Diminution of Value (diminished value) of a car after an accident

["Willy M. Lee" <Willy.Lee@xxxxxx>]

Does anyone have experience in getting car diminished value compensation after a car collision repair?  I'm undergoing the hassles of collision repair of my E46 ($11k worth) with AAA here in California, and AAA sticks by the verbage that diminished value is explicitly NOT covered under my AAA policy agreement booklet.  I checked the policy books and I see the exception clause that my AAA adjuster states.  He says that AAA does not pay diminished value because at no time do I have to disclose to a future buyer that the car has undergone collision repairs...so future buyers will not devalue the purchase price because of unknown damage.  My comeback is that all the local BMW dealers near me would spot any major collision damage as soon as I trade-in the car (which I probably will do right after the repairs are complete)...and that they will discount the trade-in value because of the previous damage.

Any suggestions in getting AAA or the other party's insurance company to compensate me for diminished value?  Or should I just take this a learning experience and dump AAA as my insurance carrier...plus recommend to others that they should NOT use AAA for their insurance needs?

I'm feeling an itch to create an ANTI-AAA website coming on here....
- -Will

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