“I’d actually be upset if the insurance company insisted on a used door on the car”
I thought that, too, for a while.
It depends on the door… and the shop. Most need little done (sometimes a trim panel swap) to them prior to paint prep, installation, and painting. Others have dents, etcetera (I tossed one that had screw holes where some clown mounted a mirror. Some shop could fill the holes and use it.). You might want to ask if you can inspect the used part when it arrives or at least find out the model-year of the parent vehicle.
If it’s a very recent model (not aged much) then I’d prefer the used door over new. I sometimes rejected as many as 2 used doors delivered to the shop before approving a nice used one. When I managed a body shop we used new unless required to use a recycled door. There is much more profitable labor in “building” a new door (it’s just a shell).
I found that sometimes a new door would sound “tinny” when closed, compared to a new one. I believe some new door shells miss some sound absorbing materials that is applied at the auto factory. Getting window tracks and window slot moldings, etcetera, to fit correctly is sometimes problematic. The factory does a nicer job.
I believe if one chooses a State Farm approved shop (chosen from their list) that the company will warrant the used parts and repairs forever. Is that still the case? CSA
The problem with insurance company insisting on used parts is availability. I know a body shop that had a car sitting on the lot for 3 months waiting for a used part. Finally tracked one down from Florida. The cost was slightly less the new because of the rarity of the part. It wasn’t an exotic vehicle (2 year old Malibu).
@MikeInNH "The problem with insurance company insisting on used parts is availability. I know a body shop that had a car sitting on the lot for 3 months waiting for a used part."
I believe if you read the company’s “policy” (no pun) on used parts, you’ll find a phrase about “when available”. They’re thrifty, but not idiots.
I actually ran a body shop. That didn’t happen in the shop I ran. If there was a problem finding the part or finding a very nice, clean, used part, I’d be on the horn to the insurance company advising them to get a door or their customer would become quite upset. Getting approval to go with a new one was often quite easy at that point.
Actually, a customer (the insured) can better light a fire under folks at the agency who can light one under the underwriter if the rules are causing an unusual delay in repairs.
At the very least, before a car sat that long, I’d recommend to a customer to just step up and pay the difference ( “The cost was slightly less the new because of the rarity of the part.” ) or I’d “eat” the difference to get the job moving. CSA
The body shop in question is very good. The problem was the availability of the part. Fairly new vehicle - so not a lot of them showing up I yards plus when any did show up they were snatched up quickly.
"When you authorize repairs to your vehicle:
•Using new non-OEM or recycled parts as described on the estimate …
•And we pay for those repairs …
•State Farm promises that you will be satisfied with the fit,
corrosion resistance qualities and performance of those
parts for as long as you own your vehicle*…
•Or we’ll see that the parts are repaired or replaced
to your satisfaction — at no cost to you.**
“If you prefer parts other than those included on the estimate, you should notify your repairer. Should the use of those other parts increase the repair cost, you will be expected to pay the difference.”
State Farms policy is reasonable. The insurance company in question was GIECO. Since the he stopped dealing with them. If you have GIECO insurance he’ll send you elsewhere. He’s so busy he can afford to turn away customers.
When State Farm totaled my Rivera from a deer hit, it was because “new” parts were not available anymore. The body shop helped me find used parts so I could fix it myself. The only issue with used parts in my mind is if they require repair first or are rusted. Also the parts I got were white and I had to paint them red which could be a little bit of an issue with stone chips etc.
The problem in my community isn’t deer, but geese. Granted that hitting a goose won’t total a car, but these geese wander across the road that runs by a river or a road that runs by a drainage pond followed by their little goslings with no concern for traffic. I’ve seen traffic backed up for 15 minutes while a goose family takes its time crossing the road. I’ve seen motorists get out of their cars and try to scare away the geese. That even makes them more stubborn. I would love to see someone come up with a goose horn that would scare away these geese.
“State Farms policy is reasonable. The insurance company in question was GIECO. Since the he stopped dealing with them. If you have GIECO insurance he’ll send you elsewhere. He’s so busy he can afford to turn away customers.”
When I first began to manage a body shop we had a professionally made sign on the wall that read "We do not honor ___________ insurance claims." ___________ = (Major insurance company with a name that is partly similar to State Farm)
Later, we took down the sign and gave them another try. It didn’t go well, but mainly for the customers. The biggest problem with the company was their lack of insurance adjusters. Cars could sit days and weeks while the insured waited for an adjuster to inspect and approve a repair.
I called them once, on a customer’s behalf, and was simply told “We don’t have any adjusters right now.” That was the final answer. What the ____ … ?
