If you have been in a wreck in California and the other driver was at fault, you have a chance of recovering more than just the cost of your medical bills and repairs to your vehicle. It may be worth your while to file a diminished value (DV) claim with the other...

What Is Going on with Tesla? “This recall is written in blood,” Former NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said in a CBS report that aired in December. He was talking about the recent voluntary recall affecting nearly every single Tesla sold since 2012.  The recall is for...

Diminished value refers to the difference in the market value of a vehicle before a wreck versus what it’s worth after a wreck - because being in an accident almost always devalues a car significantly. A diminished value appraiser provides a report evaluating the...

What Is Diminished Value When a vehicle is in an accident, its trade-in or resale value almost always drops. Even if the vehicle is repaired and returned to its original condition, it simply won’t bring as much as it would have had it not been wrecked. If the other...

Buying and selling a vehicle can get pretty complicated. There’s a lot of paperwork, a lot of official hoops to jump through, and a lot of angst over whether you’re getting/paying a fair price.  Auto appraisers have a lot of knowledge about vehicle markets and can...

What Is a Lemon Law? Lemon Laws are laws in place to help protect consumers who have unknowingly purchased a defective vehicle. The defect can be something affecting the vehicle’s safety, performance, or resale value. As with many other things, Lemon Laws vary from...

Wanna talk secrets? Diminished value is a secret insurance companies would love to keep. While they more or less dutifully pay out to fix your car after an accident, they don’t want to tell you that you may also be able to claim diminished value and collect a whole...

If you have filed an insurance claim after a wreck, a claims adjuster will assess the damage and decide whether it’s fixable and how much it would cost. Insurance companies usually deem a car a total loss if repairs will cost more than the vehicle is worth.  In total...

Want to know how to get the most out of your diminished value (DV) claim? Here’s the answer in three words: expert auto appraisal. If you’ve been the victim of an accident in which your high end vehicle sustained damage, the only way to recover the maximum value of...

Buying a late model used car can be a savvy way to save money on an excellent vehicle, but what if the vehicle that was represented to you as clean or even certified turns out to be a lemon? What if it was previously damaged and the dealer didn’t disclose that? Or...

There are any number of reasons you might need to know the worth of a vehicle. You might  be:   Looking to find out your car’s trade-in value   Wondering if the classic car you’re considering buying is worth the asking price  Dividing assets in a divorce case  ...

How much does a diminished value appraisal cost? If you are in a position to ask this question, you deserve some sympathy. Everything about being involved in a car accident is a nightmare. Even if you or a loved one avoids injury, there’s a lot to deal with in the...