Credibility Statement (For Insurance Adjusters)
The St. Lucie Appraisal Company and its service, AUTODIMINISHEDVALUE.COM is a qualified provider of diminished value reports in all 50 states.
Credibility & Licensing
States generally do not require a state-issued automotive appraisal license to prepare diminished value reports (North Carolina is an exception). That said, The St. Lucie Appraisal Company employs appraisers and adjusters who hold state licenses in five U.S. states — a stronger credential than private “certified appraiser” designations commonly used by other diminished value vendors.
Our reports typically require about one week to complete because they are based on real market research, including direct contact with multiple franchise dealerships to verify actual loss in market value. This approach increases credibility and defensibility compared with formula or algorithm-based reports that can be generated within hours.
Why St. Lucie’s Method Is More Probative
St. Lucie’s diminished value methodology is designed to produce probative, evidence-based valuations useful to adjusters, counsel, and courts. The core reasons are summarized below.
-
Real Dealers Set Real Market Prices
Asking prices, algorithms, and book values do not determine whether a franchised dealer will accept, retail, or wholesale a previously damaged vehicle. By interviewing multiple sales managers, St. Lucie documents the real-world market reaction to an accident history, including:
- Actual trade-in deductions
- Stigma applied by professionals who buy and sell cars daily
-
Algorithms and Formulas Are Not Market Evidence
Common formula-based diminished value systems typically:
- Apply preset percentages or internal multipliers
- Produce identical outputs for large groups of claims
- Do not consult dealers or actual buyers
- Are not published, peer-reviewed, or empirically validated
As a result, many courts and adjusters treat formula-only reports as opinion rather than market evidence.
-
Online Asking Prices Are Not Transaction Prices
Online listings show asking prices (not negotiated selling prices), often omit repair history, and do not disclose trade-in deductions. They frequently overstate value for negotiation purposes and therefore are unreliable as primary evidence of diminished value.
-
Book Values Don’t Account for Prior Damage
Guides such as KBB, NADA, and Black Book do not calculate diminished value for prior-damaged vehicles; they typically assume no accident history and therefore do not quantify stigma. Insurers often argue (and rightly so in many contexts) that book values alone are insufficient to support a diminished value award.
-
Dealer Interviews Provide Direct Market Testimony
Statements by dealers such as “we deduct $X for this accident history” or “we would wholesale, not retail” constitute firsthand market evidence that is persuasive because dealers transact in the market daily.
-
Multi-Dealer Data Creates Corroboration
Consulting six independent franchise dealerships produces multiple data points, cross-verification, consistency checks, and a defensible average. That corroboration reduces the risk that a single outlier skews the conclusion.
Summary
St. Lucie’s diminished value reports are more probative because they are:
- Real-world
- Market-based
- Supported by first-hand dealer input
- Specific to the vehicle
- Not theoretical or algorithmic
- Corroborated by multiple independent sources
Bottom line: formulas and book values produce estimates — dealers produce evidence.
For insurance adjusters looking at diminished value documentation, St. Lucie’s approach combines licensing credentials, documented market interviews, and multi-dealer corroboration to create research-based, professionally credentialed reports.
SEARCH OUR DATABASE OF AUTO DIMINISHED VALUE REPORTS
Please email the body shop estimate or insurance company appraisal to
contact@autodiminishedvalue.com
Then click on the payment button above to pay by Credit Card or PayPal. The fee for an Automobile Diminished Value Report is $275.00. You may also make your Credit Card Payment by telephone, call 772-359-4300. Tesla and other exotic car owners please call for rates.
Service throughout Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming
This is an Open Education resource focused on auto diminished value, collective knowledge and the sharing of scholarly content.
AUTODIMINISHEDVALUE.COM and TOTALLOSSDISPUTE.COM are services of The St. Lucie Appraisal Company