Help with a body shop issue

[bdcardinal]

Our Kia list has over 200 parts on it now. GM is actually doing better recently, but not pre-strike better.

Just finished doing bin counts getting ready for inventory tomorrow. Thankfully we don't have to do the inventory, they have an outside company do it. I found lots of parts that were put away wrong or somehow were just there on the shelf with no history.

 

[cb_13]

What is the last part you are waiting for? My backorder list is down to 7 pages from 9 a month or so ago.

Window moulding for the driver rear window on a super cab 2012.

 

[SeaJay]

In hindsight that would have been much better. Let them fix it the way they insurance was willing to pay. Pay my deductible, trade it and let the bondo in the door be someone else’s problem.

This is the reason that cars that have been in accidents are worth less than cars not in accidents. Getting insurers to pay to fix it to your individual standards of repair is not always possible without sharing some of those costs. Buyers are naturally skeptical of the quality of repairs to cars that have been in an accident.

In some states insurers are not required to use only OEM branded new parts and their premium rates are set assuming they can get away with less expensive parts, helping to keep premiums lower than they otherwise would be if brand new OEM replacement parts were always required to be used.

It is unfortunate, but that is how it often works.

 

[Wolf359]

This is the reason that cars that have been in accidents are worth less than cars not in accidents. Getting insurers to pay to fix it to your individual standards of repair is not always possible without sharing some of those costs. Buyers are naturally skeptical of the quality of repairs to cars that have been in an accident.

In some states insurers are not required to use only OEM branded new parts and their premium rates are set assuming they can get away with less expensive parts, helping to keep premiums lower than they otherwise would be if brand new OEM replacement parts were always required to be used.

It is unfortunate, but that is how it often works.

The flip side of that is that that is their leverage against the OEM for setting prices too high. The OEM manufacturers know that certain parts like fenders, the only people who buy them are in wrecks and the insurance company will pay whatever they charge. So they can price them high, but if they price them too high, then there's aftermarket parts that will undercut them. In theory, the manufacturer should be the lowest price as they have the highest volume. But when they charge the most, the aftermarket comes in.

 

[Crash Bandicoot]

That’s what the shop and Progressive wanted, was to supply the salvage yard mirror, headlamp and aftermarket fender to be used.

I will never again accept an insurance company paying directly for the repairs. They can pay me and I’ll have it fixed the way I want. That’s how any claim I’ve had in the past has worked. It seems that a lack of knowledge of the process Progressive uses really complicated things for me.

Why would you want to be your own claims Adjuster? As long as the body shop is approved by your insurance company then I’m confused, I’ve had collision work done a handful of times and have always used a shop that is “in network” and have never had issues with quality of parts and quality of work. Almost every insurance claim I’ve ever had required a supplement.

Also Progressive is awful. I worked for enterprise in college and they were hands down the absolute worst company to work with (Chubb, Geico, and USAA the best), we’d have claimants that had 3 row SUVs and Progressive would try and book them an economy car (something all the insurance companies do) the kicker was unlike every other company when we called them to correct the error instead of approving a bigger car instantly instead they’d tried to negotiate for a small car.

How are you going to put a guy who is not at fault who is driving a Ford Expedition into a Nissan Sentra and claim that’s fair idemnification? I refuse to do business with them based on how they do business with others.

 

[avacado11]

On a vehicle without a lien, usually the insurance company cuts a check to you and it’s yours to do as you please. I find it odd they directly paid the body shop. The check is always paid to the vehicle owner and/or the lien holder so I’m confused how they directly paid the body shop.

A direction of pay is signed almost every time when you drop a car off for insurance work. Basically one less thing the shop has to worry about - finishing a job then customer doesn't want to pay because they spent the check on something else.

 

[Blinker]

A direction of pay is signed almost every time when you drop a car off for insurance work. Basically one less thing the shop has to worry about - finishing a job then customer doesn't want to pay because they spent the check on something else.

Maybe on a vehicle that has a lien on it. I’ve had a few insurance checks throughout the years and they were paid directly to me. However, my cars didn’t have a lien on the title.

