S550 Accident/Repair

[MurderPony]

Lots of things

Many of the items listed are not visible in the photos you posted. You should go to the shop and have them show you each item explaining why it needed to be repaired, replaced or removed. I would also ask for a complete set of original and in process photos taken by both the shop and geico.

The shop is definitely one that likes to nickel and dime estimates. Could mean they have a bad relationship with Geico or it could just be who they are. We have Mercedes, BMW, Porscche etc... Dealers in Beverly Hills who don't get that picky on estimates.

Some of the items don't make sense. No need to remove the front windshield. Our windshields do not have moldings and have huge gaps for back taping. The damage does not look significant enough to justify replacing the rear body panel and they don't explain or provide a part number for the Inner Panel for $514 + 11.0 hours. No photos that Justin the need to blend the right 1/4 and they charged to spray color on half your roof and clear the whole thing but they aren't going to put any color on it so it should be clear only. They are not going to remove the battery they are only going to disconnect and reconnect it or attach a monitoring surge protector to it. No need to remove the doors and by no need I mean Ive never seen a shop ask for this for this type of repair and you don't want them to for alignment and wind noise reasons. They also have repair time on both side members which seems odd but again there's no photos. They have 7.3 hours for wet sand when 99% of shops charge .5 per panel which would be 3 hours. Think about it 7.3 hours means they would spend an entire day hand sanding the 5 parts they painted! No chance. You could remove all of the clear coat in that amount of time.

Like someone else posted its the insurance companies money so not sure how much it really matters to you but they are doing structural repairs, removing structural panels, pulling your unibody on a frame machine so you should make sure you understand what they are doing. Oh also ask for a copy of the frame print out before and after pulls that will show measurements in millimeters all of which should be less than 3.0 mm. If they don't have electronic measuring equipment I would be concerned.

It is possible that all of it is justified but you would need 20+ additional photos and even if so they still overcharged and did some operations that are not necessary and most would consider over repairing which is not a good thing. The less parts they touch, remove or paint the better.

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[15Pony]

***As a side note, did anyone know that our tail lights are $900! The estimate called for my left tail light to be replaced. The 3 diagonal lights were fine but the black plastic housing had a small crack in the bottom.***

I looked up prices on buyfordpartsonline.com and it says the tail light housing is indeed $900 but their price is $594. I'm sure all the other parts are similarly discounted. Although when you deal with the shop you have to pay full price there is definitely some wiggle room in those prices. You can look up all the other parts on that site.

 

[Codog23]

I hit a deer in 2009 with my 2006 mustang and I needed a new front bumper, bumper cover, head lights, hood, both fenders, a radiator, and obviously paint and the whole job was 7k. Based on the little damage you have, I cannot see it costing more than 2k, even with some hidden damage.

 

[15Pony]

I looked up prices on buyfordpartsonline.com and it says the tail light housing is indeed $900 but their price is $594. I'm sure all the other parts are similarly discounted. Although when you deal with the shop you have to pay full price there is definitely some wiggle room in those prices. You can look up all the other parts on that site.

And if you REALLY want to see expensive take a look at the headlights! Housing alone is $1,300, HID bulb is $380, and ballast is $376. Holy crap, that is $2,000 for just one headlight!!!

 

[Wblv17]

But look into the DV claim on the other drivers insurance. Your entitled to it. Good Luck


let me know if you need my guys info for dv, 4000 to 6000 it should be

 

[MSMStannyl]

Lots of things

Many of the items listed are not visible in the photos you posted. You should go to the shop and have them show you each item explaining why it needed to be repaired, replaced or removed. I would also ask for a complete set of original and in process photos taken by both the shop and geico.

The shop is definitely one that likes to nickel and dime estimates. Could mean they have a bad relationship with Geico or it could just be who they are. We have Mercedes, BMW, Porscche etc... Dealers in Beverly Hills who don't get that picky on estimates.

Some of the items don't make sense. No need to remove the front windshield. Our windshields do not have moldings and have huge gaps for back taping. The damage does not look significant enough to justify replacing the rear body panel and they don't explain or provide a part number for the Inner Panel for $514 + 11.0 hours. No photos that Justin the need to blend the right 1/4 and they charged to spray color on half your roof and clear the whole thing but they aren't going to put any color on it so it should be clear only. They are not going to remove the battery they are only going to disconnect and reconnect it or attach a monitoring surge protector to it. No need to remove the doors and by no need I mean Ive never seen a shop ask for this for this type of repair and you don't want them to for alignment and wind noise reasons. They also have repair time on both side members which seems odd but again there's no photos. They have 7.3 hours for wet sand when 99% of shops charge .5 per panel which would be 3 hours. Think about it 7.3 hours means they would spend an entire day hand sanding the 5 parts they painted! No chance. You could remove all of the clear coat in that amount of time.

