USAA issues with diminished value claim

[nyrfan]

Originally Posted by LiquidDragon

not sure if this is normal and if it is please let me know but here are pictures of the rockers on both sides. they are bowed out on both sides in front of the back tires and the gaps on both sides are different.

The rockers are normal.


Sent from my 2SS/RS

[sycraft]

Originally Posted by LiquidDragon

please explain to me how there is no diminished value

Repair related issues are not inherent diminished value, that is repair related diminished value, insurance company is not responsible for repair related DV. however some inherent DV could be collected, the 900 is very fair on that case. I should have been clear on the different types of DV. inherent DV is usually never paid until the repair related issues are resolved. they are probably using a formula that the courts have deemed fair and reasonable to determine your DV. That way if it went to court they would have case studies to support their decision. Since you changed the OE parts to SS parts, you would probably lose in any court as that diminishes the value, I used to do these all the time back when I worked insurance, I had a conscious however and had to get out of that industry.

[LiquidDragon]

Originally Posted by sycraft

Repair related issues are not inherent diminished value, that is repair related diminished value, insurance company is not responsible for repair related DV. however some inherent DV could be collected, the 900 is very fair on that case. I should have been clear on the different types of DV. inherent DV is usually never paid until the repair related issues are resolved. they are probably using a formula that the courts have deemed fair and reasonable to determine your DV. That way if it went to court they would have case studies to support their decision. Since you changed the OE parts to SS parts, you would probably lose in any court as that diminishes the value, I used to do these all the time back when I worked insurance, I had a conscious however and had to get out of that industry.

I am not looking for DV for the work done I am talking about DV for the DV caused by the car being in an accident. BTW two big items that had to be replaced and on the report are the impact bar because it was bent and the energy absorber in front of it that was crushed. it doesn't look that bad in the picture but it was bad enough to bend the impact bar that goes across the front of the car from one side of the frame to the other.

15 Repl Impact bar 22785364 1 286.38
16 Repl Energy absorber 92243309 1 90.50

[nyrfan]

Originally Posted by LiquidDragon

I am not looking for DV for the work done I am talking about DV for the DV caused by the car being in an accident. BTW two big items that had to be replaced and on the report are the impact bar because it was bent and the energy absorber in front of it that was crushed. it doesn't look that bad in the picture but it was bad enough to bend the impact bar that goes across the front of the car from one side of the frame to the other.



15 Repl Impact bar 22785364 1 286.38

16 Repl Energy absorber 92243309 1 90.50

We'll as been said on serval occasions, $900 is more then fair.


Sent from my 2SS/RS

[scoticus.rex]

I won't comment on your particular claim here, but I will say I have been with USAA for 15+ years and I would think long and hard before changing companies. I have had two accidents in the last 5 years. One I was not at fault but other driver tried to claim I was. USAA fought them to a standstill. The other I was clearly at fault and when it was all said and done, they did not raise my rate a penny. About a decade ago some guy rear-ended me in El Paso and I had to deal with his insurance company. They were very nice to me and I commented on this to his insurance agent at the end of the deal. He offered to bring me over to his company. I mentioned I had USAA and he said never mind, we can't touch them in terms of price or service. Even if you decide to change your insurance as a result of this event, why would you move all your other accounts as well. That just seems like you're cutting off your nose to spite your face. I have dealt with other banks over the years and outside of a few very specific instances, like refinancing my mortgage, I won't ever deal with any other bank again. To each his own brother and I hope things work out with the car, but I would give the rest of it some time and not make any decisions in the heat of the moment.

[MPX]

Originally Posted by Dr40oz

That sucks!!! The second something happens to a new car I instantly want to trade it in. Some POS dinged my door before I made my first payment on my 2013. To make matters worse the ding was in the exact place but passenger door instead of drivers door on a ding in my 2010. I hope my '14 I get in march has better luck.

Crazy how that works. Before my Challengers, I had a Dodge Dakota, then a Ford F-150. Both were black. Both cars went years before they had anything strange happen to them. . . like errant debris flying up from the road and nailing a panel or something. The Dakota had over 150k miles with nary a scratch.