 

[avacado11]

Sounds like a back room deal gone wrong and messy. I say pay the $132 and put it behind you. No point in stressing out over all this bs. Obviously the body shop didn't think this through either.

I would never allow customer to pick n choose what parts they want to supply, or atleast not until I have a supplement approved for every single thing required to make the car whole. From there I can work out what the customer cost would be depending on what insurance is paying for. That being said most reputable bodyshops will always try to push for OEM parts, it is up to the individual insurance adjuster to make the final call. *most* adjusters will sign off OEM parts but then some shops will use lkq/aftermarket to pocket the difference. Can't say every shop does this or that I've never done it before, almost always on the cheaper cars where insurance isn't paying jack sh*t on for labor. Higher end cars pay more labor so I will replace with OEM. If the customer requests OEM I will use it for every approved part. If customer has an issue with non oem approved parts I tell them to take it up with their insurance - body shops are only there to perform the repair. We do what we can but if insurance says no it's a no for us. Customer always has more leverage with the insurance company.

 

[avacado11]

Maybe on a vehicle that has a lien on it. I’ve had a few insurance checks throughout the years and they were paid directly to me. However, my cars didn’t have a lien on the title.

The DoP is basically a guarantee way for a shop to get paid. The only instance where I didn't do a DoP was if the insurance paid the customer for original estimate and they just bring the car to me to pay "out of pocket". Alot of smaller repairs are like this too.

 

[cb_13]

Issue has been resolved. The body shop is refunding me what insurance paid for the parts I supplied.

I am of course paying them for the additional labor of replacing the door skin compared to repairing the damaged one. Which I approved up front when I told them that was the way I would prefer to have it repaired.

I was contacted by an estimator from their main office who went over the billing with me and agreed they should not mark up the parts I supplied.

 

[cb_13]

Why would you want to be your own claims Adjuster? As long as the body shop is approved by your insurance company then I’m confused, I’ve had collision work done a handful of times and have always used a shop that is “in network” and have never had issues with quality of parts and quality of work. Almost every insurance claim I’ve ever had required a supplement.

Also Progressive is awful. I worked for enterprise in college and they were hands down the absolute worst company to work with (Chubb, Geico, and USAA the best), we’d have claimants that had 3 row SUVs and Progressive would try and book them an economy car (something all the insurance companies do) the kicker was unlike every other company when we called them to correct the error instead of approving a bigger car instantly instead they’d tried to negotiate for a small car.

How are you going to put a guy who is not at fault who is driving a Ford Expedition into a Nissan Sentra and claim that’s fair idemnification? I refuse to do business with them based on how they do business with others.

I don't want to be my own adjuster. I just want an estimate, to be able to speak with the adjuster or have an estimate done at a local body shop not through digital images and for them to cut me a check. Why would I want an aftermarket headlamp and a salvage yard mirror when I can get an OE mirror for $120 less and an oe headlamp for $170 less. If it meant I had to take my vehicle to a smaller or at home shop I'd be willing to do that as well. Having alternative transportation and not relying on a rental vehicle gives me that option.

 

[Crash Bandicoot]

I don't want to be my own adjuster. I just want an estimate, to be able to speak with the adjuster or have an estimate done at a local body shop not through digital images and for them to cut me a check. Why would I want an aftermarket headlamp and a salvage yard mirror when I can get an OE mirror for $120 less and an oe headlamp for $170 less. If it meant I had to take my vehicle to a smaller or at home shop I'd be willing to do that as well. Having alternative transportation and not relying on a rental vehicle gives me that option.

Couple of things, this sounds like you need to shop policies that specify OEM parts only often times this is called “OEM coverage”. Chubb has that as part of their offerings, I’m sure other companies the same.

Also as a lesson learned most of this could have been avoided by not jumping in front of the insurance company process and truth be told having the insurance company handle the payment and parts procurement with the body shop directly is almost always less of a pain in the ass. I’m surprised they used your parts at all on an insurance repair.