Like someone else posted its the insurance companies money so not sure how much it really matters to you but they are doing structural repairs, removing structural panels, pulling your unibody on a frame machine so you should make sure you understand what they are doing. Oh also ask for a copy of the frame print out before and after pulls that will show measurements in millimeters all of which should be less than 3.0 mm. If they don't have electronic measuring equipment I would be concerned.

It is possible that all of it is justified but you would need 20+ additional photos and even if so they still overcharged and did some operations that are not necessary and most would consider over repairing which is not a good thing. The less parts they touch, remove or paint the better.

Thanks for the info. Yeh, I actually stopped by there yesterday afternoon to ask some questions (didn't see the car though). I was wondering why they had all of these items for the front of the car. I had/have an issue with my fastback glass being crooked from the factory (as many people do) and I know they were going to try to pull it and replace it under this claim. Apparently their reasoning for removing the front and rear glass was access. Same with the exhaust which was fine but needed to be removed for access to panels apparently.

I don't really know what's going on anymore. This really does seem to be getting out of hand but, as I said, it's all on the other persons policy and Geico's adjuster approved it. I just want my car back!! Even though these guys are friends of mine, I think I'd really have to reconsider taking it there if something ever happened down the road. They do a really good job, and maybe this estimate is a sign of them not cutting ANY corners but I don't know anymore.

Best part is that after discussing the supplement with the owner yesterday, he said he had a few questions for me "that I wouldn't like". However, he wouldn't tell me because it was the end of the day and they were super busy wrapping things up. Said he'd call me today to discuss whatever it is. I asked him if whatever it was would delay my repairs and he said no so I have no clue what it could be about. It's got me kind of nervous...

 

[klumpikat]

The alignment between the rear quarter and trunk on the collision side is all screwed up as well, so I wonder how much "finessing" that takes

This ^^^^

I noticed the very same thing. $$$

 

[MSMStannyl]

But look into the DV claim on the other drivers insurance. Your entitled to it. Good Luck


let me know if you need my guys info for dv, 4000 to 6000 it should be

What does that mean exactly? I'm still trying to fully understand the procedure for a DV claim. My understanding is that I need to wait to get my car back first, right? Then, do I contact GEICO about it and see what they offer before getting wrapped up in documentation?

 

[ktapia]

I'm trying to understand the procedure for a DV claim as well. My car got rear ended while at a stoplight yesterday and boy does it SUCK. :(

 

[jcovaltine]

Question for anyone. I was rear ended while at a stop light. The person has insurance and I have been dealing directly with their insurance. Total damages on my vehicle were $714.00. Basically paint the bumper and re-apply coating on the bumper I had on previously. According to the DMV (California if that makes a difference) I don't need to report the accident if its under $750.00 in property damages. The auto insurance company is telling me I have to since I am getting a rental car and that will bump the total cost over $750.00. I'm not sure what's going on here. I don't see how rental car use can be considered under property damage.

 

[MSMStannyl]

What do you mean by "report the accident"? Are you talking about reporting it to YOUR insurance or something else? If you're dealing directly with the other person insurance, I don't think you need to report it to yours. Some people like to just to cover all the bases but they shouldn't really need to get involved. I think that ultimately, the at-fault insurance is going to look at the total payout. This will include repairs, rental, any settlements, etc. I've never heard of the reporting law you're talking about that it could be a Cali thing.

I can't believe you're only at $700 in damage! I swear my minimal damage looked to be about that (initial estimate of $1500 wasn't too far off). However, next thing I knew, I was at over $10k in damages after the supplement was written!!!

Anyway good luck with everything.

 

[MSMStannyl]

Figured I'd do a general update since it's been a while:

So I finally got my car back on the afternoon of 8/19. Unfortunately, I only had a few hours to drive it around before putting it in the garage for 4 days while I went off to Vegas.

The body shop told me at the time of pickup that they would need it back for a day at some point the following week. Apparently the paint was too soft and the car still needed to be polished, etc. They knew I wanted it back, plus they were about a week past the time that I was "promised" the car.

Came back from Vegas, made arrangements to drop it off for a day. They did the polishing. The paint job looks great overall. Plus, they actually fixed some of the crappy panel gaps that came from the factory. However, I wasn't happy with the trunk lid alignment. To be honest, I also wasn't happy with how they were trying to fix the trunk lid alignment which was by opening the trunk and literally pushing on it horizontally to basically "bend" the hinges into position.

Also, the weather strip at the bottom of the fast back glass (where it meets the trunk) was coming off. They ordered a new one and I will now have to drop it off to them tomorrow to replace this piece, finish the trunk alignment, and fix a metallic rattle that I'm hearing under the rear of the car on startup. Hopefully this will be it.

On another note, I finally contacted a DV Claims expert yesterday. Guy sounds very knowledgeable with the process. After giving him all the facts of the case (MSRP of the car, age of the car, mileage, damage estimate, etc.) he thinks I should have a big DV settlement. Big enough that a lawyer will probably be involved (in MD, anything over $5,000 takes it out of small claims court). Next step is to meet with him to have him inspect the car and start the research and report. Fingers crossed. God knows I'm owed something for this whole freaking mess...

