Don't accept anything less than OEM parts. If anything go through your insurance and then them deal with Flo.
The ‘Yoda was rear ended
- Thread starter dlundblad
- Start date
So your lets say your 10 or less accidents makes you a qualified expert on insurance and makes you a CPCU or licensed expert that can testify in court? Based only on your personal unbiased experience. So based on what you say, I changed the oil on my personal cars so now I'm a certified ASE and OEM Master tech. Thank you for proving my exact argument. Basing and entire industry on a few persolal experiences is overly generalised misinformation. You can buy an OEM only replacement policy, but they are very expensive. The workmanship is left up to the shop, A/M parts must be certified and if they are from big suppliers like keystone and they don't fit keystone will pay the difference for the OEM. So if you had bad repairs in the past its the shop that needs to be held accountable not the insurer.
Per Indiana law, you get a choice of what kind of parts regardless of who’s at fault. I naturally chose new OEM parts for my Ram when I gently booped a telephone pole.
An insurer that is obligated to pay at least part of the cost of repairing the exterior of a motor vehicle under an insurance policy issued by the insurer may not direct a body shop to repair the motor vehicle until the insurer has presented the insured with a written notice that meets the requirements set forth in subsections (b) and (c).
(b) An insurer described in subsection (a) shall present the insured with a written notice that does the following:
(1) Informs the insured that the insured has a right to approve the type of body parts to be used in the repair of the motor vehicle.
(2) Gives the insured an opportunity, in approving the type of body parts to be used in the repair of the motor vehicle, to select from among the following:
(A) New body parts manufactured by or for the manufacturer of the motor vehicle.
(B) New body parts that were not manufactured by or for the manufacturer of the motor vehicle.
(C) Used body parts.
(c) An insurer described in subsection (a) shall give the insured an opportunity to indicate in writing the type of body part that the insured approves for use in the repair of the motor vehicle.
(d) This section applies only in the five (5) years after the model year of the motor vehicle.
An insurer that is obligated to pay at least part of the cost of repairing the exterior of a motor vehicle under an insurance policy issued by the insurer may not direct a body shop to repair the motor vehicle until the insurer has presented the insured with a written notice that meets the requirements set forth in subsections (b) and (c).
(b) An insurer described in subsection (a) shall present the insured with a written notice that does the following:
(1) Informs the insured that the insured has a right to approve the type of body parts to be used in the repair of the motor vehicle.
(2) Gives the insured an opportunity, in approving the type of body parts to be used in the repair of the motor vehicle, to select from among the following:
(A) New body parts manufactured by or for the manufacturer of the motor vehicle.
(B) New body parts that were not manufactured by or for the manufacturer of the motor vehicle.
(C) Used body parts.
(c) An insurer described in subsection (a) shall give the insured an opportunity to indicate in writing the type of body part that the insured approves for use in the repair of the motor vehicle.
(d) This section applies only in the five (5) years after the model year of the motor vehicle.
Nick1994
$100 site donor 2023
Progressive was great to deal with when I totaled the Camry years ago, the other guy had Progressive. They paid me some hush-hush money so I wouldn't sue them for injury (I wasn't and didn't bring it up). Also valued it at way more than I paid for it. Win-win for me.
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OP, progressive are the cheapskate kings of mainstream automotive insurers. (Actually they are all pretty bad) If the unit of damage is not “bad” or if the bumper cover is not available, they will more than likely write the estimate to repair the cover that is currently on the vehicle. Post a picture and i can give you an idea as to if they will want to repair or replace. Your other option is to call your insurance company and ask if they will cover new OEM and see what they say. There is always the option of claiming through your insurance and letting them subrogate. You will be responsible for the deductible, but it will be reimbursed to you when subrogation is complete. I am assuming you have not gone to progressives DRP for a preliminary estimate?
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Welp… just realized you posted pictures earlier. Im going to say that they are going to write it for a repair. Good shop will handle that no priblem. Cover needs to come off and checked for hidden damage. Any competent body shop can handle this with ease.
AutoMechanic
Site Donor 2023
At least she didn’t have Geico LOL. . Everyone that has hit me or my dad has had Geico and they will not do anything for you. It’s always a nasty battle with them. Sorry about your 4Runner those are very nice cars also very tough too. I would not take anything but factory for something that new and aftermarket probably would not be available yet anyway.