My Challenger RT had a giant primer-deep mystery scratch appear near the trunk on the passenger quarter panel about 2 weeks after I got it.

With my Challenger SRT, I was driving down the highway and the dumbass in front of me was riding the line and ran over a piece of shredded tire and launched it directly into my hood. Huge scratch.

Now my Terrain and my wife's Verano? Tens of thousands of miles. . . Not. A. Scratch. Amazing how that always seems to happen. It seems the more you love a car, the more nature tries to destroy it.

[big papa]

OP wont know diminished value until he tries to trade it in. Go try to trade it in, in a couple of weeks, and if the dealership is honest they will show you the non crashed value and explain the diminished value. I bet it will be more than $900 lower. Wait 5 years and diminished value will be much less. With that body work, the OP may want out of that car soon. See if you can sue the driver not insurance company for DV? Why should OP get inconvenienced and not at least get back all the money he will lose in the future...

And I would shit if my car came back with all that crappy bodywork.

[Caddyroger]

Originally Posted by big papa

OP wont know diminished value until he tries to trade it in. Go try to trade it in, in a couple of weeks, and if the dealership is honest they will show you the non crashed value and explain the diminished value. I bet it will be more than $900 lower. Wait 5 years and diminished value will be much less. With that body work, the OP may want out of that car soon. See if you can sue the driver not insurance company for DV? Why should OP get inconvenienced and not at least get back all the money he will lose in the future...

And I would shit if my car came back with all that crappy bodywork.

He will not get the price of the car he blaming the wrong people. He drove off the car with a bad body work done on it. By the way he talking he not going to have fixed by the body shop. He goes to court with the bad body shop repair they just probably laugh at him and say DV is denied. He first needs to get the shop to fix their mistake.

[sycraft]

Originally Posted by LiquidDragon

I am not looking for DV for the work done I am talking about DV for the DV caused by the car being in an accident. BTW two big items that had to be replaced and on the report are the impact bar because it was bent and the energy absorber in front of it that was crushed. it doesn't look that bad in the picture but it was bad enough to bend the impact bar that goes across the front of the car from one side of the frame to the other.

15 Repl Impact bar 22785364 1 286.38
16 Repl Energy absorber 92243309 1 90.50

impact bar a bolt on item and the absorber attached to the fascia, still no big deal. if you want more than the 900. go physically trade in your vehicle, not just get a quote, you must actually trade it in, have a report done to say why they only gave you xxx.xx. Then pursue the claim, otherwise it is all speculation. the longer you keep the car the less it will change it.. Looks like you were planning on keeping the car anyway since you changed to a SS front cover... there are too many other things to worry about in life, a vehicle is not one of them. DV only matters if you get rid of the car, not if you are keeping it, its not "Free" mod money. Get it fixed properly and enjoy the ride..

[DarkneSS]

Coming from someone who has had a blown engine on an LLT, 500 dents from a huge freak hail storm, and other minor damage, I think you should take the $900 and run. I'm surprised they offered you that much. Get your issues fixed with the repair work and go enjoy a few payments or parts with that $900. You're likely going to run into some other kinds of issues at some point if this is your daily so pick your battles.

[Baba]

OP: I believe I may speak for most everyone here: I don't believe anyone is contesting the fact that the repair work on your Camaro should be done correctly and without the poor fit and finish of the paint, stripe and other fitment issues.

As an owner of most anything that gets repaired professionally, it is completely reasonable to expect those repairs be done to perfect condition, unless the estimate specifically states that it "may not" be perfect - that's another story, however and doesn't pertain to your case.

Furthermore, no one is contesting that you're within your rights in contacting USAA regarding the "poor workmanship" if you have not been able to come to an agreement with the shop that there are flaws that need to be corrected. The fact that you picked your Camaro up at night with marginal conditions in which to visualize the work that was done is a PIA for you, but, the work should be guaranteed by the shop. If you're not able to obtain satisfaction, certainly get USAA involved. No one is contesting that you're not being reasonable in your thinking regarding the repair issues.