A law enforcement officer waited for his wife’s car to be repaired. When he called to see if it was ready for pick-up I told him I was still waiting for an adjuster, after many calls to the company. He said he’d call. I don’t know what he told them, but an adjuster was there later that day! CSA
I believe if one chooses a State Farm approved shop (chosen from their list) that the company will warrant the used parts and repairs forever. Is that still the case?
CSA
The workmanship would be warranted as long as the insured owned the vehicle but the parts would carry the warranty provided by the salvage yard, typically 90 days but sometimes longer or no warranty at all.
Basically, the University of Georgia paper cited other research that found most deer whistles don’t actually produce any ultrasonic noise. So if you can’t hear it whistle, it’s probably not whistling.
Also, they found that deer don’t react to whistling noises, so even if the deer whistles actually whistled, the deer you’re about to hit probably still wouldn’t get out of the way.
The thing is it’s a matter of the heart not the head. You need to believe they work or they won’t. Science just can’t explain everything. Plus there are two different frequencies that are paired together so just a single tone doesn’t tell the story.
I find it interesting that there is so much attention given to proving they don’t work. What else is one to do? You can’t drive 25 all the time and lights don’t work well in the daytime or around curves or hills. You can’t lean on the horn for 200 miles either, so that doesn’t leave many other options-working or not.
“The workmanship would be warranted as long as the insured owned the vehicle but the parts would carry the warranty provided by the salvage yard, typically 90 days but sometimes longer or no warranty at all.”
"When you authorize repairs to your vehicle:
•Using new non-OEM or recycled parts as described on the estimate …
•And we pay for those repairs …
•State Farm promises that you will be satisfied with the fit,
corrosion resistance qualities and performance of those
parts for as long as you own your vehicle*…
•Or we’ll see that the parts are repaired or replaced
to your satisfaction — at no cost to you.** " CSA
“What else is one to do? You can’t drive 25 all the time and lights don’t work well in the daytime or around curves or hills.”
If one does not choose to drive at 25 all the time then I guess the “What else is one to do?” is to run the risk and occasionally collide with a deer.
I play a lot of golf and occasionally thunder storms pop up. Lightning can kill from a distance of 10 miles. We can’t stop playing and cancel a league golf league match and trees won’t offer protection, right? “What else is one to do?”
Men (sexist remark… I’m sexist.) are terrible about not heeding the dangers of lightning. It usually takes a downpour of rain to get everybody off the course. If somebody’s paying attention in the clubhouse then sometimes they’ll blast an air horn, signaling to come in, but many ignore that.
Both deer strikes and lightning strikes can be deadly.
A certain number of human deaths occur from both every year, some were preventable.
I realize that in these two situations that some folks are engaged in work and others play, but the choice in answering the question, “What else is one to do?” is up to the individuals involved. There are answers available if one chooses wisely.
Will all the deer stay put if I maintain the speed limit?
Will that thunder storm blow over now if I keep playing? “I know what you’re thinking. ‘Did he fire six shots or only five?’ Well to tell you the truth in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world and would blow your head clean off, you’ve got to ask yourself one question: ‘Do I feel lucky?’ Well, do Ya, punk?” CSA
"I find it interesting that there is so much attention given to proving they don't work. What else is one to do? You can't drive 25 all the time and lights don't work well in the daytime or around curves or hills. You can't lean on the horn for 200 miles either, so that doesn't leave many other options-working or not."
Ironically, the University of Georgia study was funded by the state of Georgia, apparently in an attempt to find something that does work. Unfortunately they found that deer don’t just jump off roads when they hear noises.
But I don’t blame you for trying. This is one of those situations where the choice is between snake oil and nothing at all, so just swallow the snake oil and pray.
“What else is one to do? You can’t drive 25 all the time and lights don’t work well in the daytime or around curves or hills.”
You don’t have to drive 25. I find that even a reasonably small reduction in speed through heavy deer areas/times and being extra alert, really helps.
On my rural roads, I also drive a little slower at night than I do in daylight. There are old drivers and there are bold drivers, but there are no old, bold drivers. CSA
“You don’t have to drive 25. I find that even a reasonably small reduction in speed through heavy deer areas/times and being extra alert, really helps. On my rural roads, I also drive a little slower at night than I do in daylight. There are old drivers and there are bold drivers, but there are no old, bold drivers.”
+1 to all of that!
Believe it or not, many years ago I knew somebody who said that he would drive much faster every time that he saw a deer crossing sign, so that he was “exposed to that hazard for less time”. Huh???
I haven’t seen this guy in a couple of decades, but I imagine that by now, he must have hit a few more deer than I have, and I haven’t hit any.
