Say your car is worth $5,000, according to the NADA guide. If your in an accident and you have to make a claim on your collision insurance. Your insurer pays for the repairs on your car (minus your deductible). When you attempt to sell you car and disclose the prior accident, you find that you can't get anything near $5,000 for it because it was wrecked and repaired. What happened? Your car has experienced diminished value.



Policyholders have contended that their insurers are obligated to return their automobiles to "pre-loss condition" after accidents. A monetary value is usually attached to that condition, and policyholders say that a car that's been in an accident will fetch a lower price when sold compared with a similar car that hasn't been crashed