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      02-05-2013, 09:46 AM   #1
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Fender bender...$9k and 3 weeks?!?!?!?!

So I was sitting at a red light and some lady hit me at about 10mph, from the outside is looked like very little damage. Essentially the bumper was cracked in 2 places. I bring it to a top notch certified body shop and when they take the rear off discover a lot more damage (supposedly). They have to special order a "rear body panel" from Germany. Could they not have sourced this in the US? Even if I got it for them it would still take 3 weeks. Not to mention they had the car for a week before an adjuster even looked at it. They were practically yelling at me when I was on the phone with insurance. "Tell them it's undrivable!" Advice, please! I'm editing this post since the focus of my problem is not the work being done, but the TIME to get it done. They have taken the back end of the car apart so I don't think I can really do anything at this point, or can I?

Last edited by Trip3's; 02-05-2013 at 02:21 PM..
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      02-05-2013, 10:02 AM   #2
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Sounds shady. I not exactly sure what 10mph impact would do, but I dont think it would damage the frame. A bumper and paint should cost $2k at max.

I would bring it somewhere else to get another opinion.
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      02-05-2013, 10:50 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Trip3's View Post
So I was sitting at a red light and some lady hit me at about 10mph, from the outside is looked like very little damage. Essentially the bumper was cracked in 2 places. I bring it to a top notch certified body shop and when they take the rear off discover a lot more damage (supposedly). They have to special order a "rear body panel" from Germany. Could they not have sourced this in the US? Even if I got it for them it would still take 3 weeks. Not to mention they had the car for a week before an adjuster even looked at it. They were practically yelling at me when I was on the phone with insurance. "Tell them it's undrivable!" Advice, please!
Not sure what the problem is? Let them fix your car. The rear body panel is what the bumper brackets mount to. I can see them getting damaged, sure. And the part will come from Germany.

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Originally Posted by biggynuts01 View Post
Sounds shady. I not exactly sure what 10mph impact would do, but I dont think it would damage the frame. A bumper and paint should cost $2k at max.

I would bring it somewhere else to get another opinion.
Rear body panel does not equal the frame itself.
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      02-05-2013, 10:51 AM   #4
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PM me OP i use to work on LI in the industry and may be able to help
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      02-05-2013, 11:25 AM   #5
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I was sitting at a light in Mt. Kisco when someone hit me from behind and just like you the bumper was cracked in 2 places. I took it to a well known shop in Queens and was shocked that it was going to be $6k+. I went and saw the damage and know exactly what they are talking about with the "rear body panel" but it was only slightly damaged on mine and they repaired it instead of replacing it. There is a hard plastic piece up against the rear metal of the body. The metal body part isn't a flat piece and had raised sections that the plastic piece sat up against. The plastic partially flattened these raised sections in 2 places. The supposedly just fixed those sections as it looks like the rear body panel would be a much bigger job to do. It took about a week for mine to be fixed.
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      02-05-2013, 02:05 PM   #6
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you basically need a new bumper, a paint job, and some "additional supports" and bumper bracket repair behind the bumper.

You need to get a parts quote first to isolate whether it's the OEM parts that expensive or their labor that's expensive, or their paint job that's expensive.

They should be able to itemize it for you. Then i would get a second opinion. Feel free to scan and post the itemized estimate on this forum for us. Without the parts needed, it's hard to figure out what actually needs to be replaced...
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      02-05-2013, 02:09 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mdosu View Post
you basically need a new bumper, a paint job, and some "additional supports" and bumper bracket repair behind the bumper.

You need to get a parts quote first to isolate whether it's the OEM parts that expensive or their labor that's expensive, or their paint job that's expensive.

They should be able to itemize it for you. Then i would get a second opinion. Feel free to scan and post the itemized estimate on this forum for us. Without the parts needed, it's hard to figure out what actually needs to be replaced...
This above is good advice. Figuring out where the costs are being generated is the first step.
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      02-05-2013, 02:36 PM   #8
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Any body shop telling you to lie to the insurance company are a shady bunch. I would not use them.

If they are willing to lie to the insurance company, they could just as easily lie to you
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      02-05-2013, 02:42 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mdosu View Post
you basically need a new bumper, a paint job, and some "additional supports" and bumper bracket repair behind the bumper.

You need to get a parts quote first to isolate whether it's the OEM parts that expensive or their labor that's expensive, or their paint job that's expensive.