I had a terrible battle with someone who had Geico that hit me. Finally had to file a claim with my own insurance company. My insurance then settled with Geico for almost 100% of the claim.
NEVER -EVER will I do business with Geico-no matter how cheap they are-supposedly.
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Yea-he might end up with an additional $200.00. So many on here have tried that avenue-with little results.
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Dude you should try being on the collision center end performing the repairs for those yaahoo’s. Im not even sure how they manage to get repair facilities to sign up to be a preferred vendor. DRP’s are required to perform these kinda of “bumper job” repairs, with a 24 hour turn around, from the time the vehicle is dropped off, to the time that the customer is back out of the rental and picks up. They are pulling out of the parking lot and the clear isnt even cured. Its crazy. I generally wont even do GEICO hail repair claims unless i’m hard up.
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Its because they are. They have ruined the industry. Quality collision repairs are few and far between now days. Theres just no money in it anymore. No one cares. Insurance companies have absolutely ruined it. They will fight you tooth and nail over repair times just to save 40 bucks. Most all bodyshop owners i know are soured and i know alot of them.
Well...you have a company like Caliber Auto Body who has been buying body shops all over the place. There must be "economy of scale" and some money in it. They are not expanding to lose money.
quote-
"There are 1,475 Caliber Collision locations in the United States as of March 22, 2022. The state with the most number of Caliber Collision locations in the US is California, with 298 locations, which is 20% of all Caliber Collision locations in America. 1,475 Locations 40 States 846 Cities"
Number of Caliber Collision locations in the USA in 2023 | ScrapeHero
There are 1,655 Caliber Collision locations in the United States as of February 01, 2023. The state/territory with the most number of Caliber Collision locations in the US is California with 316 locations, which is 19% of all Caliber Collision locations in America.
www.scrapehero.com
Yea-I would imagine quality probably varies from one location to the next.
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Caliber is just as bad as the insurance companies. They are in bed together. Of course there is money in it whenever you have 1,475 locations. They get rich 1,475 dollars at a time. Caliber is trash. I managed independent collision centers for years. 12% net if lucky. Usually between 8-10%. You have to run crazy numbers to make it. Theres no money in it.Well...you have a company like Caliber Auto Body who has been buying body shops all over the place. There must be "economy of scale" and some money in it. They are not expanding to lose money.
quote-
"There are 1,475 Caliber Collision locations in the United States as of March 22, 2022. The state with the most number of Caliber Collision locations in the US is California, with 298 locations, which is 20% of all Caliber Collision locations in America. 1,475 Locations 40 States 846 Cities"
Number of Caliber Collision locations in the USA in 2023 | ScrapeHero
There are 1,655 Caliber Collision locations in the United States as of February 01, 2023. The state/territory with the most number of Caliber Collision locations in the US is California with 316 locations, which is 19% of all Caliber Collision locations in America.www.scrapehero.com
Yea-I would imagine quality probably varies from one location to the next.
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So-as with many independent small bushiness-the big guys are squeezing the little guys out. Yes-this story is being repeated with many industries. Probably started first with supermarkets-many years ago.
Big evil corporations.....kind of like car dealers.
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Correct. There is a reason all of the indi’s are selling out to Caliber. Its just too much to deal with anymore for the return. Caliber came in with investment power as the low price leader and gobbled up everything. Whole sale pricing to the insurance companies is the name of their game. Some of their stores go in the hole every month. Its a numbers game when you own it all. Their newest endeavor is in the automotive maintenance and service industry. If they build a new stand alone store, odds are there is a service center built next door. Service king is the other corporate collision industry killer. Think… MACO that will cut a car in half and weld it back together. but on an organized scale. When i was a production painter i averaged 120-140 a year. Granted i killed myself for it, but it was doable. I took a lot of pride in my work. Now most painters would be lucky to make 40-50 and i can assure you that the could care less how it comes out. I was working a hail storm at a caliber in Texas, and the employees made 10-12 an hour. It was a clown show, and their quality of work showed it. They were cutting hail damaged roofs off of cars without R&I’ing ANYTHING. It was the craziest thing i have ever seen. Throw a blanket over the interior, drop the perimeter of the headliner. cut the roof skin out…..NEEEXT! Its gotten bad out there.
