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Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

The short answer is no—you cannot remove a legitimate accident from your Carfax report. If an accident happened and a police report was filed, an insurance claim was made, or a body shop reported the repairs, that data is a permanent part of your vehicle’s history.

However, while you cannot erase the history, you can fix the financial damage it causes.

When a Carfax report flags an accident, your vehicle instantly suffers from Diminished Value. Even if the repairs were flawless, dealerships and private buyers will automatically offer you thousands of dollars less for your vehicle simply because that red flag exists.

Here is how you fix the financial gap left by a “bad Carfax”:

Recover the Lost Equity: If you were not at fault for the accident, the law allows you to hold the at-fault driver’s insurance company responsible for this sudden drop in resale value.

File a Diminished Value Claim: You can demand a cash settlement from the insurance company to make up for the exact amount the Carfax report devalued your vehicle.

Get a Professional Valuation: To win this fight, you cannot just guess the loss. You need a comprehensive assessment that proves exactly how much market value your vehicle lost.

Don’t let the insurance company leave you holding the bag for a labeled vehicle history. If your car has been repaired but your Carfax report is now costing you thousands in equity, contact us today for a precise evaluation of what you are legally owed.

No, you cannot directly clear or remove accident history from a Carfax report if the information has been officially reported by insurance companies, repair shops, or police records. However, if there is any incorrect or inaccurate information, it can be disputed and corrected by submitting proper documentation. Our service helps you review your report, identify errors, and guide you through the correction process to ensure your vehicle history is as accurate as possible.

In its shortest form, Diminished Value, when applied to cars, is the decrease in market value of a car due to it having been damaged and then repaired. Think of it this way: you are considering buying a new vehicle and are faced with two identical cars; one has been in a crash and repaired while the other has never been crashed – which one would you pay more for? That difference is Diminished Value.

Inherent Diminished Value is, essentially, the loss in value of a car simply because damage has been reported to Carfax. Repair Related Diminished Value means your car lost value because the repair shop did a poor job or usen aftermarket parts.

Nearly every vehicle that is damaged and repaired has, at least, some diminished value. However, newer cars or more expensive cars typically have higher claim amounts. Older cars or those with prior reported damage will yield lower claim values. That said, the threshold question is: was the accident your fault? If not, you likely have grounds for a diminished value claim.

No. In some states, insurance companies aren’t even obligated to tell people about their right to make these claims

The 17c formula is, essentially, a “math trick” insurance companies use to pay you as little as possible for diminished value. There is no mystery behind 17c and it is just referencing paragraph 17, section C, from an insurance policy.

The formula uses three reductions to reduce your payout:

1. The 10% cap:
First, it is assumed that your car can never lose more than 10% of its value, regardless of how bad the crash was. Thus, under 17c, if your car is worth $30,000.00, many insurers attempt to cap your recovery at $3,000.00.

2. The Damage Multiplier:
Then then take that $3,000.00 and multiply it by a number based on how bad the damage was.

a. Severe Structural Damage = 1.0 (full $3,000.00)
b. Moderate Damage = 0.5 ($1,500.00)
c. Minor Cosmetic Damage = 0.25 ($750.00)

3. The Mileage Multiplier:
Lastly, they shrink it again based on mileage. The higher the miles, the less they pay.

a. 0 – 20K = 1.0
b. 40K – 60K = 0.6
c. 100K + = ($0 payout)

The biggest issue with 17c is that it is completely arbitrary. There is no rule that says a car’s value loss is capped at 10% and applying it arbitrarily is unfair. Why?

a. Real World: A $50,000.00 SUB with a major accident on its record might lose $12,000.00 in resale value.

b. 17c Math: The insurer caps the loss at $5,000 (10%), then cuts that in half for “moderate damage”.

c. Don’t accept a 17c offer – it is not the “law”. It is nothing more than a money saving scheme by the insurance companies.

Typically you are not able to make a diminished value claim if the crash was your fault. Most insurance policies specifically exclude these types of claims.

You will need a diminished value appraisal and not all appraisals are created equally! Many of the “appraisals” found online are not satisfactory in that they often lack detail and line by line analysis of your repair invoices. Consider contacting Diminished Value Attorneys before purchasing an appraisal as it may prove to be a waste of money.

That depends on what state you are in. Contact us today for more information.

No, you do not have to sell the car to claim the loss. This is another favorite trick of the insurance companies. They often tell people just that but, again, that is not the law but rather an internal insurance company policy to try to save themselves money.

Often, these claims are not huge dollars and the need for an attorney may not be readily evident. However, whether your claim is small or large, if you want to be taken seriously by the insurance companies, you are well served to have an attorney. Many companies found online do only appraisals, which, by itself, is relatively worthless. What brings the power and value to an appraisal is having a law firm standing behind it. For example, you present your appraisal and the insurance company balks – then what do you do? The folks that did your appraisal can’t do anything aside from the appraisal so now you’re  stuck. When our Diminished Value Attorneys present these claims, we may get balked at as well, but we can then start a lawsuit on your behalf and that often gets the claim resolved.

What Our Clients Say

Diminished Value Attorneys handles these cases on a contingency basis, meaning you pay nothing up front or out of pocket. If there is no recovery, then you owe nothing.