I was leaving work last night and a pickup backed into. My driver side rear door took a pretty good hit. The glass didnt break, but the entire door is "V"ed inward and the sheetmetal is gouged about 6 inches across where his bumper dragged. The body looks good, the lines are unbroken and nothing except the door seems out of place.

He already admitted fault to his insurance company and they have reached out to me to talk about process (State Farm). I told them I'd get back to them after I talked to my insurance (USAA) again. I read up online about dealing with insurance companies and am now slightly on the defensive to make sure I dont get screwed. I don't care about making money, but I do want my X back to how it was before random asshat hit me. I googled some of this stuff, but didnt get alot of definitive information, so hopefully the awesome community here can help me out so I'm a little more prepared to deal with the insurance company.

Is the rear door the same for the Evo X as for the same year base model lancer?

Are there any safety crossbars or the like in the door that I should concern myself about if the shop uses non-OEM or refurbished parts? I have a 2 year old and a 2 month old that sit in the back in car seats, so I am concerned about safety.

Is there any differentiation in paint?

I've got the SSS package, is there a specific part number for the rear door Rockford speaker?

The car still feels tight and drives fine, is throwing no codes, and generally behaving as I am used to it - are there any specific things mechnical I should be asking to get looked at from a side impact? The good here is that the pickup hit me high, near the center of the door, not near the wheel. The car rocked up, but didnt shift laterally across the pavement.

Should I be worried about a diminished value claim? The car is completely stock, never modded, and has less than 17,000 miles on it. If so, see next.

Recommendations for shops to take it to for an estimate (Ft. Meade, MD)? I'm already going to the dealership (please no groans about "stealer"ships, its still in warranty, and keeping that warranty 100% valid is important to me), and a friend recommended a body shop that specializes in old cars and performance cars.

Any feedback on how to navigate the process or things to look out for would be greatly appreciated!

 

If it is repaired and done at insurance shop quality (just average quality) a good eye will be able to pick it out. I would definitely replace it with a used door. Messing with a body is a huge hassle and if all that is damaged is a replaceable part why do you need a body shop to complicate it. If it is repaired the paint will not match 100%, the same is with replacing the door.

I would much rather have a non vin match door then being questioned on why the door has been repaired when trying to sell.

As far as the rockford, reuse your current one...

 

Depending on the level of damage they may not even replace your door. If it needs to be replaced I would imagine they would just put your Rockford speaker into the new door.

Mine was hit after only having it a couple of months. I got $1000 for diminished value. I may have been able to get more but just didnt feel like fighting it through the courts.

 

they can match the paint 100% perfectly, shop uses a spectrum camera that makes the specific code to compensate for any fading over time.

You'll probably either get a new door, or, a new door skin. What you DONT want is the door fixed with body filler. That will be easy to figure out, you can look from the backside of the door behind the door panel, or wrap a magnet in a towel and slide down the door, see if anywhere is not metal.

A good body shop will just tack on a new skin, shoot it, and you're on your way none the wiser. There's no body components in there for safety except the crash beam but I'm sure that didn't get hit. It's a simple repair, happens all the time. As long as the body shop is good, you'll never know. If they aren't...you'll know. Don't sign anything.

 

Is the rear door the same for the Evo X as for the same year base model lancer?


No. the doors are not the same. evo rear doors start the flare for the rear wheels.



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You donot have to go to the shop the insurance co. wants you to use. Find a good shop on your owne. The insurance co. has to go what you say. Don't let them jerk you around. Just open your mouth. Make sure they give you a free rental car while
yours in the shop. Find the best shop you can. They are paying for it. Like the other post said. Get a new skin, no bondo. Just open your mouth.

 

Do you have any pictures? I deal with bodyshops on a day to day basis and could give you an idea if the insurance company will likely try to replace or repair that door. Hopefully it didn't bend the window regulator or buckle it in the door.

 

They will probably just transfer the RF speaker over, along with the door trim and the inside of the door unless it absolutely has to be replaced,

Paint matching shouldn't be an issue,

I don't know about the diminished value claim, however, I would take pictures and document all the damage that happened. That way, in the future if you ever "have/need" to sell your evo, you can just show the buyer the pictures, that way they don't have to be skeptical about the carfax showing an accident and you not having any documentation.

Your insurance company would probably be a better help with guiding you through the process. But my understanding of it is,
-the insurance company sends out an agent to take a look at the car and make an estimate.
-The insurance company gives you a list of shops to choose from.
-You pick the shop to get it fixed at, they repair it, and insurance sends them a check.

