My car is "fixed" after a crash and I'm pissed. Would like some advise from the Hive....

Long story short back story: Hit someone in the passenger side that turned in front of me at 25-40mph with most of my passenger front bumper. Get it towed to a place I didn't feel real comfortable about anyways, since I am forced to have the car towed to their lot since the state police called them without letting myself know they did, as the wife and I discussed who should tow it. But anyways, finally got the adjuster to write out an estimate, $4100. Take to "best" shop in the area. This is what I get back when they called to say it was done....

(Pictures work the best.)

Video: http://vid1089.photobucket.com/albums/i350/Ranger50tt/Jetta/CBACE536-D54A-4170-8843-CC8EECB7302F_zpsap4wy2tb.mp4

They took the hood off to repair a dent in the front edge....

Driver's side gap:

Passenger side gap:

Front bumper cover..... It's aftermarket but....

I guess this is partly a rant on E36 M3ty bodywork and incomplete repairs. I mean this car had to go back to the dealer to reset the airbag module and nobody seems to notice an off center steering wheel? I noticed in under 200'. If the driver's wheel is straight, the passenger one is toed out. I also can't believe that a bumper cover with an obvious parting line from either tape or molding process is allowed to go out the door like that too.

Basically the car has to go back to have whatever is bent or broken and get repaired at the same shop, outside of the obvious bodywork that a layperson could do better. The owner of the shop and I have already been at odds over various parts used in the repair process and how the aftermarket E36 M3 is E36 M3 and I call it out. Upper grille from the AM is gloss black and the OEM part that's damaged is gloss black and that's where the similarities end. Clearly, the AM is painted gloss black (with apparent orange peel or texturing from a E36 M3ty mold), when the OE is MADE to be gloss black. He is arguing they are the same part, "They are both gloss black, what more do you want?" and "Fine." I paid ADDITIONAL money over my deductible to get OE parts vs AM. Don't even get me started on the E36 M3ty AM headlight that's off just enough to be different but looks roughly the same.

So, I guess the question I have is, do I have to be a bigger shiny happy person then I already have been or is there a better way to get closer to a more meaningful repair?

If the shop is running you around, call your insurance company and say you aren't happy. They are paying the shop, and have leverage.

Honestly, I have NEVER been to a body shop and left happy. I don't even want to see the keys until I have a manager walk out with me to check the car. Last car I had to ream out that manager pretty good, he claims he inspected it himself then I asked well why is there so much trash and orange peel here? He argues saying its the same from the factory, I walk to the other side, point at car and say look no orange peel or trash and walk home. Between crappy parts, bad painting techniques and shady employees, body shops scare the crap out of me.

Edit: also check the color difference between the new bumper and a factory painted adjacent panel, they NEVER match and will usually respray it again. Bitch, moan, bitch some more but don't give in, these guys are crooks and you had a perfect car before, it should be perfect afterwards as well. Within reason of course.

In reply to chiodos:

I have never been to a body shop and left happy. Damage was always the fault of other driver, their insurance was paying the bill and still shops did less then professional work and installed used parts.

Used > aftermarket

Tom Suddard wrote: If the shop is running you around, call your insurance company and say you aren't happy. They are paying the shop, and have leverage.

Not necessarily. Was this a "network" shop recommended by insurance, or did you select this shop? If you selected the shop, then they should have paid you directly. If it's a network shop (which is still an independent shop), then the insurance company likely did pay the shop directly. It also means there should be some kind of a warranty with the repair. So if it's a network shop, then yes the insurance company likely has leverage. If it's your own selected shop, then they do not.

You can also ask for invoice for the parts they put on the car. I know it's an argument for another time, but there ARE quality aftermarket parts out there. We write for them all the time, and rarely see fitment issues. There are also cheap quality knock offs. Most shops are honest, but there are shops that will take the money given for a quality part and then buy a cheap part. Be sure they put on what you/they were paid for.

Be pushy with the shop. With the exception of back alley shops, almost all shops have more than a tail light warranty on repairs, so demand they fix it right. Shops want to get cars and get them out, they don't want to see them come back.

There are so many possibilities, I can't cover it all, but I tried to cover the basics. Don't be afraid to PM me if you need advice or help.