Nick1994
$100 site donor 2023
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Totally disagree. I owned a previous “accident” vehicle. I was the guy that purchased it like that. The car was a Lexus LS460. It was a beautiful car. The damage, I believe was right front fender. Visually you could not tell. Mechanically you couldn’t either.
When I went to sell it private party, I fielded at least 20 calls and the first thing I was asked was, “was it ever in an accident”? Every...single...person...asked THAT. Half of them immediately were not interested after hearing yes. The other half used it as an enormous bargaining tool against me. And this was AFTER having to explain every detail, and repair made of an accident I never witnessed. I had to supply the carfax report. I had to walk around the car, pointing out the “damage”. I ended up not selling it, but instead drove it another year or two. Then I traded it in in 2018. Where I again got hit with the “it’s been in an accident”, bs. They offered me $5,000 for the car. We settled on $7,000. They said that it would be going straight to auction and it would likely get between $5,000-$7,000. On the used car market I was asking $15,000 (two years before). I never received a single offer over $11,000 grand.
My point is, these misconceptions you mention, unfortunately are very real in the real world. All it takes is a misconception to drive down your price and cause people to either low ball you, or simply move on to the next vehicle available that has never been in an accident. Because have options, and they will use them when shopping. I’ll never buy another prior accident vehicle because of what I went through trying to sell mine. And I’m sure 90% of them are great cars. Mine was. But I never want to deal with that stuff again.
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What I would do is take pictures of the damages you have right now (If it’s minor). If it’s just a bumper cover and some scratches, and there’s no sign of any extensive damage you can use that to your advantage when you sell it. And if the bumper cover is going to be replaced, ask the body shop to take pictures for you of the lack of damage underneath that bumper.
I personally bought a vehicle in the past that was in a previous accident and it hurt me when I went to sell the vehicle three years later. I could nit sell it private party unless I basically gave it away. Half the people flat out had no interest once they discovered it was in a previous accident...the other half used it as a negotiating tool and low balled me to the point where it was worthless. Same on trade in years later. So keep those pictures for PROOF that all you received was a little tiny bump. None of this is the end of the world either. You’ll keep that SUV a long long time and enjoy every second of it. And no matter what 5-10 years from now, if you take good care of it someone will buy it.
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I’m a body shop technician/foreman and the skill level of body techs has a HUGE spread. We have a full i-car certification but that doesn’t mean ****. I oversee all the repairs and I tell my techs this: “You’re messing with the safety of our clients by doing a substandard repair. If you can’t do it correctly you’ll be working elsewhere “.
That said, there are some aftermarket parts that are of decent quality. First you need to buy CAPA certified parts. Second, close inspection when you receive the part. Third, EVERYTHING is test fitted before paint work to ensure a quality fit and finish.
As for paint, it’s all in what you buy. I use PPG waterborne base with a high end clear coat. My paint looks nicer than factory and covers better. You’d be surprised at how little paint the factories put on. Some Honda’s and most GM cars in silver you can see through the color to the sealer at certain angles.
Lastly is proper corrosion protection application. Every quarter panel, door skin, or welded repair we do gets comprehensive rust preventative measures. Even new factory door shells get corrosion inhibitor regardless if the factory applied any. What we do is probably better than the factory in most cases but it’s necessary when a corrosion prone area is repaired.
My paint work is warranted as long as you own your car, and I give a five year corrosion warranty.
That said, there are some aftermarket parts that are of decent quality. First you need to buy CAPA certified parts. Second, close inspection when you receive the part. Third, EVERYTHING is test fitted before paint work to ensure a quality fit and finish.
As for paint, it’s all in what you buy. I use PPG waterborne base with a high end clear coat. My paint looks nicer than factory and covers better. You’d be surprised at how little paint the factories put on. Some Honda’s and most GM cars in silver you can see through the color to the sealer at certain angles.
Lastly is proper corrosion protection application. Every quarter panel, door skin, or welded repair we do gets comprehensive rust preventative measures. Even new factory door shells get corrosion inhibitor regardless if the factory applied any. What we do is probably better than the factory in most cases but it’s necessary when a corrosion prone area is repaired.
My paint work is warranted as long as you own your car, and I give a five year corrosion warranty.
