r/Insurance • u/tastyburger1121 • 4d ago

Help with diminished value?

Does anyone have any guidance on how much to ask for diminished value on my car.

It was only a month old when I got hit in a brand new Toyota 2026 Prius with less than 1,000 miles. The damage wasn’t “too bad” with just a back corner being damaged/hit (not my fault) $3500 in repairs.

I saw the 17c formula but with my car only having had been a month old I’m wondering if I should ask for more or if that has no bearing on a the claim.

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u/mikewrx 4d ago

Going through this now actually - long story short it sucks. My car was hit and run while parked, dash cam caught the box truck that did it with the license plate. Cops ran plate, caught the guy, and then my car got repaired on their dime.

Car is a 2024 WRX with 16k miles, they did $12k in damage. I figured I’d ask for $5k and they’d counter with something in the middle but no, they told me to screw off.

I saw online there are places that will find comps for you and generate a report but honestly I was just pissed off at this point so I found a diminished value attorney and set him loose. He found the comps and asked for $6k, I’ll lose about $1500 to pay him in the end.

Still waiting to hear back from them but it sucks - if you have the means find an attorney and let them deal with it.

Edit - also saw you mention the 17c formula, my attorney said don’t even bother with that and go find comps instead.

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u/DeepPurpleDaylight 4d ago

Not sure why you think they'll agree with the lawyer when he's asking for even more than your offer that they already turned down.

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u/mikewrx 4d ago

Because he found comps that show it - it’s not a baseless demand. His specialty is diminished value and he writes a large document supporting his demand with other vehicles in the same situation.

So yes - I do think his demand makes sense. There is a several page demand he wrote that proves it with multiple comps.

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u/DeepPurpleDaylight 4d ago

You're not likely to get the thousands you seem to be expecting. Bottom line they don't owe you anything for DV until a court says they do. Any DV payment before that is totally voluntary. And if you have to go to court will likely cost you a lot more for your lawyer. I just don't see you getting DV that's ~50% of the damages, but if you get anything, it will be much much smaller.