Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in North Carolina

I filed a motion to exempt property in North Carolina. I claimed the value of my car as $3500 and was granted it and all of my other exemptions. however, the creditor's attorney is contesting the value of my car and saying that it is worth about $4800. I believe that value assumes my car is oin good or ideal condition. The car is only in "fair"condition as defined by Kelley Blue Book (the most well-known resource for people buying used cars). They value my car at about $3700 based on its history and current condition. I'm sure that a dealership would offer me even less. If I bring the Kelley Blue Book quote, quotes from 2 or 3 dealerships, and pictures of the damage to the car and odometer reading, will this be enough to prove the value of the car is close to $3500? Should I also bring accident reports to prove how many accidents the car has been in?


Asked on 7/13/12, 2:18 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Rachel Hunter

The creditor is permitted to object and if they do, the clerk will schedule a hearing. Your exemptions will not be granted until the hearing.

If they believe the car is worth $4800, they will have to show some evidence to support that. If I were you, I would take pictures of it and get 2 appraisal reports from different car dealers. You can bring the quote from Kelley Blue Book. Also get quotes from www.edmunds.com and the National Auto Dealer Association at http://www.nadaguides.com/.

Edmunds allows you to input information about your - the mileage, any special features and its condition. The other sites probably allow some in put as well.

Wow! If you have accident reports yes, bring those too. Was the damage fixed after the accidents? Are you trying to show that your car is worth less becaue the damage, while repaired, still affects the value? An appraiser would have to note that when you get the appraisal.

Generally, you can recover diminished value when the damage to the car exceeds 25% of its fair market value at the time of the accident. If you received diministed value in the accident claim, you were already compensated for the loss but the fact that the car was in an accident and that it is worth less now because of it should be noted on the appraisals.

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Answered on 7/13/12, 6:15 pm


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