Guide
Diminished value appraisal guide
A diminished value appraisal measures how much market value a repaired vehicle has lost, using comparable vehicles and your repair records. This guide answers the questions owners ask before ordering one, in three stages: understand the loss, weigh your evidence, and decide whether an appraisal is worth it for your claim.
Start wherever you are. If you already know you want a report, the diminished value appraisals page explains the service, and your state’s page covers the law where you live.
Stage 1 · Learn
Understand the loss
What diminished value is made of, how insurers calculate it, and when an appraisal fits into a claim.
Learn
Inherent, repair-related and immediate diminished value
What causes each type, what proves it, and which one a claim is usually about.
Learn
The 17c diminished value formula, explained
The insurer formula step by step, and why it is not a market valuation.
Learn
When to get a diminished value appraisal
After repairs, before a release, and well inside your state’s deadline.
Learn
Diminished value on leased and financed vehicles
Who holds the claim when a lender or leasing company is involved.
Stage 2 · Compare
Weigh your evidence
The kinds of evidence you can put in front of an insurer or a court, and how to judge an appraiser.
Compare
Appraisal vs dealer letter vs calculator
Four ways to put a number on the loss, and what each is good for.
Compare
How to choose a diminished value appraiser
Seven things to check, the questions to ask, and the warning signs.
Compare
What a diminished value demand letter should include
The seven things it should contain, and the mistakes that weaken it.
Compare
Does a diminished value appraisal need an in-person inspection?
What records and photos already show, and when an inspection adds something.
Compare
Using a diminished value appraisal in small claims court
When it fits, what to bring, and what to ask the clerk first.
Stage 3 · Decide
Decide whether to order
What an appraisal costs, when it pays for itself, and when it does not.
Decide
How much does a diminished value appraisal cost?
The fee, what it includes, what changes it, and when you pay.
Decide
Is a diminished value appraisal worth it?
Compare the likely loss with the fee, and know when to skip it.
Decide
Independent appraisal vs the insurer’s diminished value offer
How the insurer got its number, and five questions to ask before accepting.
Decide
Can you document diminished value yourself?
How to build your own evidence, where it falls short, and when to pay.
Related
Tools and reference pages
Eligibility
Do you have a diminished value claim?
The eight factors that make a claim stronger or weaker.
Tool
Diminished value calculator
A rough starting estimate. Not an appraisal.
State law
Diminished value laws by state
Cases, statutes and deadlines for all 50 states and DC.
Methodology
How we appraise
Sources, comparables and the review each report gets.
Not sure whether an appraisal will help?
The claim review is free: we look at your situation and tell you whether an appraisal is likely to help. The appraisal itself is a paid report. We help from start to finish, including a custom demand letter, and our support staff is a phone call away throughout the process.