So I'm out with my girlfriend bowling when we hear two loud booms and then the lights go out. Turns out a transformer on an electrical pole exploded and damaged my car. The electric company sent out their appraiser and he quoted the damage at $720 as you can see in the pic, the left quarterpanel sustained the most damage. But the windshield has a nice chip in it too where the power line must've hit it (there's melted copper on the windshield)

What really got me was the appraiser forgot to include the price of a new sidemarker lens and when I called him on this he had the nerve to ask me if I really planned on getting this fixed. Ummm hello, the car is brand new, of course I'm gonna get it fixed.

I have still yet to hear from the electric co. so I have no idea when they plan on sending me the check. My question is, do you think $720 is enough to cover the repairs? I've seen some auto glass placed that say they can fix chips, might that be an option, or do I need a new windshield?

 

Take it to a shop or two and get an independent estimate.

Repairing and repainting the fender shouldn't be more than 300 bucks. The marker, not much. The windshield is where it could get tricky. A new OEM windshield from the dealership will cost you just under 600 bucks. A generic PPG replacement, call up a windshield repair shop in your area, but probably somewhere between 200-400.

Your best bet it to get an independent estimate or two. If you have a preferred shop, then get an estimate there. Then compare it to the estimate from the electric company.

 

If you need a new windshield, $720 won't come close to covering the repairs. I would give an educated guess and say that the fender will run around $500, and the side marker light costs $60, and a windshield will run around $600 or more.

These are just my educated guesses and you can find out for sure tomorrow when the body shop is open and you get an estimate, but I think you need to renegotiate with the electrical company as soon as you get a valid estimate.

If the windshield is only chipped and they can do that repair thing for chips, that might run $100 or $200 so you might be all right with the $720, but there is no way to know that until you check both the body shop and the glass shop, unless the body shop can do the glass work also.

edit: I guess great minds think alike, because I agree with Pure Adrenaline who got there first.

 

About the chip on the windshield, I just remembered something.

Call your insurance company and ask them. I'm with AAA, and they waive your deductible for chip repairs. It's free. So if it looks repairable, then give 'em a call and see what they say.

Here's what I would do --

1. Call the insurance company to find out about the chip repair.

2. Get an estimate from a shop, including the cost of a new OEM windshield.

3. With this estimate for a new OEM windshield ($600), fender repair($300), new marker ($60), negotiate with the electric company.

4. Receive check from the electric company.

5. At the time of the repair, you tell the body shop to leave the windshield (you don't need to tell them that the electric company has already paid you for a new one) -- just repair the fender and replace the marker.

6. You call the insurance company and get the chip fixed for free.

7. Pocket $600 for the inconvenience this has caused you.

8. Have a cold beer and the last laugh.

 

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Alternatively, let your insurance company deal with the electric company. You will have to pay the deductible, which the insurance company will refund once they get their money from the electric company.

If the electric company is going to be difficult to deal with, then hopefully your insurance company will not depending on which insurance company you have your policy.

 

This is always a good way to do these things. Your carrier should be happy to help out because in the end they won't be paying out anything—they'll subrogate and recover anything they pay you. I've found that my insurance carrier is always more helpful than dealing with the carrier for someone who runs into me, and I expect the same would be true here. The other carrier (or the electric company) has no incentive to be helpful to you because you don't pay premiums to them. Your carrier does have an incentive in this situation because satisfied customers continue to give them business.

 

This happened a few weeks ago, do you think I'd have a problem going to my insurance company now? I didn't think it would be a problem given the fact that the party responsible is a public utility, and I have the report of a police officer who was an eyewitness. Had it been another vehicle that hit me I wouldn't have hesitated to call my ins. co. but I didn't want to give them any reason to raise my rates, as I my rates had finally dropped after tickets came off my record.

 

UPDATE!!!!

I contacted the appraiser again, after going over his appraisal, I noticed he included the labor for the glass, but not the actual glass itself!

New Payout total: 1267.06 tax included... I shouldn't have any problems with the repairs running over that total... at least I hope not!

 

Still go get independent appraisals just to make sure ..

 

If it runs over, the shop who is doing the work can always get them back out for a supplement anyway. Either way, they are on the hook and they have to pay whatever it takes to make your car "whole" again.

 

a new fender will cost $274.93 plus labor and paint, new windshield $425.32 plus labor, a new side marker $61.82 plus labor. Just in parts alone you're looking at $762.07.