Diminished value on commercial and fleet vehicles

Two separate losses

When a business vehicle is damaged by another driver, the owner may have two different losses in addition to the repair bill:

Whether each is recoverable, and how it is measured, depends on your state and the insurance involved. Keep the two apart in your demand, since they rest on different evidence.

Upfits and equipment

A work vehicle is often a chassis plus an upfit: a service body, utility box, liftgate, refrigeration unit, ladder racks, shelving, a plow mount, or a full kitchen in a food truck. The upfit can be a large share of the vehicle’s value, and standard price guides generally do not cover it. For the appraisal, document:

• The upfitter’s invoice or build specification, and the date installed.
• Whether the collision damaged the upfit, its mounting points or the frame under it.
• Whether the equipment was repaired, replaced or reinstalled, and by whom.
• Wraps and graphics, which have a cost to replace but usually add nothing to resale value.

Loss of use while the vehicle is down

A van or truck that earns money every working day costs its owner money every day it sits in a body shop. Commercial repairs can run long when upfit parts are involved. If a suitable substitute could be rented, the rental cost is a common measure. If none was available, the value of the lost use has to be shown another way. Our loss of use appraisal page describes that service. Keep dispatch logs, rental quotes, and the dates the vehicle went in and came out.

Fleet remarketing and disclosure

Fleets usually sell vehicles in volume, through wholesale auctions, remarketing companies or directly to dealers. In those channels condition and damage history are disclosed and graded under the seller’s and the auction’s own rules, and professional buyers bid accordingly. A unit announced with structural damage, or one with an accident on its history report, draws fewer bidders. For a fleet the loss in value is therefore visible as a lower sale price against sister units of the same age and mileage. If your fleet has sold comparable units with and without damage history, those sale records are useful evidence.

Records a regulated carrier already has

Motor carriers subject to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations must keep an accident register for three years after the date of each accident that meets the federal definition, including copies of accident reports required by governments or insurers (49 CFR 390.15). That register is a compliance record about the carrier, not a valuation of the vehicle. It does mean a regulated carrier already holds dated records of the event, and they can be pulled for a claim. Whether the federal rules apply to your operation is a question for your compliance adviser or the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Getting an appraisal for a work vehicle

Autoloss’s listed specialty work includes fleet vehicles, food carts and other vehicles on wheels. For heavy trucks, trailers and specialized equipment, ask during the free claim review whether an appraisal fits; fees for these vehicles are quoted after we review the situation. Attorneys handling a commercial claim can find report and testimony details under attorney support.

For light-duty trucks, see pickup trucks. For rental RVs and mobile businesses built on a motorhome chassis, see RVs and motorhomes.