In addition, it's the holiday season. It's not a "life and death emergency" for USAA to get an appraisor out to physically inspect your Camaro within a day or two of your call. My guess is that their staffing is probably somewhat reduced during the next couple of weeks due to the holidays and they have other appointments as well and also try to keep in mind there is severe winter weather in regions outside of where you reside. I'm confident USAA's agents are tending to those in need in those areas. I believe most anyone of us in your position would be equally as anxious to have the repair issues settled ASAP. Be patient. They're only human. An educated guess leads me to be confident your repair issues will be remedied to the greatest satisfaction possible.

Regarding the "Dimished Value", others here know one heck of a lot more about than I could ever purport. Judging from what our fellow forum members have posted in response to your dissatisfaction with the amount you've been awarded, you're either fortunate to have received the "generous" amount of $900 or the $900 is approximately the correct amount based on the damage to your vehicle.

I and others have mentioned it in previous posts regarding USAA and I'll mention it again: don't cut off your nose to spite your face.

You may not be entirely happy with the $900 DV amount, but unless you're completely unhappy with all of their services you use and truly believe you're being "shafted" on all levels by USAA, you'll be giving up a level of financial security that you may not find with another company. On the other hand, if you're an "original" member (ie; a military or other directly qualifying member), you can probably switch to another company and come back to USAA if you so chose. However, if you're an "associate" member, a "dependent" or spouse of a directly qualifying member or were eligible for USAA's services because of your parents' or other family members military affiliation, you may not have the option of returning to USAA once you've left. I don't know what their policy is regarding this, however, it is food for thought.

Try and wrap your head around the fact that $900 is all you're possibly going to receive even if presenting a reasonable argument to USAA. You certainly won't get more from another insurance for this Camaro if you leave USAA because the car wasn't insured with them when the accident happened. It's not their problem.

Your repair issues will be remedied. I believe we all understand your anger that this accident even happened through no fault of your own and the potential for the "diminished value" when you attempt to trade or sell your Camaro in the future. We are all proud of our Camaros and most of us "baby" them more than many other things we own. We understand, on some level, the anxiety and dissatisfaction you're experiencing with the process, thus far. However, be patient. It may take another few weeks but I believe we're all hopeful and confident everyting will be remedied.

[LiquidDragon]

UPDATE

As far as the Diminished value goes I have paid to have an actual diminish value appraisal done and someone to handle that.

As for the issues with the repair work to the car i met with a USAA rep at the dealership today and went over the issues with the work that was performed. They saw all the issues with the panel alignments, chipped turn signal, paint issues and headlight issues and have agreed to fix everything to my satisfaction. I will say that the USAA rep and the dealerships body shop manager were very nice about everything and made me feel better about the whole situation. There are a few things that i want to also note that was pointed out to me while i was at the dealership. The panel alignment wont be perfect and they proved this to me by showing me 15 NEW 2014 Camaro's that ALL had similar panel alignment issues but were not as bad as mine and the dealership said they will try to get them aligned as perfect as possible. I must say that i was shocked at the alignment issues on the new cars but at the same time it makes me feel better about my car knowing that its not due to the accident. As for the paint that was just a bad paint job and the hood will be getting repainted BUT I will note that my car is garage kept in a heated garage so I spend most my time cleaning and working on my car in a garage and not outside in direct sunlight which explains why I didn't notice the paint issue till I got home. When I got to the dealership this morning to talk about the issues it was clear outside with direct sunlight which with the heavy metallic in the paint hid the imperfections in the paint so at first it seamed that i was complaining over very minor issues until they had me bring the car into the shop under the shop lights which immediately made all the paint issues very apparent. USAA has also agreed to paint the rear stripes on the car to match the front stripes at no extra cost to me. The USAA rep also noted the front SS bumper that I had and even said that the bumper isn't the cause for the alignment issues what so ever and he even said he would have also paid the extra money for the SS bumper as well. After meeting with John from USAA and the dealership I feel much better about the whole situation so now i just have to wait till Monday to drop the car off hopefully for the last time to have all this taken care of. Oh and one last thing before i forget. When i picked up my daughter last month she got out of my ex-wife's car and dented my drivers door which I told to the shop and the USAA rep when they pointed it out and the shop said they would take car of the dent for me at no cost to me.

[JTruck]

Good to hear you are getting satisfaction.

[Blue-J]

Good to here your issues have been resolved.