GINTER

My baby TL-S was in a pretty bad accident. The right front quarter. Only the side curtain airbags popped, but the whole front "shifted" to the opposite direction of the hit.

Geico's appraiser, in their own shop, after dismantling most of the front of the vehicle, said it was not a salvage, and would be up for fixing. The total bill, including parts and labor, came out to almost exactly $12,000. The car "seems" fine. It will never drive the same as before the accident, but.. The front still seems to be off to one direction. The hood, lights, and the grille do not line up at all. The voice activated Bluetooth doesn't work (microphones disconnected?), the dome light doesn't work, some other led lights inside don't work, the horns don't sound right, and I'm sure I'm forgetting other things.

Now, even though the shop "guarantees" the job for the life of the vehicle, WTF am I supposed to tell Acura when I give up the lease in 1 year? "Here's your fucked up vehicle.." ???

I've seen barely scratched "totaled" or "salvage" cars, in MUCH better shape than my TL. As a leasee from Acura and a client of Geico, don't I have SOME rights to refuse the work and have Geico buy-out the rest of my lease? Even if they attempt to fix their already bogus job, I need a car to drive. I can't afford to be without my TL for another month.

Please help. Thanks in advance.

dopefedz

iTrader: (1)

Who picked the bodyshop? I would take it back until everything works and everything is perfect or near it.

MR1

Sounds like you went to the recommended body shop from insurance company. Take the damn thing back with a list of all the things that need to be corrected and share your expectations. In the rush to get things done they sometimes screw up. I would also let my insurance company know in writing ASAP the the job was unacceptable and why.

I have been throught this. Recourse is the main reason I go with one of the recommended shops. It took about five trips and nearly one year to get my MDX back to acceptable condition. The insurance company even ended up sending the car to a frame shop for some alignment perhaps one year later.

Four years later I noticed that the hood was not sitting correctly over one headlight. The shop realigned it without a wimper. Try to schedule the repairs for when the shop is slow. If it is bad enough, try to get your insurance to pay for a rental.

AckTL05

iTrader: (18)

haha first lose geiko. My friend had his WRX stolen with 12k of insured parts on it and they brought it to their "own shop". They did not fix half of the stuff, there were spider cracks on the bumpers and they didn't put the parts he had extra back on!! His insurance was 12k a year too...

Guess they pay that gecko a lot of money, that they have to rip off the customers.

DeathMetal

iTrader: (2)

Did you go through your insurance or were you hit?

If you went through yours, was this a recommended shop?

candrews

haha first lose geiko….
I’ve actually had good experience with GEICO but I did not use their ‘recommended’ shop and went to a shop that I checked out first. Bottom line, take it back and become a ‘squeaky wheel’ until the car is fixed to your satisfaction.

JTS97Z28

iTrader: (4)

I have also had good service from Geico. Sounds like your friend was a moron anyway especially if he was paying $12,000 a year?!?!?! HAHAHAAH WTF did you type that wrong or something? Thats over 12 times what I pay a year in insurance. Have a clue about something before you go knocking it.

James

e30cabrio

iTrader: (6)

I am not a fan of Geico but the few times I made a claim with them they were great.

I'd call Geico say the repair is a far cry from acceptable and it needs to go to the shop of my choosing to be corrected.

My Mom was in an accident in the mid 80s and the car's unibody was bent (81 Celica) the shop AAA suggested did not fix it & it burned up tires. AAA sent it to another shop that found the frame was still bent & had it fixed properly and made shop "A" pay for shop "B"

Good luck

GINTER

Thanks to everyone that replied. I appreciate your knowledge and responses. I will press with the body shop to get the car fixed 100%, but as I mentioned, I need something to drive in the meantime. I thought there was a way "out" of the lease, as in, if the body shop (yes, it was Geico's chosen body shop) does such a poor job, they might be forced to take the car back (Geico) and mark it as "salvage." I've seen salvage cars with "previous repair" marked on them. There must be a way to force a return.. I was hoping for a law (similar to the Lemon Law for new cars).

As for the $12K bill, if you read carefully, it's what the parts and repairs came out to FIXING the car, not the yearly premium. I pay around $3000 for 2 cars, complete coverage, in a state that's almost always at the top for the cost of auto insurance.

BLACKURA_NY

iTrader: (6)

^ no, somebody else said their friends WRX insurance bill was $12,000 a year

LiquidLunch

I work for an insurance company and deal with this stuff every day.

First off- if you used one of their recommended shops then they will provide a guarantee on their work. That guarantee is your key to resolution. Ask Geico and the shop for a written copy of their warranty.

As for the issues- most of them sound minor and should be easily resolved. Have you talked to the shop yet to inform them of the issues? They will likely be willing to resolve them for you.

The one issue of concern should be the gaps on the front end. Look at a copy of the estimate. Is there any mention of a frame pull or any type of unibody pulls? These estimate lines are usually on the end of the estimate. If so, you will likely see a line that also says something like setup & measure. That's the time Geico paid the shop to check the unibody measurements to make sure the unibody was straight. The shop can print out these measurements. If they didnt save them, then ask the shop to setup the car on the frame rack again and measure it. If they balk, get Geico involved. They can force the shops hand. Dont let them tell you that they just need to make some adjustments. That means they will just loosen and shift parts around then tighten them back down. It wont address the concern of the straightness of the unibody.

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

AckTL05

iTrader: (18)

no I did not type something wrong and I am not knocking it. Just because you had good service does not mean I have. Thats how the world works, you cannot please everyone. BTW his was 12k a year, he was 18 with an STI and he insured his after market parts. Gecko did give him trouble.

Bender

I usually have respect for older people but in your case, I have to say that the only thing you should be driving at 91 is a wheel chair.

xtcxjigga

iTrader: (1)

qualityat

I own a body shop and can lead you down a good path. Find a accident reinspection center, i.e. Wreck Check, that will check your car after a collision. Bring a copy of the original damage appraisal and the supplement with you. Get rid of Geico. Geico and Progressive are known to be crooks/ cheap when it comes time to repair vehicles. This is why their premiums are cheaper

TonemanTLS

WTF at 12k/yr for insurance??? after a couple of years of premiums he could have bought a new one dumb ass...

GINTER

You honestly think I'm 91? I purposely set that date.. I'm in my 30's.

But your comment made me laugh out loud.

GINTER

My bad, I didn't catch that. Seriously, that is pretty fucked up. If it were a Gallardo or a Scuderia, maybe even a Veyron, I could see a $12K/yr insurance bill, but a WRX? Insane.

GINTER

Very well put. I will use this knowledge. Much obliged.

Bender

Old people shouldn't lie. Give your great grandson's computer back to him and stop trolling the forums.

SG81

iTrader: (1)

stock to the bone

12k /year is about enuff to pay my college tuition....The kid must be rich

Souljah

^ or an idiot

dsickles

iTrader: (5)

^^^^

im going with Souljah on this one