Call you agent/insurance co and tell them your story. If you were not entitled to a loaner befor you should be now. And yes bitch about everything. You are paying your insurance to make you whole. From what I saw in those photos you got crap work. Take it to anothe body shop (a good one) and get an estimate to fix everything that is wrong including replacement if non oe parts and present that to your insurance co. I would insist on taking the car elsewhere to be fixed corectly.

Take it back until it is to your satisfaction. End of story, I refused to take my Redline back until it passed snuff....3 times.

In reply to Klayfish:

I chose the shop. The rest are worse than this place IME. There are no network shops within at least 60 miles of me.

This shop used what is available from Keystone. Most AM is still crap. Doesn't matter if it has the CAPA sticker on it or not. LOL!!!! Physically everything fits and that's where the similarities end in my case....

I just don't want to be too much of an shiny happy person and end up with an even crappier repair....

In reply to dean1484:

Already used up 30 days of rental coverage... Although not working at the moment made it a waste....

had one good experience with a body shop. the guy retired and they're not around anymore. the rest have put out work i could do in my driveway. the last couple incidents i took the cash and sourced things myself.

Never accept the car until you are happy, leave it with them, make it their problem, make insurance keep paying for the rental.

In this case, the insurance company is going to be out of the loop. Their responsibility is to pay for necessary repairs to the vehicle, which they did. It is the shops' responsibility to do the physical repair to the car. If the shop does poor quality work, that is out of the control or responsibility of the insurance company. Not much they can do about it. The shop is responsible for discussing and coming to an agreement with the insurance appraiser on the items needed for repair. If aftermarket parts are written for, and when they arrive there are quality or fitment issues, the shop is responsible to call the appraiser and discuss/resolve the issue. Again, don't even want to get into the discussion of the quality of CAPA aftermarket parts. But if aftermarket was written for and when they arrived there were issues with it and the shop didn't say anything to the appraiser, that's the shops' issue. The insurance company won't pay to have the repairs redone properly.

Ranger, the best advice I can give is to be persistent with the shop. You can certainly go to the insurance company, it can't hurt to ask. But honestly I wouldn't expect them to be able to do a lot, or be willing to. When we get quality repair complaints, there's not much we really can do. The panel gaps in your photos could be a part fit issue, but it could also be a unibody issue, or just a sloppy body shop issue.

In reply to Klayfish:

Your last question about panel gaps is IMO either unibody, which could explain the steering wheel, and sloppy body work because the hood is OE.

Original damage photo with panel gaps shown.

In reply to Klayfish:

I disagree with your statement regarding the insurance company not having responsibility for the quality of the repair. If the shop is part of there "network" of "approved" shops this I code for them mandating where you can get your car fixed. Thus they are responsible. I ran in to a very similar situation with my brother and one call to the insurance co rapidly got him in contact with people at the insurance co tgat were very interested and they were instrumental in getting things corrected. They can pull the remove the shop from there list of approved shops. Also because tge insurance co recommends / mandated the shop they absolutely have a vested interest that I is done right as it makes them look bad and there customer is now pissed of at them as well as the shop.

I had this exact conversation with my insurance co.

Now the bad. If the OP took position AND signed off on the work when they got the car they will have alot less recourse. If you don't mind changing insurance company's you could file a claim for depreciated value due to the sub standard repairs based on an estimate you get from another shop to fix them. There is a down side to this. You could end up with them totaling your car. They will look at there total cost to deal with this not just the repair costs versus just paying you off for the value of your car.

Dean, In this case, he chose his own shop. So unfortunately, none of the network shop issues you bring up apply. That's one of the benefits of using a network shop. When a customer picks their own shop, there really is very little recourse the insurance company can or will take.

If it were a network shop, then you are generally correct. Every company runs the network program a bit differently, but in general there is some kind of guarantee that comes with the repair. Who provides the guarantee can differ. Regardless, if a sub-quality repair is done through a network shop, then yes there is a lot more leverage and the insurance company will have some financial responsibility to make it right. When I get a quality control issue through a network shop, the first order is to get in touch with the network shop to give them ample opportunity to get the repairs right. If that doesn't work, then it can go to another shop to have the repairs readdressed, and yes the insurance company will pay for it. They will also potentially go after the initial shop to recover the costs and/or remove them from the network. There are so many variables, but that's the basic concept. It's pretty rare to wind up totaling a car after repairs are done, but on VERY rare occasion I have done it.

