Not in PA, you have to make a choice, insurance settlement or lawsuit but not both so in the end I paid the premium (under insured policy) that allowed the drunk driver who hit me and fled the scene on top of that to not be financially liable as it was large enough that one wouldn't expect to see a 20 year old now convicted felon to be able reasonably pay over her "working" life as you hit the nail on the head regarding that turnip.

 

Sorry to find out that we are not permitted to have opposing points of view without some name calling. I am not saying that diminished value is somehow illegal or inappropriate--might be the best course or action many times. What I am saying is the same can be said for instances like buying some spoiled food in a supermarket and the supermarket contacts you to refund your money. But there are those folks for whom this gesture is not good enough. So they go down the path of complaining about emotional distress from eating (or almost eating) the food, contact the health department, ask for additional compensation from the market, ask for some additional compensation from the food manufacturer, then perhaps go after the trucks that delivered to food to the market. . . .

There are all sorts of inconveniences and drama every day where it can be argued that we were wronged or somehow harmed and there are folks that make money all the time by going down that path. But in the case of a mishap with a car the furthest I would likely go is to do the very best to see that car is returned in as good condition as it was before the mishap--no more no less. I would not view this as a "winning of the lottery" to extort some extra cash from someone. Just a difference if values I guess (ignore if you wish).

Doug

 

TVR Tasmin,

We also have mandatory uninsured/underinsured premiums attached to every vehicle insurance policy here in North Carolina, in essence to protect folks in situations such as yours. Regardless of the financial outcome in your case, I hope your physical healing process will eventually get you back to 100% where you deserve to be....

We were fortunate in both my 2009 situation and my wife's recent situation. Both offending drivers had adequate insurance, there were no physical injuries to anyone involved, and I followed up strictly per what the law specifies....

Best wishes for a complete recovery....

 

Hmm - at the risk of getting back to CAR details - did the vibration issue felt by your wife ever disappear? Were the alignment folks able to index your wheels to remove it?

 

It isn't mandatory in PA however, even at the highest limits, minus the lawyer fees as you won't get a dime without giving away a 1/3 the maximum amount given doesn't even come close to covering my losses over the past 18 months. The laws aren't written to protect those who suffer the losses but rather those who are the irresponsible and reckless. Here you can legally drive with State minimum of $5k property damage and 15k liability. That didn't even pay for a 14 year old motorcycle or my first hour in the ER.

 

jonscot,

My wife has put not quite 1,200 miles on her XK8 since the keys were handed back to her on July 1st. All four wheels have been Hunter Road Force Balanced as a set, and the replaced (refurbished) right front wheel has been Hunter Road Force Balanced a total of four times during the repair process and our first two weeks or so of shakedown. While none of the four wheels is absolutely perfect (very few wheels are, even when new), they all supposedly fall within specifications of being able to be adequately balanced....

That said, the intermittent steering wheel vibration has greatly improved but my wife reports that it can still be slightly present at highway speeds. The local Jaguar dealership claims that there are "too many variables" for them to be able to nail down the issue. That is one massive reason why pursuing a Diminished Value claim is important to us. She wants to keep the car if she can, but I have no idea what future accident-related issues will crop up requiring significant repair. Possible abnormal tire wear will take some time to show up as well....

 

Did the tire with the bad rim get replaced or was it reused? If reused I would put your spare on and see if that changes anything unless that was already tried.

 

Like all XK8 spares I know of, the spare is a mini-tire. So no help there....

The two front tires were rotated again. No difference in performance or symptoms....

The right front tire was not replaced post-accident because unlike the right front wheel, it was not damaged. It was thoroughly inspected by my trusted tire guys before it was remounted to the replacement wheel. They could have easily said "this tire needs to be replaced" and sold the insurance company a new one. But they're honest and they reported to me that all structures of the tire, internal and external, survived unscathed....

I've explained flat-spotting to my wife several times and asked her to be aware of it. There can be some flat-spotting for the first couple of miles when the car has sat for three days or so (especially in cold weather), but it always rolls out by that third or fourth mile....

I'm far too tall for this car so I rarely drive it. This means that I'm not much help when it comes to feeling that steering wheel vibration whenever it decides to manifest itself. But it's my wife's car, she's the one who must be satisfied with it, and I have to believe her when she tells me that the road feel of her car is simply not the same as it was before she was hit....

 

Hmmm.. Mine has a full size spare in the trunk which fits just fine so I would have assumed they all did.

