Accidents, dealers, and warranties

[DSagun]

So I was involved in a pretty bad accident recently which pretty much incapacitated my Mustang (rear-ended so I was not at fault, thankfully). I've reported everything to insurance (Allstate) and they're taking pretty good care of me. They got me set up with a very reputable body shop and the car is currently there getting repaired.

One thing I didn't think about though is taking my Mustang to the dealer and getting it repaired there. Allstate did give me an option to take the car and get it fixed at other places but I was just anxious to get the repairs started that I'd forgotten to consider going back to Ford.

Now the body shop I took it to is installing all OEM parts which is good, but I'm wondering what this will do to my warranty since the dealer isn't making the repairs? This is my first new car with warranty I've bought from dealer and if something down the road happens (let's say to my rear suspension/subframe/driveshaft whatnot) the dealer can chalk this fault up to the accident and refuse to do any warranty replacement/work.

I'm sure this accident will end up in the car's records too so the dealer will probably find out one way or another and they'll know I didn't take the car to them.

Does anyone have experience with this sort of thing happening?

And the value of my car most likely plummeted because of this accident even though it wasn't my fault. :doh::doh::doh:

Accidents are no fun. :frusty:

All help/advice is greatly appreciated!

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[GoBlues38]

#1 - NEVER let a dealer do your collision body work. Dealers get noobs fresh from trade school who have very little experience. Or they are old timers who just never had a desire or skills to move on to private shops where their ability was in demand.

#2 - you should know what body shop you are using now, before you have a need for one. I could be 500 miles from home, and would demand my car is taken to my shop.

#3 - you have the control and can tell your insurance company what shop you are using. They can't force you to use their preferred shop. The insurance company only uses that shop because they keep costs low by using non oem parts or skimping on labor.

all that being said. As long as your car is put back together properly. There are zero issues with warranty after the fact.

.

 

[DSagun]

The body shop that insurance put me through is actually very reputable and one of the best in town. We've had a few cars go through repairs there over the years and they do good quality work which I don't doubt would be better than what the dealer's shop could do. My main concern was potential warranty work in the future that could be denied because I didn't take it to to the dealer at the time of the accident.

 

[BTM]

You're asking smart questions, I was in this exact same position a few years ago with a 1 year old Mercedes E-Class. My wife was driving it and got rear ended, just like you. Car was driveable, and didn't look too horrible, but it took $12K in repairs - so a fair amount of stuff had to get replaced.

Two key things learned;

1) Make sure your body shop has the certifications (if any) required by the manufacturer. MBZ has a pretty rigorous qualification program, and only a few shops in my area qualified. My insurance company was already aware of this, so that helped.

2) Once the estimates are complete, have your insurance company work up a diminished value ("DV" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diminished_value) claim to pursue against the at-fault party. This MUST be done before the accident claim is closed out by the insurance companies, so don't wait. You are absolutely correct that your car will be worth less now, and it isn't your fault. A DV claim will award you cash now to offset that loss of value. In my case, the MBZ was expected to literally be worth $10K less, even with perfect repairs.

Good luck!

Our incident led to us calling the car "butt-hurt".....ha:headbonk:

 

[DSagun]

[MENTION=21104]BTM[/MENTION]

This is very, very useful information. Thank you very much! I really appreciate the advice.

 

[RushGotti]

They can flag your car if anything engine wise or drive-train wise breaks in the future and they notice the car had been repaired (Shouldn't be noticeable).

That happened to me, My driveshaft was missing a bolt and the rubber was spinning around the driveshaft (How did that happen?).

They noticed a slight discoloration in the paint and a small gap between bumper and hood, They told me if I did a warranty claim, they'd have an inspector check out the car and if he noticed the car was in an accident, then the claim would be denied and the car would be red flagged.

Not sure how true this was, but it was a cheap fix so I just paid out of pocket with their huge discount (One of my friends works there).

 

[Shift]

Can't give you any input, other than making sure you get a diminished value claim. Your cars worth has definitely dropped by the thousands, and you need to recoup as much of it as possible, because you will take the hit when you go to resell down the line.

 

[DSagun]

Thanks for the advice!
[MENTION=14004]RushGotti[/MENTION] Yeah I was wondering too if it would be wise to just be upfront with the dealer now and let them know about the accident and maybe claim some sort of value for the warranty along with my demand package to the at-fault insurance co. (in case I do run into some problems later on and get denied warranty repairs)
[MENTION=19414]Shift[/MENTION] yes I will definitely be filing for a diminished value claim!

 

[CommyO]

Diminished value claim is a waste of time. A lot of these forum guys will tell you a bunch of shit that you gotta deal with. Just take it to a decent shop, get a quote, and get that shit over with and get back to driving. PS I've actually dealt with stuff like this...

 

[DSagun]

Just take it to a decent shop, get a quote, and get that shit over with and get back to driving.

Yup this is definitely getting done now. I'm just so anxious to get my car back lol

But the diminished value thing is a pretty valid concern though I would think. Since the whole accident wasn't my fault, why should I have to deal with my car's value plummeting? I shouldn't have to take a loss at the price should I decide to sell my car, right?

 

[Weather Man]

#1 - NEVER let a dealer do your collision body work. Dealers get noobs fresh from trade school who have very little experience. Or they are old timers who just never had a desire or skills to move on to private shops where their ability was in demand.
.

Not a true statement in our neck of the woods. Best shop around here is a Buick/Nissan/GMC/Lincoln dealership body shop. Their techs are all long time employee's who make good money and know what they are doing.

Private shops are hit or miss around here. They pop up, last a year and then go out of business.

 

[CommyO]

Yup this is definitely getting done now. I'm just so anxious to get my car back lol

But the diminished value thing is a pretty valid concern though I would think. Since the whole accident wasn't my fault, why should I have to deal with my car's value plummeting? I shouldn't have to take a loss at the price should I decide to sell my car, right?

Honestly it's a mustang your depreciation is gonna be crappy anyways. The reason I tell you to avoid it because If you do decide to do it, it won't be an easy battle with insurance as people usyally don't get DV in California. Your time is gonna be wasted but go ahead and try. You might even be lucky enough to pay out the ass for a lawyer.

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