Accident repair journey

[serpent]

For the best peace of mind use a dual camera dashcam. I have a dr650-2ch installed in my car and every time I've been hit told the offender to smile your on candid camera. I've never had a problem collecting and have sent the clips into insurance company to prove my 0% liability.

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[LSchicago]

About $8,000 in damage. I used a private body shop to fix mine, one I knew very well (I used to tow their cars in) and they did a perfect job. Even replicated the vin etch sticker under the hood.

ON EDIT: Not a vin sticker, but a dealer add on serialized registered identification sticker. It doesn't actually contain the vehicles VIN#.

 

[druby]

Hopefully you don't have Liberty Mutual. My son was in a crash with an adult woman last fall. She received a citation for travelling in a turn lane, and in the end Liberty Mutual still found a way to blame the teenager. They paid for the damage, but we had to pay the deductable and it goes on our rates. Definitely don't even talk to the other company. They just want to save money. Make your company do their jobs.

 

[swooshdave]

Even replicated the vin etch sticker under the hood.

I didn't know that was a thing.

 

[LSchicago]

I didn't know that was a thing.

I didn't know that was a thing.

Yes, one of the reasons I use that shop. They are very detail oriented. They take measurements of the decals, along with high quality pics, and another company prints them. Looks fresh from the dealer afterwards.

 

[65 Cobra]

I didn't know that was a thing.

I can not find any vin stickers on the body panels. Not sure went they stopped being a thing.

 

[65 Cobra]

Hopefully you don't have Liberty Mutual. My son was in a crash with an adult woman last fall. She received a citation for travelling in a turn lane, and in the end Liberty Mutual still found a way to blame the teenager. They paid for the damage, but we had to pay the deductable and it goes on our rates. Definitely don't even talk to the other company. They just want to save money. Make your company do their jobs.

I am working with the other company, Farmers. I have State Farm and if I go through State Farm, I have to claim it against his policy and then hope State Farm recoveres.

Farmers has already written me an initial check. I am taking to to Ford next Monday.

Farmer's also says they recognize diminished value and that will be settled after the repairs are complete. Sounds like that is the last step and DV is a product of the final damage total.

What is a fair DV settlement? Ford seems to think the damage will grow from the initial ~6200 to about 8500 as it appears the adaptive cruise and collision avoidance sensors toast. They also want to blend the top of both fenders for color matching the hood. This car had an MSRP of 51,520 and has 2,514 miles.

thanks

 

[Cobra Jet]

About $8,000 in damage. I used a private body shop to fix mine, one I knew very well (I used to tow their cars in) and they did a perfect job. Even replicated the vin etch sticker under the hood.

I didn't know that was a thing.

Actually in some States, might even be all... replicating any VIN identifier onto a replacement crash panel is illegal, could be considered fraud and if caught, a felony violation.

If the replaced crash panel was a genuine Ford sourced part, I know for a fact such replacement sheet metal OR urethane parts used to come with a white label. That label had the Ford oval watermark in the white area and in bold black letters in the center of that label, it would read “DOT-R”. A body shop who values their license (EXCLUDING classic or other types of legal restoration services), should not be replacing DOT-R labels (for any vehicle manufacturer) with replicated VIN labels... that is really shady. Overseas sheet metal or urethane replacement parts are NOT allowed to use “DOT-R” labeling, because in many instances the parts have not gone through the same stringent manufacturing or safety standards. DOT-R means that the crash panel was approved and meets or exceeds all standards as designed for quality, durability and most importantly safety.

Also to note for those who use CarFax and Autocheck or any other type of VIN history service - not all wrecks show up on those reports. So if a body shop is doing something like the above, guess you’ll never know that the vehicle was wrecked....

https://www.nicbtraining.org/documents/vehicle_id_insp_guide_010611.pdf

and so you all don’t think I’m talking outta my ass, here’s Illinois State Law - hope that Body Shop doesn’t make it a standard practice....

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=093-0456&GA=93

 

[65 Cobra]

I recall the VIN panel stickers on my fox bodies and SN95 cars. They looked similar to this...

I do not see any vin stickers on the S550 body panels.

There are some stickers under the hood detailing engine specs. They have to be replaced by law a when a hood is replaced and Ford sells the strickers.

 

[LSchicago]

Actually in some States, might even be all... replicating any VIN identifier onto a replacement crash panel is illegal, could be considered fraud and if caught, a felony violation.

If the replaced crash panel was a genuine Ford sourced part, I know for a fact such replacement sheet metal OR urethane parts used to come with a white label. That label had the Ford oval watermark in the white area and in bold black letters in the center of that label, it would read “DOT-R”. A body shop who values their license (EXCLUDING classic or other types of legal restoration services), should not be replacing DOT-R labels (for any vehicle manufacturer) with replicated VIN labels... that is really shady. Overseas sheet metal or urethane replacement parts are NOT allowed to use “DOT-R” labeling, because in many instances the parts have not gone through the same stringent manufacturing or safety standards. DOT-R means that the crash panel was approved and meets or exceeds all standards as designed for quality, durability and most importantly safety.

Also to note for those who use CarFax and Autocheck or any other type of VIN history service - not all wrecks show up on those reports. So if a body shop is doing something like the above, guess you’ll never know that the vehicle was wrecked....

https://www.nicbtraining.org/documents/vehicle_id_insp_guide_010611.pdf

and so you all don’t think I’m talking outta my ass, here’s Illinois State Law - hope that Body Shop doesn’t make it a standard practice....

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=093-0456&GA=93

It's actually not a vin#. It's an etch identifier number (as well as the emissions label) It was a dealer add on from the dealer my dealer traded to get it. Nothing illegal in replicating it. All parts replaced on my car were OEM except the decals on the underside of the hood.

 

[dbegley]

Farmers is going to try to fix your car as cheaply as they can especially since you are NOT their customer. Get a couple of estimates. I'd get one from your Ford dealer. Those insurance companies are in the business to pay what they have to and not what you want them to. You want it returned to the shape it was prior. I had a lady back into the passenger door of my 97 VR4 3000 GT. She had State Farm. I ended up fighting with them and taking it to a shop of my choice and not theirs. The repairs cost almost 2X more than what their body shop estimated it at.

 

[65 Cobra]

Farmers is going to try to fix your car as cheaply as they can especially since you are NOT their customer. Get a couple of estimates. I'd get one from your Ford dealer. Those insurance companies are in the business to pay what they have to and not what you want them to. You want it returned to the shape it was prior. I had a lady back into the passenger door of my 97 VR4 3000 GT. She had State Farm. I ended up fighting with them and taking it to a shop of my choice and not theirs. The repairs cost almost 2X more than what their body shop estimated it at.

Farmers is only paying the bill at this point. I took the car to the shop of my choice (hope I choose wisely) and Farmers will cover all damage. Only OEM parts, it is the law on new cars in TN. Farmer's did an initial estimate and cut me a check. Once torn down they will write me a check for the supplemental findings. What at first glance what appears to be a bumper jobis going to end up in the 9K range. Safe and Smart and adaptive cruise sensors were not caught in the initial. FYI, a 2018 headlight is 1600.

 

[65 Cobra]

Dropped off at the local Ford dealer's collision center this morning...

 

[65 Cobra]

They have it broken down. Waiting on parts.

It did get the front collision sensor. I have not seen a price tag on the sensor, they are doing a supplement adjustment with insurance.

Shops says it is in the 1600 range.

These cars are expensive to repair. I would have guessed this was 3-4K in damage but it will end up being over 8K.

 

[Brazos609]

I would try to find a takeoff stock hood and bumper cover that is already the correct paint color.

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