@Ragman,
Those sorts of damages would be very difficult to prove, but not impossible. For instance, if
sstainba could produce an expert who would testify as to the diminished resale value of the car, she might be able to recover that amount. So, for example, if an undamaged car would get $50,000 upon resale, whereas a damaged car would only get $40,000, it seems to me that the negligent driver was responsible for that $10,000 difference and should pay for it.
Now, does that happen in real life? No. In real life, the at-fault driver's insurer pays the repair bill and everyone moves on with their lives. I've never heard of a case where a person in
sstainba's position would reject the insurance payout and sue an insured driver for those kinds of consequential damages. It's theoretically possible, but it just never happens.