Free diminished value worksheet
Use this blank worksheet to collect comparable listings and dealer offers for your repaired car, with the source and date of every figure.
Disclosure: Money You're Owed makes and sells CrashValue Claim, which this page recommends. If you buy it, we earn money. We don't take payment from anyone else mentioned here. This page is general information for US readers, not legal advice.
This worksheet walks through the comparable-listings method: you collect what similar cars sell for and what dealers offer for yours, and you record where every figure came from. It does not produce a dollar estimate, does not use the 17c formula or any other formula, and does not predict what an insurer will pay.
Step 1: Describe your car
| Year, make, model, trim | |
|---|---|
| VIN | |
| Mileage on the date of loss | |
| Date of loss | |
| Date repairs were completed | |
| What was repaired (from the repair invoice) |
Step 2: Find comparable clean-history listings
Look for cars of the same year, make, model and trim, with similar mileage and a clean history, from the same area. Save each listing and the date you saw it.
Step 3: Get written offers for your car
Ask dealers who know about the accident for a written trade-in or purchase offer. Ask them to note that the history affects the offer, if they will.
Step 4: Record every figure with its source and basis
| # | Source (listing link or dealer name) | Date | Year / make / model / trim | Mileage | History (clean or reported accident) | Price or offer | Basis (retail listing, trade-in offer, appraisal) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |||||||
| 2 | |||||||
| 3 | |||||||
| 4 | |||||||
| 5 | |||||||
| 6 |
Keep valuation bases separate. A retail listing price and a dealer trade-in offer are not the same kind of number. A gap between them is not, on its own, proof of crash-caused loss. Compare listings with listings and offers with offers, and label each row.
Step 5: Write down your assumptions
| Assumption | Why you made it | Which rows support it |
|---|---|---|
Step 6: Attach the records
Number each source to match its row, and keep the repair file, the vehicle history report and every message with the insurer with it. The full list is in the evidence checklist in the main guide.
State rules
- Diminished value claim in Georgia
- Diminished value claim in Texas
- Diminished value claim in Florida
- Diminished value claim in California
Frequently asked questions
Does this worksheet tell me what I'm owed?
No. It helps you collect and label comparable listings and offers. It does not produce a dollar estimate or predict what an insurer will pay.
Does it use the 17c formula?
No. This worksheet doesn't use 17c or any other formula.
Can I compare a retail listing with a trade-in offer?
Keep them separate. A retail listing price and a dealer trade-in offer are not the same kind of number, and a gap between them is not, on its own, proof of crash-caused loss.