Providing appraisal services to the Washington, D.C.
metropolitan area for over 15 years. Our business hours are Monday -
Friday from 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM. Call us at 301 946-6116.
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| Diminished value is defined as the selling price differential, in a retail environment, of one vehicle that has been damaged and repaired, as compared to an identical vehicle that has never been damaged. There are two types of diminished value, inherent diminished value, which refers only to the fact that the vehicle has sustained collision damage, and repair- related diminished value, which refers to non industry repairs or faulty workmanship that will require corrective action. Inherent diminished value is the result of a prospective buyer's perception that a damaged and repaired vehicle is not as valuable as another vehicle of same year, make and model that has never been damaged. This form of diminished value value exists even if the vehicle has been completely restored to industry standards and meets all manufacturer specifications. This loss of value results from the perception that the vehicle can never regain its pre-loss value, regardless of the quality of the repair. Repair- related diminished value is the result of a non-industry or faulty repair on the part of the repairer. Examples of this are: mismatched paint, misaligned body panels, undressed welds or use of parts that are not supplied by the original manufacturer. Also, repairs not performed in accordance with industry standards, or repairs that may, in any way, compromise the vehicle warranty, would also be considered as repair- related diminished value. In order to determine repair related diminished value, a physical inspection of the vehicle would be required. Diminished value in general is highly subjective and can only be accurately determined by the actual sale of the vehicle in a retail market as compared to the sale price of an identical vehicle in the same market area. If the repaired vehicle is new, and sold immediately after repairs are completed, loss of value could be quite substantial. However, if the same vehicle is sold several years later, the loss of value would most likely be nil. It is our objective to render a non-biased opinion pertaining to the loss of value suffered without the vehicle actually being sold. We take a common sense approach by analyzing the required repairs to determine what is different about the vehicle than prior to sustaining collision damage. Because we find that most repaired vehicles are retained, the owners, and dealer quotations often motivated by profit, are generally inconsistent, making a fair assessment of this kind of loss very difficult. We feel our method to be a fair, objective and non-biased means of calculating this type of loss. Our report addresses the extent of damage and places emphasis upon the nature of the damage. This is essential for measuring the degree to which the integrity of the vehicle has been compromised. Our method is to analyze the repair, line by line, and extract repair operations that will, in any way, cause the vehicle to be compromised. All computations are performed by certified appraisers to assure the highest degree of accuracy. Repair operations are weighted proportionally with respect to the degree by which they would affect the vehicles' integrity. For example, structural body pulls would be weighted more heavily than would welded replacement panels, which would be weighted more heavily than non- structural body repairs, and so on. Dozens of such factors are considered and numerous calculations made to arrive at a base value. This number is then adjusted by a matrix modifier that takes into account the retail value and mileage of the vehicle. The product of this calculation represents our opinion of inherent diminished value. It will be presumed that the vehicle was in good pre-loss condition, had never been involved in a prior collision, and had less then 100,000 miles at time of loss. It is our contention that once a vehicle has exceeded 100,000 miles it is rarely a candidate for sale in a retail environment, and the fact the vehicle had been involved in a collision would not generally discourage a prospective buyer in this market. Our formula and V-CAR™ (Vehicle Collision Analysis Re-cap) report were developed after many years of research, study, computations and refinements by certified damage appraisers with over 30 years of experience in the field of repairing, estimating and evaluating vehicle damage. Our method and formula remain the same regardless of the client, and renders the report totally non-bias. We feel the result of our report to be fair to parties on both sides of the issue, and our method has been found to be objective and logical to claim mediators and various courts of law. To obtain a V-CAR™ report please provide a copy of the itemized repair estimate. It is not necessary that the vehicle be inspected, because our report pertains only to inherent diminished value. If repair-related diminished value is an issue and corrective repairs required, or if the vehicle warranty has been affected in any way, additional consideration may be appropriate but is not be addressed in this report. The cost to generate a report for un-inspected inherent diminshed value claims is $150.00. The cost for inspected inherent diminished value reports is $225.00 - $375.00 depending on the vehicle location. We will invoice insurance carriers, honor company checks, and accept Visa and Mastercard. Please allow 5 to 10 days for processing..
Click here to order a V-Car Report
Insurance Companies, and adjusting companies, with staff appraisers may also generate this report in house via our website. Because the majority of expense to produce this product is labor incurred by analyzing damage and extracting information. In house reports can be generated at a fraction of the specified fee. Key Benefits
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