Restitution/Diminished Value Report

[Heimkehr]

Sometimes it takes a letter from a Attorney, to get their attention.

I agree but as a last resort, I just hope it doesn't come to that.

My wife used to manage a State Farm office, the same one I and my family had used for decades. The agent was a family friend; he purchased a car from my brother to give to his son as his first vehicle.

With that insider relationship now disclosed, let me offer the following:

The moment an insured just mentions the word "lawyer", even in passing, any insurance agent (and his staff) worth their salt will be tempted shift into radio silence. A letter from an attorney, no matter how modestly composed, might compel them to go incommunicado with their insured. At that point, all discussions in all forms may likely occur exclusively between said attorney and the relevant, authorized reps at the insurance compan(ies).

The foregoing is a defensive posture of sorts that makes sense when given fair consideration. You're correct, Larry, to view engaging legal services as a possible last resort. That's not to say it's a bad idea; rather, know that it brings its own baggage with it.

Best of luck as you work your way through your claim.

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[LKG]

My wife used to manage a State Farm office, the same one I and my family had used for decades. The agent was a family friend; he purchased a car from my brother to give to his son as his first vehicle.

With that insider relationship now disclosed, let me offer the following:

The moment an insured just mentions the word "lawyer", even in passing, any insurance agent (and his staff) worth their salt will be tempted shift into radio silence. A letter from an attorney, no matter how modestly composed, might compel them to go incommunicado with their insured. At that point, all discussions in all forms may likely occur exclusively between said attorney and the relevant, authorized reps at the insurance compan(ies).

The foregoing is a defensive posture of sorts that makes sense when given fair consideration. You're correct, Larry, to view engaging legal services as a possible last resort. That's not to say it's a bad idea; rather, know that it brings its own baggage with it.

Best of luck as you work your way through your claim.

Thank you for that "insider trading" info, especially since I was bagging on State Farm. Aplogizes to your wife for that, haha. I did find out today that it will be totaled, and should know what the offer will be soon.

My agent (Oregon Mutual) did tell me, if it wasn't enough to refuse it, and send them comps of my own and explain that I still need to replace it with a new Jeep as I'd only had it for 4 months.

I wish I had a body guy in my back pocket, I'd buy it back and fix the damn thing. I'd be a lot less worried about wheelin' it.

Thanks again for the insight, this is a good distraction while I wait and wait and wait.

 

[LKG]

So you could get 940 payments from a judgement for 100% of diminished value from a guy worth $0. And driving a poorly repaired Wrangler while you make 7 years of payments and hating yourself each time you get in.

I hope they total your Wrangler. Get a new one and be done with it.
If it gets fixed, trade it in. Get a new Wrangler and be done with it.

Sorry. Cost of doing business. Get this cleanly behind you or it'll be another billion words of controversy. IMHO.

Well I found out yesterday that it is in fact totaled. The tub was damaged and Jeep apparently won't have those available until January at the earliest. I agree, this is far and away better than repairing it. Now I wait for the offer from the insurance co, hoping they pony up and offer what it's worth without a fight.

 

[LKG]

Long shot here but does any out there have any experience with someone purposefully damaging their vehicle and the restitution process? I fired an employee a month and a half ago and he came back a couple days later dunk out of his mind and smashed into two of our rigs with his old Chevy pickup. Mine was the JLU that I had ordered in January, she was only four months old. The police and the prosecutor told us we'd both be entitled to restitution but we still haven't been in touch with the restitution coordinator and I'm getting impatient, this process has been slow to say the least.

My other question, does anyone have experience with a Diminished Value Report? Do I need to pay for one of those for the restitution process? If, an I say if because I still don't know if it will be totaled, my Jeep is repaired, it will obviously be worth less and I really think I need to be compensated. Of course the restitution police should be able to answer all of this but like I said, I'm losing patience and the curiosity is killin me.

Thanks in advance for any advice. Oh and the heat finally broke last week, I should be driving around with my damn top off.

I wanted to thank you all for the all of your feedback and advice, I wasn't expecting to get nearly this much help, I really appreciate it.

So the Jeep was totaled, the aluminum tub was damaged, parts won't be available until January and Jeep doesn't have a certified repair process without it. The good news (finally), the insurance co came in with a solid offer and I'm ordering a new Jeep today. The really good news, the offer was good enough I'll be getting a Rubicon sticker this time.

Whatever, if any restitution comes from the criminal case will be a bonus at this point, I'm certainly not counting on it.

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