question about crash
Dec 8, 2008, 03:46 AM
#16
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my car was hit a couple months back. some deutsch backed his piece of crap truck into the front of it. from the outside the hood, headlights, front bumper, and grill/emblem were all screwed. but when i actually got it into the shop i had an almost unnoticeably dented intercooler (which they let me keep in addition to a brand new one installed), and a radiator fan that was supposedly "damaged" that could not be seen until the car had been torn down. anyways, the repair ended up costing 8200 because the shop only used factory parts straight from mitsubishi. LOL 1200 for a new aluminum MR hood and 1400+ for EACH HID headlight that had been cracked. I just took it to a shop that was recommended by the insurance. i never saw an adjuster. i took it to the shop, they fixed whatever was wrong, i never paid a dime. good stuff. kinda wish i could have gotten them to cut me a check instead and gotten some JDM headlights and a voltex hood out of it though... hell it would have been cheaper! would have been a lot longer process and much more headaches i'm sure though. the guy at the body shop got such a kick out of how expensive everything was, all he could say though was "you don't care right? you're not paying for it" makes me wonder if all the repairs were actually necessary. baby ended up in better shape than it was before the accident! good luck to you though bud. at least ur ok!
Dec 8, 2008, 06:12 PM
#18
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Easier just to get it fixed at a shop. They always low ball everything. They are hoping you'll see the money and get all excited and not do anything. Then if you get into another accident...they don't have to pay anything since you never got it repaired. I rather just have a shop do it and have proof.
Dec 8, 2008, 08:07 PM
#20
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Incidents like this are the exact reason that whenever I move to a new city, which I have done alot in the last 10 years, I immediately get with a local club of some sort and find the guy who works at a body shop.
The estimator will cut a check for damage they see as obvious, but unless you get it inspected and get an estimate from a licensed shop, that first check is all you're going to get. Generally the adjuster and the shop will see things differently, as the shop will remove stuff and find more damage. So the shop puts in an addition to the original estimate that the insurance adjuster made. This is totally common and happens with almost every repair.
You best bet is have the insurance adjuster look at it. He/she will report back to the insurance company an initial estimate based on external observations. Take the car to a shop that offers free estimates or where you know someone. Have them do a second estimate and send your insurance company the new estimate. Your insurance company, provided they like the shop you went to, will base the new repair estimate on the shop estimate.
The insurance adjuster will almost always lowball the initial estimate so the second estimate is pretty much mandatory. The adjuster is not going to tear into the car and wont see anything wrong other than whats on the surface.
If you know the shop, tell them what your doing and either work the repair through them with parts that you outsourced or have the insurance company cut you the check directly. I did this with my car when my wife hit a tire the first day she had it. I had a friend at a Ford dealer body shop do the adjustment to the initial estimate and had the shop do all the work. The insurance company wanted to replace parts with in kind parts but since I did it through my friend, I ended up with the APR IX front end and had a couple of dollars in hand.
/brox
The estimator will cut a check for damage they see as obvious, but unless you get it inspected and get an estimate from a licensed shop, that first check is all you're going to get. Generally the adjuster and the shop will see things differently, as the shop will remove stuff and find more damage. So the shop puts in an addition to the original estimate that the insurance adjuster made. This is totally common and happens with almost every repair.
You best bet is have the insurance adjuster look at it. He/she will report back to the insurance company an initial estimate based on external observations. Take the car to a shop that offers free estimates or where you know someone. Have them do a second estimate and send your insurance company the new estimate. Your insurance company, provided they like the shop you went to, will base the new repair estimate on the shop estimate.
The insurance adjuster will almost always lowball the initial estimate so the second estimate is pretty much mandatory. The adjuster is not going to tear into the car and wont see anything wrong other than whats on the surface.
If you know the shop, tell them what your doing and either work the repair through them with parts that you outsourced or have the insurance company cut you the check directly. I did this with my car when my wife hit a tire the first day she had it. I had a friend at a Ford dealer body shop do the adjustment to the initial estimate and had the shop do all the work. The insurance company wanted to replace parts with in kind parts but since I did it through my friend, I ended up with the APR IX front end and had a couple of dollars in hand.
/brox
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