mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

First off, i'm at the hardware store buying a 5 gallon fuel can. I come out and some guy is looking at the back of my car. The dumbass backed into my car and left a lovely dent and scraped up the paint. Luckily the guy didn't just roll out and I got his insurance information. He admited fault too. How could he not, my car was parked! How the hell do people hit parked cars?! I knew this day just wasn't going to be good.

danny57010

man that sucks.....same thing happened to me 6 months ago and i got 03 tails out of it so it wasnt so bad

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

My tails aren't damaged.

EricL

Bummer.... Sorry to hear about it...

And, at least you found a person with some insurance -- so they can pay for it.

Some knucklehead backed into mine while parked and just split. It was clearly a big SUV or truck.

What's with all of the CLS pranging these days?

Chaptorial

Sucks that it happened but like you said it'd be even worse if they just took off.

Thats an easy fix and she'll be looking good as new in no time.

JakeCL

try and get them to take your 1/4 glass and back glass instead of masking it to paint the 1/4 panel or its gonna chip later, and make sure they refinish the gas lid and blend onto the trunk

JakeCL

EricL

You sure don’t want this:




They might very well end up taking it up through the sail panel, part of the rood, and trunk.

And, make sure to inspect the car from every possible angle.
Preferably, bring a friend along.
Make sure the lighting is excellent.

And, before they start work, if there are no dings or dent, and the car is otherwise perfect, make sure that they write it down or get someone who runs the place to acknowledge this.


http://www.i-car.com/html_pages/abou...02/102102.html

http://www.i-car.com/html_pages/abou...02/071502b.htm

Unfortunately, when you get tagged on the quarter panel, it gets pretty messy to find a "clean" break.

From one of the above links (things to do when you can't find a clean break):

* Keeping the blend area to the smallest cross section possible.
* Blending only on vertical panels, such as the sail panel.


The entire quarter panel needs to be cleared at a minimum. And, the quarter panel doesn't exactly have a clean break between itself and the other panels and roof. They went even further on mine: up into the sail panel. There are some people that would suggest doing the whole roof and opposite side (cost prohibitive) to make sure there isn't a break anywhere.

JakeCL

1/4 panel refinish times include clearing all the way up to the break at the fender unless otherwise noted, color sanding and buffing will take care of any orange peel but most insurance companies wont pay for it

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

I'm going to go through my dealer and have them recommend a body shop. I have an extremely close relationship with my service department. I had a small dent in my bumper to begin with from someone hitting and running while they were parallel parking. I'm hoping they fix that as well. I would think they would have to in order to get the paint to match.

darrinb

any good collision can mix the paint steve

this and the bad dyno, its been a bad day for ya

EricL

Get some references from a few places if you can and check out the work at the shop.

If they are happening, you won't be able to tell it was fixed, and once it’s over with, you will be able to forget about it.

JakeCL

dealerships get kick backs for body shop referals, or trade for fixing their used cars and arent always the best shops, if you want a quality shop check here http://www.certifiedfirst.com

Bluto

Sorry to see. Hardware stores are the worst. People's minds are always preoccupied with a project or repair.

RUPNOK

Amen. My dealer sent me to their 'recommended' body shop and the work sucked.

EricL

We once had that exact experience, and I had to "thrash" the guys at the shop to get the job done over after they did such a crappy job on a friends car. They got "high" recommendations from the dealer until they opened up their own repair shop! (Funny, after the dealer's shop was open, they told me the body shop sucked...)


Good idea to get personal references and to actually look at the car being fixed.

A number of the forums also have recommended shops *and* a number of the dealers are realizing that they can make a lot of $$$ on body repair and are moving towards running their own shops.

IMO, it's very useful to get a personal reference, one from the insurance company, and check some of the forums. The final check is to have a look at the cars being finished at the shop and give them a close look-see.


BTW, there are some top-notch shops that are not on that certified first list, at least in Los Angeles.

It also helps to find a shop that the insurance company will work with if they find additional damage, etc. It helps if the adjuster knows about the company and owners, and will work to cover any additional costs if the shop finds that the car needs some extra goodies/work to get the job done right...

JakeCL

that certified first program is sponsored by ppg so all the shops on the list use ppg refinish products, ommitted shops probably just use some other type of paint like dupont ect.

Smitty

OUCH Steve... Jonesi told me Friday night about the news..

Can you get your rocker panel thrown in too..?

dallison

dunno how people run into cars like that. shit'll look like new after its done

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

Got some more pics. I previously had this "crack" in my rear bumper from someone's license plate hitting me (assumed so at least) while I was parallel parked. That person didn't leave their insurance information and was no where to be found. Do you all think this will need to be repaired to get the paint perfectly matched? I hope so.

NEW DENT; scraped up:


OLD CRACK:




Excuse the dirt, it rained Friday and I haven't had a chance to wash it.

