits.

anyway, about the best ending one could hope for.

 

Could you tell us more?

What happened with the rental? Does he still have the car or did they buy it?

Thanks.

 

I write insurance. I do not write personal insurance but rather large or small commercial. That being said I understand insurance well. Dimished value is exactly correct. I have a buddy who Lambo Gallardo SE was rear ended by a motorcycle. The accident caused about $7k of damage only. I helped my friend work with his insurance company and the fight the other company for $35k of dimished value. We got a letter from the local Lambo dealer stating that the was worth X amount prior to the accident and now it would only be worth X because of previous damage.

His company wrote him a check for the damage and the diminished value and then subrogated the loss back to the insurance company of the motorcycle rider.

DO NOT SETTLE without getting paid for diminished value. I garuntee you the Bentley is worth alot less if it had previous damage no matter how well it was fixed

 

Well said. I agree 100%

 

sure. the rental ended up being a non-issue because the cost of repair and diminution in value ate up policy limits. he could have gone after the negligent driver for the balance, but he didn't want to make the poor guy's life miserable, and there wouldn't have been that much more to recover.

the insurer refused to buy the car as a way to solve the problem.

he is keeping the car- at least for now.

 

Just as an update to anyone else who ends up in this situation, there is a California case that supports a claim for diminished value after a high value car has been in an accident.

In Brown v. Roland (1940) 104 P.2d 138, 141, the court said that “where an automobile is susceptible of repair, [] the damages include . . . the actual depreciation due to the injury”.

 

I would find it doubtful that a 1940's case on this subject is valid law, but I will take that for face value until I read the case and then check Sheppard.

 

still good law for that proposition, but obviously check it out for yourself.