They should be able to itemize it for you. Then i would get a second opinion. Feel free to scan and post the itemized estimate on this forum for us. Without the parts needed, it's hard to figure out what actually needs to be replaced...
Thanks for the response, I should have been clearer in my original post in that my focus is on the time required. The lady who hit me's insurance is going to pay (I assume)so I don't care about the cost. It just seems like a long time to fix a bumper even if it needs a "rear body panel" and I find it hard to believe that they can't find one in the US.
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      02-05-2013, 02:43 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vic311 View Post
Any body shop telling you to lie to the insurance company are a shady bunch. I would not use them.

If they are willing to lie to the insurance company, they could just as easily lie to you
Exactly! I've seen shady insurance scams before and this seems like one of them. I have been rear ended 2 times. Once in my Audi TTRS by a Porsche Cayenne going 15mph (I was very suprised the damage was so small), cost $1500 to fix. And once in my old E36 325is going less than 10mph cost me $1k to fix.

I have had two friends rear ended and a big hole was ripped out of their bumper, nothing needed replacing on the body panel. They did replace the bumpers and repainted...both less than $1500.
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      02-05-2013, 02:45 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Trip3's View Post
Thanks for the response, I should have been clearer in my original post in that my focus is on the time required. The lady who hit me's insurance is going to pay (I assume)so I don't care about the cost. It just seems like a long time to fix a bumper even if it needs a "rear body panel" and I find it hard to believe that they can't find one in the US.
Bumpers and panels are readily available in the US..I bought a rear bumper a few months back after someone put a hole in it.. Several dealers around the country had them in stock

My guess is they are trying to milk it to charge more labor
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      02-05-2013, 02:47 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vic311 View Post
Any body shop telling you to lie to the insurance company are a shady bunch. I would not use them.

If they are willing to lie to the insurance company, they could just as easily lie to you
I caught them in a lie already, I wanted to take my car back until the adjuster did his inspection (just over the weekend). They told me at 9am "he's coming today (Friday), I then called my insurance company and they said the adjuster had scheduled an appt. AT 10:49 AM! for Monday. I have been assured they do good work, but GOD are they are scumbags.
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      02-05-2013, 02:58 PM   #13
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i went through something very similar with a shop called martino auto concepts, In the end they scammed me 3k in storage fees. Take it to another shop! dont play this games with them. They also lied about adjuster being there when the adjuster was always being told to wait by the shop to rack up more fees.
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      02-05-2013, 02:59 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by biggynuts01 View Post
Exactly! I've seen shady insurance scams before and this seems like one of them. I have been rear ended 2 times. Once in my Audi TTRS by a Porsche Cayenne going 15mph (I was very suprised the damage was so small), cost $1500 to fix. And once in my old E36 325is going less than 10mph cost me $1k to fix.

I have had two friends rear ended and a big hole was ripped out of their bumper, nothing needed replacing on the body panel. They did replace the bumpers and repainted...both less than $1500.

yeah, $1500 range sounds about right if you need work behind the bumper and a new bumper. If no new bumper is required, and just remolding and a respray is needed, then we're talking about $700.
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      02-05-2013, 03:02 PM   #15
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I just got rear ended last week. My exhaust was mangled and I need a new bumper, they have given me an initial estimate of $4500 as of now and $3500 is for my aftermarket exhaust. I personally dont mind if the body shops finds more stuff to fix. Just more new parts for me.
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      02-05-2013, 03:58 PM   #16
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AND THE PLOT THICKENS! I just looked at the estimate and they are repairing the rear body panel, NOT replacing it (10 hours labor). I talked to my insurance company though and he said the adjuster wouldn't lie about how much time it would take to repair. My claims guys said 18 days sounds about right (he has no axe to grind in this situation) and it would be difficult to remove the car without paying for the labor to disassemble. The claims guy said "that's not going to happen, so just leave it there". So apart from being absolute liars they supposedly do good work. I'm just going to leave it there. If I do anything it will be after I pick my car up.
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      02-05-2013, 04:28 PM   #17
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I would definately take it to another shop after it's "fixed" and get a second opinion.
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      02-05-2013, 04:29 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by schnell325 View Post
I would definately take it to another shop after it's "fixed" and get a second opinion.
A second opinion on what? Do you mean check the quality of the work? They are certified by every major high end brand, so I'm not really worried about quality of work. I'm just not happy with the shady biz practices.
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      02-05-2013, 04:41 PM   #19
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Your insurance company is the biggest bean counters on the planet. If they think anything is unreasonable they will not approve the estimate. You are making and getting caught up in the drama. You want your car back in perfect shape. How much it cost doens't matter. You pay your deductible and the insurance takes care of the rest. It sucks not that have your car for 3 weeks but these things take time.
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