If there was damage to the wheel, I would also suspect that there was some damage to the tire. It is entirely possible that the damage could be to the belts and not able to been seen. Just a suggestion but obviously you had the car fixed "properly" and obviously you have a trusted "tire guy" so obviously your car now doesn't really have a slight vibration that you are trying to track down. Good luck, I'll waste my time no more providing suggestions to the deaf.

 

FYI: My 1999 also has a full size spare tire/wheel.

 

So it appears that the early XK8s carried full-size spares while the later ones were relegated to mini-tire status. Probably a cost-saving move. I would prefer a full-size spare for safety reasons. Wonder when the changeover occurred....

 

I think it was an option - mine is a 1997 with a "spacesaver". The floor of the boot (trunk) has two positions to allow for either a spacesaver OR a full size.
I also wonder if it has anything to do with the option to have wider wheels at the rear - not sure if you can fit a wider (rear) wheel to the front of the car, in which case a "spacesaver" type would be the only sensible one to have.

 

Excellent point. Our car has staggered wheels so the mini-tire is indeed the only spare that would make sense. You just solved the mystery - if your car came with staggered wheels, you get a mini-tire....

 

Honestly, being in the repair biz and a tech for several years, I admit I was a bit insulted with the inception of "diminished value claims"..lol


The vast majority of times the repairs leave the vehicle in BETTER condition, than before the collision. I'm speaking of things such as:


-Panels painted during the repair that were already blemished on vehicles years old and operated thousands of miles..


-"Betterment" items, like ball joints, radiators, struts, batteries and etc., that were in the middle (or further) of their useful life cycle, that are replaced with brand new replacements.


That being said, I'm aware that dealers like Car Max, DO reduce the value of trade-ins that have had 3 or more, major panels refinished...


Lastly, again I'm concerned of scenario's like the following example...


Say a vehicle is worth 10k before a crash....the repair bill is 6k, the diminished value is 4.8k (after excellent repairs).


That's 10.8k PLUS rental Plus other costs related to the collision (ie., sending field appraiser, etc.)


It has the affect of throwing good money after bad. Most policies give the decision of determining "Total loss" to the company ! *An exception would be when the vehicle owner is a claimant (against the injurious party) and not an "Insured", using the contact with his own insurer.


I believe I'm aligned with my states laws, not recognizing diminished value (if in fact, that's the case)...

 

I wish my wife's XK8 was in better condition now than it was pre-accident. Unfortunately, it is not. Lots of putty on the passenger door and right rear quarter panel, both of which were hammered out instead of being replaced. I fought for a new door but the insurance company found it more economical to repair the existing damaged one. I knew the quarter panel would not be replaced due to the damage on it being confined to a small area at the wheel well, but lots of putty was required there as well. And no new right front wheel could be located anywhere in the world, so we had to settle for a reconditioned one. The right front fender is new so I have no qualms there....

All things considered, we know we'll take a financial blow when we sell this car whether that is shortly after our Diminished Value settlement or years from now. Either way, our state's laws in this case are written to protect those who get stuck with the problem due to no fault of their own. In many states, the laws are written to protect the offending side. I'll follow the law to the letter as we pursue our case....

 

As I just purchased my car and as a guy who's paying a note on it would indeed sue for diminished value to save my future loss if it was a significant accident.

 

Update:

The offending driver's insurance company has now reimbursed our insurance company for the full cost of all repairs to date. Keep in mind that the reason I subrogated this claim through our insurance company was to gain more control over the repair process and timeline. The theory is that your own insurance company should look out for your best interests more so than the offending insurance company would, but I think it is also fair to say that when it gets down to the nitty-gritty, ALL insurance companies are more likely to put their own interests ahead of yours. It's up to you to get involved in the process and gain as much control as you can....

With the repair costs now reimbursed in full, our Diminished Value case grows stronger due to the offending driver's insurance company admitting all liability....

I'm still awaiting their initial phone call to me. They are obviously in no hurry....

 

Sounds like the battle strategy is warming up. This thread is quite informative and your detailed listing has given the majority of us an under utilized method of dealing with the insurance company to capitalize on future financial loss of cars resale value. Thanks John

 

Glad you find this thread informative. That's why I posted it. I went through this process in 2009 with great success and expect similar results this time. We'll see. But probably not until October!

 

It is possible to put the 9" wheel on the front of the car. Not to leave it that way but to move the suspect wheel and tire to the rear and see if the vibration is still in the steering wheel.

I tried that on my 03 when chasing a slight vibration that I just couldn't pin down.