Determining the Value of Your Car After an Arizona Car Accident
After you have been hit by a negligent driver in an Arizona car accident, your car will sustain some amount of damage. Cars are a necessary investment of funds for many people but they are not by definition an “investment” that makes money. After you buy your car, the minute you take it off of the dealership’s lot it’s value decreases. For those who live in areas where it is necessary to have a car or for those who enjoy the ability to travel whenever they want, accepting that a car’s resale value decreases after it is bought is just the cost of doing business.
What is not acceptable or anticipated by a new car owner is having their car damaged in an accident that was not their fault. In this case, the car not only has a decreased value because it is used but it also suffers diminished value. Even if you repair your car back to looking like new again, that won’t make up your losses. This is because of diminished value, or value that you had before the accident that was not made up after the repairs were done.
How Do Courts and Insurance Companies Assess Damaged Cars After Arizona Car Accident?
Both the courts and the insurance companies look at damaged vehicles in three ways:
- Immediate diminished value determines the value of your car by looking at it’s worth before it sustained damage and then it’s worth after the damage. Immediate diminished value does not look at the value of the car with repairs. The number that results is what the courts generally use to evaluate a reimbursement amount.
- Inherent diminished value is the worth of your car before the damage and after the damage was repaired with the highest quality work done. When you are figuring out the trade-in value of your vehicle, this is how you would tabulate the amount.
- Repaired related diminished value occurs when the repair work was not done well or if there were structural problems that were unable to be repaired.
After you have your car repaired even though the damage was fixed and no longer visible, it will still follow you. If you decide to trade it in to the dealership, they will be able to tell if it had work done and that will factor into their offer. Smart private buyers will use services that allow them to research the history of a car to make informed decisions on what they will pay for your vehicle. Carfax is an example of this type of service.
Do You Need To Recover Costs After An Arizona Car Accident?
Figuring out how much you are entitled to for the damages you sustained in an Arizona car accident is something that an experienced Arizona car accident attorney can do for you.
ELG is an Arizona serious injury law firm that has extensive experience analyzing accidents and developing fair settlement amounts that help victims recoup the costs associated with their damages. Our Arizona personal injury lawyers will fight aggressively on your behalf so you obtain the money you need and deserve. Call ELG today at (623) 877-3600 to schedule your free consultation.
