Diminished Value Claim Calculator

How much is your diminished value case worth?

The classic, and unsatisfying answer, is that it depends. Each case is different. The insurance companies try to use a mathematical formula called the 17(c) formula. This formula is rigged to pay you as little as possible. Unfortunately, we don't have a simple mathematical plug-and-play formula like the insurance companies do.

The independent experts that we hire rely on a few different factors to properly evaluate each case. Hiring an expert can sound complicated, but we front that expense and only work with the most trusted experts to evaluate your car. They rely on the following factors:

1. Type of Vehicle. If your car is old with high mileage, it likely has a low value to begin. If you wreck your brand-new Ferrari, even a slight fender bender can tank the value of the car. The value of certain types of cars can change every day with supply and demand, so it's important that our independent experts get updated comparable vehicle pricing when looking at your case.
   

2. Amount of Damage. How much in repairs did your car undergo? If your car only had a scratch that needed to be filled in or a broken window, the value of the car likely doesn't change much at all. The total dollar amount is less important than the actual repairs that were needed to be done. For example, structural damage to your car increases the diminished value more so than cosmetic damages like dents or non-essential part replacements.
   

3. Location of Vehicle. The car market is always changing. Depending on the resale volume of specific vehicles in certain areas changes the diminished value claim amount. For example, Teslas are extremely common in states like California, but rather hard to come by in more rural areas. Therefore, if you wreck your brand new Tesla in south Georgia, your diminished value claim is likely to be much higher than if you were trying to resell the same car in the metro area.

How do the insurance companies come up with their valuation of a diminished value claim?

Frankly, the above photo is an insurance adjuster calculating your diminished value amount.

As we stated above, they used what is called the 17(c) formula, which is designed to minimize how much they pay in diminished value. It sounds official, but it's a load of garbage.

The 17c formula takes 10% of the book value of your car (subjective) and utilizes mileage and damage modifiers which are based on a scale. This is a sample 17c diminished value calculation for a $50,000 vehicle with minor damage and 80,000 miles.

$50,000 book value (whatever that means) x 10% is $5,000 x .20 mileage modifier is $1,000 x .25 minor damage modifier = $250 in diminished value.

Every 20,000 miles, the insurance companies reduce the decrease in value by 20%. In other words, once you cross the 100,000-mile marker, the insurance companies believe that there is no way your car can have diminished value at all. Think about how crazy that sounds: You have a 2018 Mercedes AMG that you drive all over for work. The car could be worth $75,000.00. You get into a crash with $40,000.00 in repair damages. The insurance companies would say that your car didn't decrease whatsoever.

How do we combat this?

The insurance companies know that their formula is flawed, they just use it to satisfy a 22-year-old class action lawsuit called Mabry v. State Farm. The way to combat this awful valuation formula is to bring them to court. We hire an expert, take them to court, and expose the formula to a magistrate judge, usually in Gwinnett county (because that's where most insurance companies are incorporated).

Give us a call to hear more about the process and how we can maximize your claim!