I am dealing with my first accident. A public transit bus hit my bumper from the rear. No one was hurt.
Now I am dealing with the insurance companies and body shops. I have read a few posts here but still have questions. First let me say that my experiences with my second choice of body shop and my insurance company hasn't been good. The body shop guy came off like a car salesman and that turned me off to that shop until I dealt with the insurance estimator (the recommended shop for my insurance company is my first choice for body shop work, it was a coincidence that its on my insurance company list).The estimator ignored the fact the exhuast was bent then when I mentioned it he said it might be pushed back a little. To make a long story short the insurance estimator price was (without $1,000 deductible) $1465 lower than the second body shop. he said if the body shop found more damage they would adjust the price.

1. Did the estimator low ball the price because the body shop will jack up the price.

2. how will I know if they use CAPA-OEM parts.

3. Do I not pay the deductible and let the insurance company go after the transit company for the whole amount?

 

ouch. good luck!

 

I'm pretty sure you should be able to demand CAPA-OEM replacement parts. That's what was on your car before, that's what should be on your car after. And I see no reason why you should be paying a deductible. Shouldn't the transit company's insurance be paying for your entire repair?

That being said, if your insurance is paying, I'd be very iffy when they say they'll "adjust" the price if they find more damage. Try to get them to say outright, or better yet in paper, that they'll pay for any damage caused by the accident, period.

Good luck!

 

Some insurance companies will require you to pay your deductible, and then reimburse you once they receive payment from the party at fault (the city/county/whoever runs the public transit in your area). They'll do this by only reimbursing the bodyshop for the amount due minus your deductable.

The benefit is that if the repair exceeds the original estimate (which it does in many cases), the insurance company is already dealing directly with your bodyshop (since you mentioned the shop is on the insurance company's list).

Side note:
Many times you have the option to get an estimate from your insurance provider, but then go to whichever shop you want (even if it's not on their list), in which case they'll cut you a check and you go get it fixed. If additional damage is found, an estimator would have to come back out (and actually cooperate) to assess the additional repair cost. They'll also pay out based on what they think the repair should cost, and not necessarily what the shop you've chosen charges. This makes it beneficial to use a shop on their list... that and many insurance companies will guarantee the work as long as you own the car, so if something isn't right they'll take care of it. I had paint start to peel on the bumper of my Camry 2 years after Progressive sent my car for a repair... one phone call and I was able to drop off my car at the bodyshop, pick up the rental, and return a few days later to pick up my car without a dime out of pocket. tl;dr: It's good you went with a shop on their list.

Since your insurance company will be collecting from the city/county and not a 3rd party guy from college who'll ignore his phone (or, in the case of my previous accident, a 14 yr/old girl without a license or a green card ), there's a decent chance the deductible will be reimbursed before your car is fixed (hopefully ).

They should use OEM parts... they might end up being used though. If you want to be sure, you can find out if they'll let you look at the parts before they paint and put them on (depending on your availability, etc).

Good luck with the repairs

 

I had an incident with my TL (not my fault) and the insurance company recommended me to their preferred shops which included a lifetime warranty or I could choose oneof my own with no warranty on the work. I went to their preferred shop and had my work done there. I paid my deductible after the job was done....($200 deductible.

I did not receive a physical check at anytime from my insurance company. I only paid the $200 to the shop and that was it. Hope this helps!~

 

I agree... I don't see why you're paying a deductible either. I was rear ended twice. Once I didn't even get my insurance company involved (although I was prepared if I needed to do so) as the other party's company was very prompt in responding to my loss. The second time I did get my insurance involved as I couldn't get the other company to respond. In the case of a transit agency (my understanding is that some of the larger transit agencies are self-insured), I'd imagine there wouldn't be much of a delay. I would've expected that their adjusters would've gotten your car in the shop (and rental for you) very quickly.

I do understand that often if you don't go with the insurer's approved body shop, you'd have to pay the deductible and get reimbursed.

Good luck and hope you car gets repaired quickly and to your satisfaction.

 

i was involved in an accident a few years ago (nothing major). road was icy and some lady skidded and swipe my car. she admit it was her fault, i took down her insurance info (TITAN Insurance), her name and car info, contacted her insurance company and filed a claim. Her insurance sent me a package to bring to a body shop for estimate of the damage, i chose the body shop with the highest estimate, sent the info back to her insurance. Her insurance gave me the option to either have the car repaired or take the check for the estimate amount. I took the check and decide not to repair. No deductibles was paid.

So, i would try and go after the person's at fault insurance company (that would probably be the bus transit)

good luck!

 

I would have recommend you pursue the transit company for the damages to your car and not involved your insurance company at all unless u absolutely had to. You're paying a deductible because that is the coverage you have on your policy and you'll have to pay it to the body shop when you pick your car up. Your insurance carrier will subrogate the transit company for reimbursement. If and when they do collect you would then be reimbursed your deductible.

If I were you I wouldn't anticipate getting reimbursed for your deductible by the time your car is out of the shop. I don't know what state you're in, but if it's NY be prepared to wait a while. NY is one of the slowest when it comes to processing claims.

It sounds like the estimator just wrote based on what he saw wrong with the car. I wouldn't really be worried about it. It's almost a guarantee a supplement will be forthcoming.

As far as to whether or not oem parts are used. If you take a look at the copy of the estimate as they should have given you a copy. It will say on the estimate refurb, aftermarket, etc...something like that if it's non-oem.