Diminished Value is the automatic loss in the vehicle market value from an accident and repair. Diminished value is based on public awareness that even if a vehicle is repaired to the best of human ability, it will still exhibit remaining deficiencies and inconsistencies from the pre-loss condition of the vehicle.
Deficiencies include, but are not limited to the following:
- Weaker structural components that appear cosmetically sound
- Impossible to duplicate factory seams, sealers, and finishes
- Telltale signs of repair, such as paint missing off the heads of bolts
- The unavailability of some factory decals, and markings
- Undiscovered Kinetic damage throughout the vehicle
- The increased likelihood of a mechanical failure
- The effect that the repair will have on the future deployment of the SRS systems
- The impossibility of duplicating immersion rust-proofing techniques, etc.