EricL

Yep, that would certainly explain it!

A couple of the shops were using BASF (don't know about the paint used by a few of the others that got "they did killer work" comments, so, yes, that would certainly make sense.

The basic idea that I think we are pretty much in accord on is: get some references, do some homework to at least "try and get a shot at a great shop." Heck, even my shop managed to put a ding into the quarter panel. However, they fixed it without a beef, did an excellent job *and* didn't cut corners while providing a life-time user warranty.

EricL

=> + + = 1 (fix)!

:P

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

Should I try and say the impact of the bumper hit cracked the rocker panel too?

EricL

That stuff can get you into trouble. You might just tell them that you don't know how it showed up (Well, that's what you said on the forum -- right?)

Did you ever determine if there was damage on the underside of the door and/or body?

derelict

damn bro Definitely try to get as much fixed at once under the same claim.

Chopsie

why not, just say you were emotionally distracted from the incident that you looked the area over again once you calmed down.

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

The only damage I found was the damage I showed in the pics

EricL

Well, IMO, it couldn't hurt to ask the adjuster about fixing the additional damage...

OTOH, you should be careful about trying to add in information that the adjuster will know is complete BS.

The reason I asked was: back when you originally showed the thread and the damage, I never noticed or read about the final result. I think you said you were going to have a look at the bottom of the door and the bottom of the car to see if there was any other related damage.

I presume that I don't need to amplify on this -- hey?

If you simply point out that the damage showed up and you didn't do it, well...

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

We will see what happens. I'm more worried about the crack in the rear bumper than the minor damage on the rocker panel. That is an easy and cheap fix. If they need to repaint the entire bumper, they would have to repair that crack correct?

EricL

IMO, YES!

If you have a little ding and someone whacks your bumper, they still get to pay for the whole job. It might be different if you had been dragging your bumper through the streets (or it looked like Swiss cheese)!

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

Got my estimate today. It's $906 worth of damage. They estimator said that since I had previous damage they couldn't guarantee the bumper work unless it was repaired or replaced. So I'm stuck paying $130 towards the repair. I'm not that upset considering i'll have a new bumper, painted, and installed for $130. That crack was an eyesore.

foe

Its sad but soo many people dont look behind them before backing up

EricL

Who's your insurance carrier or who's their insurance carrier. Part of that is BS. Where do you draw the line? I could see someone making a judgment call over a new or reconditioned unit? (Are you sure you aren't paying the difference between a reconditioned bumper and a new one?) If you have a scratch in it, and someone whacks you hard enough that it's going to need replacing or repairing, they don't get to say, "Sorry, there was already a scratch (or ding, dent) in the bumper so I don't have to pay for any damage to your "useless" and trashed bumper." I could understand the case of having someone put a small dent in a panel that looked like it had been worked over with a sledge hammer.

My wife "touched" some knucklehead's shit wagon about 10 years ago, and their car looked like it was held together with bubble gum. Every panel was rusted and was ready to fall off. She still ended up paying for one of the panels that she put a small ding in. The ding was inside an even bigger dent that was spray painted with some cheap primer. If not for some heavy attorney action, they would have been driving a new car. I wanted to take it further, but the cars were moving, so use your imagination.

And was that $906 for the bumper *and* the quarter panel. And, what happened in regards to the damage in the door area?

And why would an insurance company guaranty a bumper that wasn't a) repaired or b) replaced?

EricL

Some people just don't give a hoot.

Some people feel they are "entitled" by driving a big SUV, beater, or large truck. Some of them only need to wipe a little metal polish or compound to clean up after themselves. Hey, if you don't drive or "park" a Bradley or M1-A1, you must deserve all of the hits you get -- hey?

Some people get drunk. A neighbor drove around the block with his tires' screams waking up the neighborhood -- and some dead people too -- after he backed into a nice Mustang parked in his own driveway.. The damage was so bad it sounded like a bomb, and we had no trouble finding the intoxicated driver and car by the screeching of the tires on their mashed bodywork. He told the police that he was sure he didn’t hit anything, and told the cops that he thought the fan belt was loose and was making “normal” squealing sounds. (I’m not joking)

Some people care so little about other cars, that they will ram their way out of parking spaces just to be jerk-offs. I watched a complete idiot in a large F-150 with tow hitch, repeatedly smash the front of a new E46 M3 that was parked behind it. "It" must have run the hitch ball into the front of the car five times. At least the owner walked out as the pinhead drove off. I guess the F-150 owner (it) figures that any M3 owner shopping at Kmart had it coming.

JakeCL

id like to see the estimate they wrote can you scan it in?
was it the insurance companies appraisal or an independant shops?

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

It was through GEICO, the insurance for the person who hit me. I'll try and scan it in.