 

[ktapia]

Good to hear brotha. I've been following this thread closely as I got rear ended as well. It was supposed to be a 3-day repair (just replace the entire bumper). I was supposed to have it back last Friday but I got a call from both the body shop and the 3rd party insurance saying that there was sheet metal damage to the car, and it was going to take about $2,000.00 in addition to the original $2,500.00 the 3rd party insurance approved. Also, I won't get my car back until the 17th of September.. Fml. I'm dealing with Alfa Alliance Insurance Corp, and man are they a pain in the ass. So much that I decided to get a lawyer.

Let me know about your DV claim, and how it goes. I'm going to ask my lawyer about it this Friday when I meet with him. All I know is that a buddy from Ford told me that considering its a new car and it already has damage, the more it devalues but your DV payout will obviously be more. Bittersweet I guess.

At the end of the day though I would take not getting into this mess wayyy over the compensation or settlement for the accident. Just not worth it IMO.

 

[Tugger50H]

Hopefully you get enough DV money to buy a supercharger

 

[MSMStannyl]

Good to hear brotha. I've been following this thread closely as I got rear ended as well. It was supposed to be a 3-day repair (just replace the entire bumper). I was supposed to have it back last Friday but I got a call from both the body shop and the 3rd party insurance saying that there was sheet metal damage to the car, and it was going to take about $2,000.00 in addition to the original $2,500.00 the 3rd party insurance approved. Also, I won't get my car back until the 17th of September.. Fml. I'm dealing with Alfa Alliance Insurance Corp, and man are they a pain in the ass. So much that I decided to get a lawyer.

Let me know about your DV claim, and how it goes. I'm going to ask my lawyer about it this Friday when I meet with him. All I know is that a buddy from Ford told me that considering its a new car and it already has damage, the more it devalues but your DV payout will obviously be more. Bittersweet I guess.

At the end of the day though I would take not getting into this mess wayyy over the compensation or settlement for the accident. Just not worth it IMO.

^ Exactly. I would happily skip a big DV settlement in favor of not getting into this mess in the first place. Honestly, what you describe above sounds basically like what happened to me. I still can't figure out how the hell my damage estimate came out as being over $10K!! That just blows my mind!

I will say however, that since I DID get into an accident, the more the damage estimate, the more the DV claim so it is bittersweet as you said. If I can get a supercharger out of this whole thing, I will definitely forget about all of this quicker and put this accident behind me both literally and figuratively!

Are you hiring a lawyer specifically for the DV claim or were there injuries? I'm definitely not one for frivolous lawsuits. My accident was probably at 5mph or so. Getting out of the car with the good old "My neck! My back! My neck and my back!" kinda thing wasn't going to happen. That being said, Diminished Value is definitely a legitimate claim. The guy I hired for it said it best. He said:

"After +$10k of repairs, the at-fault insurance company has brought your car back to pre-accident condition, however, they have not brought your car back to pre-accident VALUE".

He's absolutely right and frankly, it's sad how many people don't realize this and don't claim anything for DV after an accident where someone hit them.

In any case, this guy was recommended to me by a friend from another shop. I spoke to him on the phone and he seemed like he definitely knew his stuff on this. His fee is a straight up fee based on the research he does and final appraisal/estimate of the car, comparing the pre-accident value to the post-accident value. He said his fee is ultimately $350-$450 depending on the work involved.

According to him, the vast majority of claims basically end there. He does his work and provides you with "official" paperwork with these values which you then present to the at-fault insurance company. At that point a settlement is usually reached.

In rarer cases, such as mine apparently, the claim is much larger. At that point he recommends getting a lawyer involved. I've got a 4 month old car with 9,000 miles on it (at the time of the accident) with +$10k in damages. He said I could still try to go at this myself but he strongly recommended getting a lawyer involved that specialized in DV claims. For one, they do ALL the work and it also lets the insurance company know that this is serious. Hopefully a settlement is reached but if not, you would need a lawyer anyway if the settlement is over $5k. The obvious downside is that the lawyer takes 33.333% of the final settlement.

For me, it's worth it. Honestly, I was thinking (and still expecting) somewhere in the neighborhood of $2k - $5k. If this settlement is up where this guy thinks it will be, losing 33% won't be the end of the world...

Anyway, if you want to talk to this guy, shoot me a PM and I'll get you his info. I see you're in VA. I'm in MD. Not sure if he handles VA as well but if not, he can at least point you in the right direction. He was telling me that a lot of these collision consultants are actually "created" by the insurance companies to basically ensure that they lowball your settlement so be careful who you deal with. Sounds like you already have a lawyer but you still need someone to do the official appraisal to come up with the DV estimate.

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