New Web Site Calculates Diminished Car Value for Consumers

The people who launched TheyWroteOffMyCar.com are at it again with a new Web site service called MyCarIsWorthLess.com. That’s worth less, not worthless, according to the announcement.

It’s supposed to help consumers calculate the reduced, or diminished, value of their vehicle after an insurance repair claim.

“Approximately 15 percent of vehicles on the road are involved in a vehicle damage claim annually,” claims Viraf Baliwalla, president of TheyWroteOffMyCar.com. He says that about 10 percent of those claims result in a total loss but 90 percent are repaired and have a claim registered against their history and therefore incur diminished value, which amounts to billions of dollars nationwide annually.

According to Baliwalla, most car owners assume they have not lost any money if insurance has paid for all repairs to their damaged car. But, he says, that’s not the case.

“Even if a vehicle is repaired properly by the insurance company, the vehicle still has an inherent decrease in value just because of a claim being registered against it,” he maintains. “Try to sell that car or trade it in and be ready for a rude awakening, anywhere from several hundred to several thousand dollars.”

“Most people don’t know they are eligible to claim for diminished value and therefore don’t ask for it. Nor do they know how to calculate or demonstrate their loss,” says Baliwalla.

He says it is not the insurance company’s responsibility to inform people of their eligibility for diminished value or to educate them on how it works. They also have to be able to demonstrate that they have incurred the amount of loss they are claiming.

One of the challenges for both policyholders and insurers has been that both sides have a vested interest but neither have expertise in pricing vehicles, according to the Web site guru. That’s where his MyCarIsWorthLess.com comes in. He says it is the first “completely neutral” online tool that delivers a “fair and reasonable result instantly.”

The cost to generate an online diminished value report is $39.

His main Web site, TheyWroteOffMyCar.com, helps consumers whose vehicles have been deemed a total loss by their insurance company.