The shame of it is that so many people have such a strong (and misguided) dislike for insurance that they automatically shy away from using a network shop and want to pick their own. There are so many benefits to using a network shop. It truly is a win/win for the customer and the insurance company.

I recently hit a deer, glancing blow. Hood, headlight (still works, mount broken). Radiator support. I took it to my dealers body shop. The estimate stated where the parts would come from, with part numbers. My insurance adjuster came to my home. His estimate pretty much matched the dealers. even to the parts source. Left me a check. Dealer ordered the parts. There were questions about he price of the hood decal, which I don't care about. Comprehensive- $ 200 deductible.

t

Best of luck. You are in a situation I have been in a couple times in the past. It's not fun.

The last was with my girlfriends car and the in network repair facility that the insurance company gaurented, until the repair was not right, then the gaurentee was from the body shop. Back it went to the same shop per the insurance company. The first attempt, you could clearly see the bondo seams, and there was no clear coat shot in the door jam, but they did spend time to armorall the tires.

They assures us it would be right when we came back.

When we went to pick up the car the second time, once again more time spent armoralling the tires and no time spent checking their work. Runs in the clear coat. At this point it was a case of diminishing returns. The fear was since they've done this job twice what would they skip or mess up when they attempted it a third time. So we lived with the runs.

It's tough to find good body shops.

Steve

In reply to lrrs:

No, it's tough to find a body shop that can work within the confines of what the insurance company says and pays out in substandard labor costs and materials and will provide suitable repairs. That's on top of what the shop owner will and how they pay their employees.

Ranger50 wrote: In reply to lrrs: No, it's tough to find a body shop that can work within the confines of what the insurance company says and pays out in substandard labor costs and materials and will provide suitable repairs.

That is completely, 100% inaccurate. Remember, the insurance industry is very heavily regulated...and it's not regulated in favor of insurance companies. And while there are certainly very poor shops out there, I can find hundreds and hundreds who do very high quality repairs.

If you paid for OEM parts and the shop put aftermarket on, then the shop has committed fraud. Of course this must be in writing on the original estimate from the shop. I would pursue this with the shop to get the repairs done properly as agreed and paid for. If they don't correct the repair with the proper parts, you can pursue a complaint with the local police for fraud. I say this as a former body shop owner, and while I have sympathy for the shop owner, the repairs were not done as contracted . You can also file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.

Ahhh I missed the part where the OP took it to a non network shop. Then ya it us between him and the shop.

In reply to Klayfish:

$65/hr for mechanical repairs was good money 25yrs ago. The shop around the corner is charging $90+ for the same thing and without having to fix crash damage. Sub-$50/hr for paint and refinishing? Again, same deal was good money many years ago and hasn't changed, even with the proliferation AM parts that require significant rework when the labor hrs are quoted for OE. This is why there aren't any "good shops" anymore with compenent employees turning out respectable product. It might be my opinion in your eyes, but I see this scenario played out every day. Will have to agree to disagree.

In reply to Don49:

No. The bumper cover, ps headlight, and lower grilles are aftermarket as far as I know. Those parts would have been an additional $400 over the $560 I paid in deductible and OE parts. But I know already have been down this road with the shop owner and the attitude of "this is what I get supplied so take it it's all you are going to get."

Oh don't get me started. It's hard to find anyone doing anything anymore and doing it well. Body shops are sort of my nightmare scenario. I have never found a decent one yet. Ya I admit I am picky. But is it picky to want your car back and have it look like it did before the damage? Shouldn't you expect to get your black car back with out tiny white dots of white overspray from another job going on in the shop? Do you have to make an appointment to drop your car off and then drive by the shop and see your car hasn't moved out of the spot you parked it for a whole week........baking in the sun and getting hammered by the weather? How about the time another driver backed into me in a parking putting a 4" scrape above the rear wheel arch. When it came back from the body shop the bill was $2500 dollars! It was paid by insurance but it had two pages of things that had been done including replacing the rear window and the drivers side tail light assembly! Huh? What!!?? For a scrape on the fender? I literally cringe at the thought about having to go to a body shop. Good luck to the original poster. I feel for ya dude/