Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Collision Repair

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Collision Repair

    A few days ago, my legally parked car was side-swiped while I was out for dinner. The man who hit my car talked to my girlfriend's parents, gave his insurance info, and left. A witness soon came by, gave a report on what happened, and left contact info.

    The car was hit from the rear bumper surround, and has damage all the way up to the front bumper surround. The driver's side fender and rear quarterpanel are quite dented and have the paint scratched off in about a 2-inch tall strip, with the driver's side door also being pretty badly scratched. The mirror was destroyed, and is currently being held on with duct tape. On my way home from my girlfriend's house, the iS lip of my car fell off on the highway, and I was not able to retrieve it. It has always had issues staying on, and I'm not sure the collision caused it to fall off this time. but it still did less than an hour later.

    Later that night, I was contacted by the man who hit my car's insurance company, saying he assumed responsibility for the collision. As soon as I arrived back at the house, I took a huge amount of pictures, including a few showing how far away from the road I was (about two feet). Safeco, the other man's insurance company, gave me a shop to check out.

    Upon arriving there, the guy working with me walked around the car, took notes, and a bunch of pictures of the damage. After calculating out the repairs, he said it would come to around $2,000, with the other man's insurance company handling the entire bill.

    BUT, he did says that all of the replacement parts will try to be found used, and that the dents and damage done to the entire side of my car will be repaired with a combination of dent-pulling and bondo. I understand this being the case for the quarterpanel, as it is a very difficult part to replace, but am not quite sure about the door and fender. Both are reasonably cheap to find replacements for, and are easy to swap out. He also said that the lip was not going to be covered, as it's loss could not be explained by the collision.

    My car was in near-perfect condition before this happened. While a good body shop, which this definitely is, could bring back just about anything with some muscle and bondo, I do not think it holds up to the quality that the car was in before. When someone else hits your car, I don't believe it should be repaired in a sub-standard way. Remember that HE claimed FULL responsibility for hitting ME, and that his insurance company is the one to set this up. My insurance company is involved, but not handling the repairs. Should I bring it up with my insurance company?

    What does everyone think?
    Last edited by MrGeekFreak; 11-30-2013, 01:02 PM.

    #2
    You'd be surprised what a good body man can do without resorting to bondo. But you aren't going to get that level of work done for $2000. More than likely, the projected work will use a replacement (used) door and front fender as it takes less labor.

    The thing to worry about is not a less than OE result, but rather the insurance company declaring the car to be totaled. It would have to be an exceptional E30 with supporting documentation to justify a $2000 repair bill. Declaring the car totaled typically results when the cost to repair exceeds 75% of the fair market value.
    The car makes it possible, but the driver makes it happen.
    Jim Levie, Huntsville, AL

    Comment


      #3
      Oh man, I guess that is something to worry about.
      If it does get declared as totaled, would it be possible to keep the car, and cash in on the insurance money to fix it? I don't know, I have never been in a collision of any sort, and I want to keep this car, and keep it looking nice.

      Comment


        #4
        Two feet away from the curb is legal in Washington?? Lol, I think we only get 10-12 inches here in MD.

        In any case, the situation blows... hard. But I'll be frank - I'm a little surprised that the insurance company is actually going so far as to repair the car. Like Jim said, be thankful that they didn't just declare the car totaled.... most insurance companies are like "20+ years old, not an old hyper/super, classic or muscle car.... lol, not happening".

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by MrGeekFreak View Post
          Oh man, I guess that is something to worry about.
          If it does get declared as totaled, would it be possible to keep the car, and cash in on the insurance money to fix it? I don't know, I have never been in a collision of any sort, and I want to keep this car, and keep it looking nice.
          In most cases you can take the fair market value settlement less the salvage value of the car and keep the car. After repair it will carry a salvage title.
          The car makes it possible, but the driver makes it happen.
          Jim Levie, Huntsville, AL

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by jalopi View Post
            Two feet away from the curb is legal in Washington?? Lol, I think we only get 10-12 inches here in MD.
            No no, two feet away from the road! It was a road-side parking lot.

            And, I guess we'll just see about the repairs. I have an appointment for the body shop on Monday.

            Comment


              #7
              Lol. I was gonna say... they must have some wide ass streets in Washington to allow that.


              Hope the damage isn't as bad as it seems. Post some pics?

              Comment


                #8
                "I don't think it should be repaired in a sub-standard way"

                It's not. Every car on the planet has filler in it. It's how the filler is utilized that matters. You think if they get a door from a salvage yard that's been on the road for 20+ years it's not going to need a couple dents fixed?

                I work in the collision repair business for a living. I have to run right now, but if you've got further questions I'll try to check back on this thread later.
                sigpic

                Comment


                  #9
                  if a vehicle is 2 calendar years or older the insurance company will request the estimate to be written with used,recond or aftermarket parts. over time the vehicle loses value so it does not make sense for them to use oem when a more economical option.

                  if you in fact did want to go full OEM new parts it would most likely total your car since e30s don't have a high acv value, as long as you get a lifetime warranty ( we would offer lifetime warranty on insurance repairs) I would not be concerned with the vehicle being repaired

                  Comment


                    #10
                    So, after about a week of negotiating, and going to a few shops, the other guy's insurance company has agreed to pay $2,200, in check form, for any repairs that we see fit.

                    My first choice of shop quoted us $1,800 for repairing the small dents on the fenders, and fixing the paint on the scratches.
                    BUT. I could get a brand-new door, front fender, trim, and mirror for less than $1,000 through sourcing them myself. Does anyone think this might be a better option?

                    Comment


                      #11
                      get you rown parts, get them painted and install them your self, pocket the rest

                      Comment


                        #12
                        ^ this. 100%
                        I BUY/SELL REFURBISHED CM5907s & CM5908s

                        HOWTOs:
                        DB vert plastic bumpers
                        OEM Keys
                        MTech1 docs

                        88 ix Lach/Card
                        91 ic Calypso 3.1
                        86 Cosmo 2.7

                        OEM+ or bust!


                        reelizmpro: I will always be an e30 guy.. I still do all of my own labor
                        TrentW: There's just something so right about a well-built M20 in an E30
                        e30m3s54turbo: I save my money for tuner parts.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Awesome, I think I will.
                          What about the quarter panel though? I think the majority of it's problems could be solved with a little bit of clay bar action, but it is a little dented.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            if the paint is not cracked get the dent massaged out by pdr
                            color sand and buff it and your done ( keep in mind I have no idea what your qt panel looks like )

                            Comment


                              #15
                              After about an hour of some intense elbow-work and claybar action, I managed to remove almost all traces of paint from the door. The same should be true for the majority of the fender/quarter panel, but I can tell that some paint is missing on my end.

                              Once I'm done doing whatever I can to fix it, I'll bring it into another shop to get a new quote on paint touch-up.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X