Car Stolen

T

Tee2Green

New Member
Jurisdiction
New Jersey
Hi All,

I purchased a 2014 Z51 Corvette from a Florida dealer and it was being shipped to Long Island NY where I live. The car carrier had taken my car off to make another delivery and when he came back to the truck my car had been stolen. This happened in New Jersey.

Police found the car with a damaged drivers side door and numerous paint scratches. It obviously had been driver "Like it was stolen". The Car carriers insurance will pay for repairs and shipping to Long Island NY but they will not pay for Diminished Value (DM).

The car carrier is located in Illinois. Do I need a Illinois based lawyer to sue them for DM or NJ or NY?
 
Tee2Green said:
Hi All,

I purchased a 2014 Z51 Corvette from a Florida dealer and it was being shipped to Long Island NY where I live. The car carrier had taken my car off to make another delivery and when he came back to the truck my car had been stolen. This happened in New Jersey.

Police found the car with a damaged drivers side door and numerous paint scratches. It obviously had been driver "Like it was stolen". The Car carriers insurance will pay for repairs and shipping to Long Island NY but they will not pay for Diminished Value (DM).

The car carrier is located in Illinois. Do I need a Illinois based lawyer to sue them for DM or NJ or NY?
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It was, and remains a used car.
It isn't a luxury car, as in Bentley, Rolls, Ferrari, or Maybach.
I'm sure most any lawyer would take ten grand to bring a lawsuit claiming diminished value for a car that sells in the mid $35-40K market, if you're lucky.

If you think its worth dropping $10,000 to chase maybe $5-8K, go for it.
Most lawyers would be eager to make a quick ten grand, to get you five grand, if you're lucky.
 
Diminished value is very difficult to get from insurance companies and at best if you do get it, amounts to 10 or 15% of the repair bill. Diminished value usually comes into play when a brand new vehicle is damaged and the dealer has to disclose that damage to a retail buyer. If they are paying to repair the door and the scratches, I really don't see that you have a valid claim for diminished value.
 
Tee2Green said:
Do I need to find a lawyer in Illinois to do this? or Nj or NY where I live?
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I suggest you start by consulting a lawyer where the carrier's company is headquartered or where the loss occurred as you usually have a choice between the two..

You probably do have a valid DV claim since the insurance claim is likely to become public record on Carfax or other data bases and there will be a stigma attached to the car.

How much that DV actually will be is anybody's guess but most people are in error when they think big money. Generally it's somewhere between the blue book value of a car in excellent condition compared to a car in only good condition. In other words, maybe a couple of thousand in your case.

I agree that no attorney is likely to take it on a contingency so you are going to have to pay hourly fees and a retainer up front and you don't get those attorney fees back.

You might want to consider small claims court. You could probably file in NJ where the theft occurred. The small claims limit is $3000. If you want to sue for more, you will need a lawyer because things get more complicated at the higher level.

You are also going to need some sort of expert to go to court with you and testify as to the amount of DV. That's going to cost you, too.
Pieces of paper generally aren't admissible by themselves.
 
Tee2Green said:
Do I need to find a lawyer in Illinois to do this? or Nj or NY where I live?
Click to expand...

You'll also need to retain the services of an appraiser to assist you in PROVING your claim of diminished value.

This might help you better understand diminished value claims in NJ:
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Diminished Value FAQs - MMI Consulting,LLC provides clarity to queries
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Make a diminished value claim | CarInsurance.com
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Suing for diminished value in a small claims co - Q&A - Avvo
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Make a diminished value claim | CarInsurance.com
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