My $7,000 Fender-Bender

[Rogers Global]

After three weeks at the dealer's body shop I finally get to pick-up my 2011 TE. She only had 8k under the tires to begin with, so my insurance paid for all OEM parts. Teeeked the radiator frame, the radiator, new hood, grills, passenger side lamps, etc. Anyone have tips for pickup and making sure the job got done right?

Also, the good was barely tweaked on the bottom and I'm keeping the old one for a project... What would you do with it?

 

[MATTALLICA]

Check for overspray on the windows are rubbers. Also check all the gaps around the hood and lights make sure they are similar. Open the hood and look at the rad support make sure that the repair was done correctly and that the supports were refinished and rust proofed.

 

[Scuba6]

If the accident was not your fault, then you should consider having the paying insurance company compensate you for the diminished value of the vehicle. If the vehicle was worth $34K before the wreck, it will be hard to sell it for near that now even with the OEM parts. This will likely involve you getting your truck appraised and the insurance company doing the same. They should cut you a check for the loss in value, but keep in mind that many state laws require this paperwork to be filed with the insurance company within 30 days of picking up the vehicle from the body shop.

If the wreck was your fault and it was your insurance company paying the work....it may or may not be worth fighting (but probably still is).

 

[gamerc]

Scuba, it's hard to get diminished value on a car that hasn't sold yet, as you haven't actually lost anything.

 

[Rogers Global]

:roadkill:

Good advice Metallica thanks. Turns out it'll be tomorrow after all but they will detag the front toyota emblem for me by sanding it down and painting a flat black mat. Guess it's my consolation prize for having it out of commission for so long. The damage really didn't look that bad at first though. The initial estimate was just over $2,0000 before the teardown.

Do you think it'll show up on lemon reports down the road? Do you think it'll affect how she handles from here on out?

 

[rickwol]

Lemon Report? What's that? If you are referring to something of a Carfax nature and if the damage was paid via insurance claim then the answer is a likely "yes", it will eventually show up on a Carfax report. It seems that insurance coverage for damage seems to be one of the trigger criteria for showing up on their report.

 

[Claff]

Anyone have tips for pickup and making sure the job got done right?

Pick it up during daylight hours, get it into sunlight and go over everything with a fine-tooth comb. If you see something that doesn't look right, get someone from the shop to document it right then and there so they can fix it on their dime. Once you drive it off the lot, anything you find wrong will be your problem, not theirs.

 

[Rogers Global]

Lemon Report? What's that? If you are referring to something of a Carfax nature and if the damage was paid via insurance claim then the answer is a likely "yes", it will eventually show up on a Carfax report. It seems that insurance coverage for damage seems to be one of the trigger criteria for showing up on their report.

Thanks for the solid info rickwol. I apologize for my naivety on CarFax.
Its good to know witless sarcasm isn't completely dead though. I owned a Pontiac Grand Prix GT2 for awhile and was surprised that it didn't show up on a CarFax report after it'd been through more than this. I guess I just don't really know all the in's and out's of how CarFax Inc. operates their business and that's why I asked. You were right though... "Lemon Check" is a registered trademark of CarFax Inc. so I guess that is what I was referring to.

 

[Rogers Global]

Pick it up during daylight hours, get it into sunlight and go over everything with a fine-tooth comb. If you see something that doesn't look right, get someone from the shop to document it right then and there so they can fix it on their dime. Once you drive it off the lot, anything you find wrong will be your problem, not theirs.

Good call... It''s getting dark up here as early as 4:30pm. I'll plan on picking it up early afternoon. Thanks Claff!

 

[4FL]

Get diminished value for the wreck. Your 4 runner will be worth less because it has an accident on its record. You can recover this loss worth.

For example, if your car is worth $20k in normal condition, but it is worth $15k because it has an accident, you can recover this diminished value.

A few years ago, my friend recovered $300 on his xterra for simply running into a fence. It was his fault and everything, but insurance still had to fork over the diminished value to his claim.

But I do not know if this is a state by state thing or what, I just know in FL a person can. Now that I looked, my friend wrecked into the fence up in Kitsap county, so maybe WA state has the same rules?

 

[Scuba6]

Scuba, it's hard to get diminished value on a car that hasn't sold yet, as you haven't actually lost anything.

Nope, I disagree. I'm watching my best friend go through this process right now with his SUV. Gieco offered him $3K in diminished value without estimates, but he's going for more. After talking to the insurance company and the state government insurance offices, it really isn't that hard of a process.

I have never done it myself, so I didn't know it was possible. But now I'm having the fortune of seeing it as a by-standard, and I'll chalk it up as a lesson-learned if I should have the same mis-fortune down the road.

 

[Rogers Global]

Nope, I disagree. I'm watching my best friend go through this process right now with his SUV. Gieco offered him $3K in diminished value without estimates, but he's going for more. After talking to the insurance company and the state government insurance offices, it really isn't that hard of a process.

I have never done it myself, so I didn't know it was possible. But now I'm having the fortune of seeing it as a by-standard, and I'll chalk it up as a lesson-learned if I should have the same mis-fortune down the road.

I won't hardball them but I will do some fishing tomorrow... I was at fault. I work in telecomm and can tell you first-hand the quick phone distraction isn't worth failing to avoid another distracted driver... *sigh*