Car crash. Diminished value new car help

EV01 · 12-10-2025 03:17PM

No insurance policy and no jurisdiction provides no-fault diminished value compensation

Any such claim should be submitted to the at-fault driver's insurance company

You’d have to prove the financial loss claimed (a LOT of work and it will all be challenged)

The best you can hope for is they are prepared to negotiate

…otherwise It’s Off To Court We Go! £200 for a solicitor’s letter suggesting this might be worth spending even tho you’d never do so (seriously, don’t) - the other driver’s insurance company won’t know this

cpoh1 · 27-11-2025 01:04PM

wondering how this one panned out. A family member is in the same boat where a 3 yr old premium SuV with book value of 70k has needed 2 doors and full rhs respray coming to 8k after no fault collision on her part and insurance are only offering €600 diminished value based on repair costs. She has checked with the dealership and they are telling her its worth 5k less on trade value as a result post repair (shes currently looking to trade in and upgrade).

They are offering 10% ex vat of repair costs which for me has no link to how much the cars value has diminished as a result of the added damage history.

bazz26 · 27-11-2025 01:34PM

Did she tell the dealership about the repair up front or is the repair being done through them? My feeling here is that they are taking full advantage of being privy to knowing it is or has been repaired, in their trade in valuation. Will they retail that car at 5k less than a similar non repaired example on their forecourt? I'd doubt it very much. Would be interesting to get a trade in value from another dealer post repair without voluntary disclosure, for comparison.

cpoh1 · 27-11-2025 02:06PM

Yep, dealer completed the repair. Theyre claiming they have to disclose accident up front and that its recorded as an insurance repair.

She checked with another franchise dealer who spotted the repair history on the system with the reg, slightly less reduction in value from the original guy only 1k more offered.

...Ghost... · 28-11-2025 05:50PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124023290#Comment_124023290

The insurance companies are ridiculous here. A 3yro car will by policy only receive 10% of the ex-vat repair cost in diminished value. That's the starting point.

As the vehicle is 3 years old, what would it sell for had it not been damaged? It will have lost half the value under normal depreciation, mileage and condition depending.

I would get written confirmation that the trade-in value is X amount less and if the insurance company don't meet the genuine loss, it's solicitor time. It would be different if the car was being held onto, you might be more inclined to be flexible. No point seeking to increase the pay-out 10x if the plan is to keep the car for another 10 years, even if technically that should happen.

I lost a good 2.5k value on my car earlier in the year even though it was only rear bumper minor damage and repair. The irony is that the more you insist on new parts over repaired parts, the higher the value of the vehicle after the repair (relatively speaking) and the higher the diminished value pay-out starting point.

Car crash. Diminished value new car help

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