Can I Claim Depreciation Costs After My Car Was Rear-Ended?
3 Answers
Car accident compensation generally does not include depreciation costs. Below is a detailed explanation of rear-end collisions: Liability Issues: If your car is rear-ended, the other party is fully at fault. You can use the accident report, repair cost invoices, and the traffic police's accident liability determination to directly claim compensation from the other party's insurance company, including property damage compensation under compulsory traffic insurance. If both parties cannot reach an agreement on compensation, you can directly sue the other party and their insurance company. Compensation the Other Party Should Provide: After a rear-end collision on the road where the other party is fully at fault, in addition to claiming repair costs, you can also request compensation for vehicle depreciation and lost wages. For these additional affected expenses, you can demand compensation from the other party.
From my experience, it's indeed quite difficult to claim depreciation costs after a rear-end collision. The repair costs will be covered by the other party's insurance, but depreciation is considered an indirect loss under the law, and courts generally don't support such claims. I've seen cases where people received compensation for depreciation, usually when a brand-new car was severely damaged shortly after purchase—for example, if the frame was damaged, causing a significant drop in resale value. In such cases, it's best to negotiate during traffic police mediation and obtain a professional vehicle depreciation assessment report. If the other party refuses to pay, the cost of litigation might outweigh the compensation you could receive, so you'll need to factor that in as well. For minor scratches or dents, it's probably not worth the effort.
I just dealt with a similar situation recently. If your car was rear-ended and you're claiming depreciation costs, the key is the other party's attitude. Generally, the law doesn't force them to compensate for this type of loss, but it can be resolved through negotiation. My advice is: keep the accident liability determination and damage assessment reports, get pre-accident evaluation reports from two used car dealers. Then negotiate compensation with the at-fault party - be reasonable, asking for a few hundred to a few thousand is more realistic. If that fails, ask traffic police to mediate - the pressure is greater when the other party is fully at fault. Remember not to delay too long, it's harder to get compensation after the car is repaired.
