Claiming Diminished Value in Georgia Car Accident Cases: Getting Compensated for Your Vehicle’s Lost Worth

When your car is finally repaired after a crash, you may feel some relief. Then you pull the Carfax report and see the accident label, and the trade-in offer drops. That gap between what your car was worth before the wreck and what it is worth now is called diminished value. In Georgia, that loss is often compensable, not just an unfortunate side effect of being in a collision. 

Georgia insurance regulations require the insurer to restore your vehicle’s condition, such as its safety, function, and appearance, not its reputation in the market. Even with high-quality repairs, many buyers hesitate once they see an accident on the history report. That hesitancy is where diminished value lives. 

A key Georgia case, Mabry v. State Farm, pulled back the curtain on this issue. Internal insurer documents in that case showed an acknowledgment that a repaired vehicle is generally worth less than a comparable vehicle with no damage history. The court’s treatment of that evidence helped confirm that diminished value is a legitimate category of loss in Georgia claims. 

How a Diminished Value Claim Works in Real Life

In many situations, the process starts with a professional appraisal. A certified appraiser can estimate the car’s fair market value before the accident and its value after proper repairs. That difference becomes the basis for your diminished value demand. 

From there, documentation matters. You typically want repair invoices, photographs of the pre-repair damage and post-repair condition, and any dealer or trade-in quotes that show the hit your car has taken. One common scenario: A driver goes to trade in a two-year-old SUV and is told, “Because of the prior accident, we have to drop our offer by several thousand.” That is exactly the type of loss a diminished value claim is meant to address. 

Insurers often resist these claims. An adjuster might say, “Your car is fixed, so there’s no additional payment.” A detailed appraisal and a clear demand letter can push the discussion forward. If the carrier still refuses to pay fair value, litigation may be the next step. 

At Morris & Dean, we help clients in Dalton and across Georgia document diminished value, negotiate with insurers, and, when necessary, bring suit to recover what was lost. If you have questions about your own vehicle after a crash, you can call our office at 706-222-3790.