I've never had to deal with a collision so I don't really know any shops to recommend. But there are a lot in our area. Hope you get everything resolved. And for being local.

 

I have taken both of the extreme approaches to this situation. In one case, because I trusted the insurance rep, I let him deal with getting the car fixed while I drove a rental. In that case, I never touched any money. And I was probably lucky, as the guy did his job (from my perspective) and the car was repaired well.

In the other case, partly because the car was used for racing, so I needed to know exactly what was being done to it (and partly because I took an instant dislike to the insurance rep), I did a bunch of homework (e.g., got two estimates for everything) and then negotiated a cash settlement. I had a free rental up until he handed me the check. At that point, I was on my own. In this case, I came out several thousand ahead, but it was a total PITA.

My advice is to wait to see how you feel about the insurance rep/adjuster. But keep in mind that the idea that you can demand that you car go to a certain shop while they pay for the work is not true in Maryland.

 

What a horrible experience.

No one wants to give you an estimate anymore without an insurance claim number ("You don't need an estimate, just give us the car and we will deal direct with the insurance!") As you pointed out, OK if I have faith, not so much if I think you are going to half *** it.

Everyone that looked at it said door was not reskinnable, had to be replaced, drivers door has light damage to edge where front and rear door meet, rear quarter, gas cap, and rear pylon require blending after door was reshot, and sideskirt needs a little buffing due to some deep scratches just above the door. Door internals were questionable (have to cut it open to see). Overall, an "easy" job is what I heard three times.

The adjuster was either having a really bad day or really bad at her job. She took 4 pictures, sat me in the waiting room, and came back 20 minutes later with a check about 20% lower than my lowest estimate. When I asked why, she immediately went from disinterested to hostile (it was like a switch flipped in her head) and was unable to answer any specific questions I had. (Turns out they estimated labor at a way lower rate and used junk yard / used parts for all the replacement items - which she was unable to articulate to me, the phone rep explained it to me later that night - literally, the response I initially got was "I dont know, I put in the same line items your dealership listed and this is the number I got back.")

I walked out without the check, which in hindsight was rather stupid, as I spent more money in gas to go back and get it after calling the insurance company back up and arguing with them. They refused to budge on the new / OEM parts (car is older than 2 years, doesnt matter if it has 500 miles on it, older than 2 years allows them to replace with "used" parts), refused to do anything about the alignment (wheel was not struck during impact, not thier problem). The only thing they did agree to was upping the amount to cover the labor, but in reality, who cares, all I did was get the dealership more money here, and it's not like they are going to do a "better" job because they got an extra $100 in labor costs. And the only reason they did that was because the adjuster was unable to answer my questions and (ultimately) because they listed my mileage at almost double what it should have been (17k actual and they put 32k on all the paperwork, which I still about).

Overall, seems like even if it's not your fault, you are still screwed, and while you can "take the car anywhere you want", that does not translate to "we will pay to get it fixed anywhere you want". It's like screaming at the weather. Not going to do me a damn bit of good.

Ultimately, I chose to take it to the dealership for 1 primary reason: it is still under full warranty. Anything that happens to it in the next year is still covered under my regular warranty and if they do a crap job, I don't have to argue with the dealership about weather or not Joe Bob's did a poor job, or the mechanicals failed due to wear or the impact, or any of that crap. It's all on them. Of course, at this point, I have little faith that I'll get anywhere with that, but whatever.

Hopefully they do a good job.

 

Oh man, sounds like what happened to me years and years ago. Except it was my own insurance company screwing me when I get hit by a uninsured drunk driver.

I hope your experience goes better with the repair process. Dealing with insurance companies are always a pain in the butt. Their goal is to pay out as little as possible and fix the car for as cheap as possible, (in your case, used parts, and probably a shop that does crappy body work).

Good luck with the repairs!

 

I donot understand. I never have a problem with insurance co. If you have insurance, they are the ones who should settle the problem. That's one reason why you have insurance. If it is not your falt, no deductible. I don't think you guys have good insurance co. or you are not opening your mouth loud enough. I just don't understand it.

 

Lol can someone just answer his question regarding is the door the same as base lancer ?
Sorry man i dont havevthat answer for you

 

I answered that question almost 2 weeks ago. they are different


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The Lancer and the Evo doors are different. Evo doors have a flair. Lancer flat.