I'm trying to understand, you weren't at fault but your insurance company is paying for it?

I filed a DVC several years ago on a new truck. I was hit and the other guy was found at fault. I filed the claim with his insurance company and it was the usual battle......Unless its changed, I believe they have up to 2 yrs to settle the claim. I ended up with about $3k(prolly could have ended up with more but didn't feel like dragging it out).

Did air bags deploy? Does it have frame damage?

I doubt your own auto policy allows for a diminished value claim. You'll need to make it against one of the other drivers that was at fault.

If the geometrics and drive ability were not compromised from the accident, I wouldn't automatically assume there would be a diminished value? Unless of course your vehicle was not repaired back to a pre-loss condition? has your insurance paid off on the claim? If so you can have a car fax pulled, see what it says and move from there.

I successfully obtained a settlement on a DV claim.

You need to hire a DV appraiser. He will ask questions about your truck and maybe take pictures. You pay him a couple hundred dollars out of pocket and he will provide a report detailing your DV based on comparable vehicles in your area. You then submit this report to the at-fault drivers insurance company.

In my case, they tried to lowball me with their appraisers report. We negotiated for a while and I got nowhere. Eventually I drafted a complaint letter to the head honcho at the
Texas Insurance Board (forgot the name of the agency that oversees insurance). Before sending the complaint I sent a copy of it to the insurance company and told them to pay my claim or I would send my complaint to the proper authority. Shortly thereafter I was contacted by the superior of the person who I'd dealt with and they paid my claim.

Because your truck is virtually new, you likely have a very large claim (many thousands of dollars).

In the current day of Carfax any vehicle that has been wrecked has diminished value if I am the buyer.

Even if it is repaired to drive and appear like new, you will still have a significant diminishment in value. But you will only realize that loss if you sell before it gets a lot of miles. Once the vehicle is older with many miles, prior collision repairs do not affect the value much, if any. If you settle the claim and get some money but also keep the truck a long time its as if you got a free paycheck.

This sounds like good advice and not the first time I've heard of doing a DV claim this way.

Thanks for replies so far

Yes, my insurance is fixing my vehicle, then will enter into subrogation with at-fault party for settlement. Problem is at-fault party had Texas minimum coverage with $25k limit per loss. That means 3 drivers are fighting for $25k of funds, and my repair costs are already at $17K. I have big name insurance and the at-fault driver has a fly-by-night company. Let me company fix my vehicle, then let them go after other insurance company for reimbursement.

No airbag deployment, no frame damage.

This was going to be my "drive til the wheels fall off" truck, just like my old Ford. My concern now is ghost gripes in the wiring system since the major component on backorder is the wiring harness. With new it should be good, but a lot of the wires got stretched and broken so tech is replacing the whole thing.

Txhuntr2, that is exactly the kind of info I was looking for. I have read several articles and feedback from "AUTOLOSS", who specifically do DVC claims assessments. I have no issues with paying the fees, and will pursue as you suggest. A few of the other feedback articles stated that they, also, sought the assistance of the Insurance Commissioner, and were satisfied with the settlement received. I would suspect that, as you state, my settlement would be several thousand, and that is what I am seeking in my claim.

Thank you all for the info provided thus far, and would greatly appreciate continued advice from others.

My point was,....Cantcatch5, In the current day of quality Auto body repair, if bags don't deploy, and the frame or any geometric component was not damaged? There is a good possibility the vehicle would not come back with a dirty Fax? It doesn't seem to matter what the price tag was for repairs. I'm not saying that is always the case, but I see it everyday.

I was hit from behind two years ago. I made the call to the other drivers insurance about DV. Texas currently does not mandate this. Of course they did not want to pay, but I had to remind them since it was their fault and would he buy a vehicle for his wife or daughter for listed price if he found out the vehicle was in a significant accident. Silence. after significant discussion we reached an agreement. I did quite a bit of searching car used for sale websites to determine what my vehicle was worth as a used car vs a used car with a wreck. Good luck. Long process

TDI's position statement on Diminished Value indicates it is not recoverable on 1st party coverage (comp, collision on YOUR policy), but it is on 3rd party coverage (Other person's property damage coverage, your UM/UIM). Unless your carrier is paying under UM coverage, and with the PD limit issue on the other person's coverage, I don't see where you can recover a DV claim in this case. Maybe I missed something? At any rate, one of the DV evaluation companies can provide you with some ammo to use when negotiating a DV claim.

Stu

Since you have several people already commenting on the DV claim, I'm just wondering how you could be the 4th vehicle in the accident, with front end damage, and no be at fault? Lack of rear end damage, it doesn't appear you were pushed into the vehicle ahead. You certainly don't owe me any explanation but if you were willing to explain what happened I would be interested in the story!

It's a myth that the vehicle who hit someone else is always at fault.
In the OP's accident Im really surprised anyone was held at fault because of the weather at the time.