The thing to remember is as we age, it takes a lot longer to heal. When I was T-boned and my VW was demolished, my hip and leg made it hard to walk, but it only took a week or so. Now I can have a sore shoulder for a month after some activity.
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I have a new hip, the shoulder 10 years ago 4 rotator cuff tears, cartilage gone etc. Just got to watch what I do and how , many left handed learning curves, therapy would probably make it worse doc said, getting to blow some snow in the am. I think I am ok, hospital will only bill medicare, not my insurance company that would be glad to pay, not sure about upcoming Dr. appointment, only day 3 but things should be easier. Is your shoulder sore for a month? @bing
Lawyer said give it 6 months for all medical before we do anything. I have no collision so I have to go through the other insurance. Body shop estimate 1300, insurance revised it down to 700 or so using used parts rather than oem. Good for trailblazer I can get rear ended, total the car that ran into me and deployed airbags, and only have $700 worth of damage. Thanks all
I do recall the body shop that I used mentioning the insurance folks requesting aftermarket parts, but the body shop balked and the insurance folks caved.
To me good used parts are fine but not after-market. Used are what the car came from the factory with. As the body guy called affter-market Ceri-fit, sorta-fit. And they may not have the same gauge metal, primers and so on.
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Agreed. An ex of mine wrecked her Integra. The ins. co replaced the parts with aftermarket. Looked like a typical high-school-kid-applied body kit. Gaps everywhere, garbage fitment, and even little bubbles where the polyurethane hadnât been molded correctly. I had her tell the insurance company it wasnât acceptable, and they ended up re-doing the work with OEM.
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The one I loved, from the other insurance company today, You had only 700 in damages, how bad could the accident have been? I said his car is totaled (my guess) and the air bags went off, you tell me! No response. I told her my lawyer said to wait 6 months for anything re medical.
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Heh heh. I 'spose I said it already but still crossed my mind. When I talked to the adjuster of the lady that backed into my car at the drive through, she said âwell thatâs not what she (meaning the other driver) is sayingâ. I said OK, I have a police report that Iâll fax to you where she says she backed into me. And oh by the way you should inform your client that in Minnesota (the adjuster was in Kansas), you have only 10 days to file a State Accident Report which I already did the next day. And I said the penalty is pretty severe for falsifying a public document. What could she do? The adjuster called the body shop that day and authorized the repair. Then before all was said and done, another $1000 was added to the cost. Probably to cover the loaner car with 100 miles on it.
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You are not bound by what the other partyâs insurance company deems is an appropriate way to fix your car.
You have the right to have a shop put in new OEM parts, and then present the bill to the other driver (in court if need be).
My Toyota Cressida was rear ended in the late 1980âs. Other partyâs insurance insisted on used parts ( the rear taillight). I went with that. A few days after I got the car back from the shop, I noticed WATER collecting in the lens, sloshing around. I took the car to another shop, and presented the bill to the driverâs insurance company. They paid
No you donât have any right to new parts. You have a right to be made whole. The vehicle in question hasnât been manufactured for 10+ years and has well used parts. They are within their rights to replace body panels with used and unlikely they could even find NOS parts anyway. You do not have to use their body shop however.
Little damage to TB. Thatâs body on frame baby! I had car run into back of mine and it was steaming heap. Very little damage to my rear endâŠmostly cosmeticâŠ
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@Twin Turbo
But you still have the right to have new parts put in, if you pay for them. Then, itâs up to you to let the insurance companies deal with it, or you can go to court.
Iâve heard several people say things like âthe insurance company ruled that [I] or [the other driver] was at faultâ, etc. Ultimately, if one wants to they could let a court, which has the final say, decide fault and damages. People let insurance companies handle this as a matter of convenience.
In my case, when a defective, used part was put on my car, I told the other partyâs insurance company to âgo find me a used part that is as good as the one that I hadâ. They put a new one on
You can always pay out of your own pocket for betterment. Sometimes, when they cannot find a suitable used part, the insurance company will authorize the use of a new part. That happened to me once and of course I was happy about it. But I also realized they were not obligated to do so.
You can always opt to go to court to recover damages above and beyond what the insurance company says they will pay. But then you will have to forego any payment in advance from them. They are not foolish, they make you sign a release against further litigation or damages as a contingency for accepting payment.
The courts are quite clear on this idea of being made whole and not to be put in a betterment position. You can also forget about money for inconvenience or your time in pursuing reimbursement for losses.
Yes, it is much more convenient to let the insurance companies battle it out. I went head to head with several during the time I was self-insured. Itâs no fun. They can easily drag you through the mud and make your life miserable. Thatâs why I now carry collision on all my cars, even older ones. You hit me or damage my car, itâs one stop shopping for me. I only pay my deductible and it gets fixed immediately or I get compensation if totaled and go shopping the next day. My company looks to recover my deductible for me as well. To me, thatâs worth the costâŠ
talking insurance and ânew vs. usedâ, I recall that on multiple occasions shopping for insurance I was given the option to pay up some quite modest premium to specifically be covered with new OEM parts only⊠although I forgot what insurer it was what was giving that as an option.
personally, I do not care, as my current insurer specifies ânew or recycled OEMâ for parts and I do not care much as the warranty on repair is âlifetimeâ, so I can go back and ask them to fix what was improperly repaired
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I have exactly the same approach, @TwinTurbo!
Even with older cars where I can drop collision part, I still maintain it, with high deductible, specifically for this reason.
Iâve seen once how the 100% guilty party gets you through the mud and only waits for you to give up and let them off the hook, I do not want to waste my time like that again.
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This was a few years ago, and hopefully it changedâŠOne body shop near me refused to do any Insurance work through Geiko. Geiko required him to use USED body partsâŠbut this one car was so new that there were no used parts. All that was available were new. It sat in his yard for almost 2 months waiting on used parts. Real pissed off customer too.
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I recall that some insurance company or companies required used parts for collision repair, up until lawsuits because the cars would not adequately protect the passengers in a subsequent collision. Some used parts have corrosion and replacing parts that didnât have. Bumper bars, fenders, etcetera, are an integral part of the safety designed into a vehicle. They quit using used structural components and started using âfunkyâ after-market parts, some of which fit and look like crap. Windshields could also be another item that needs to meet OEM standards. Headlights, too.
I had a windshield replaced in a Fiero after my son, then an energetic 4-year-old, jumped up from inside the car and broke it with his head. The insurance company wanted aftermarket glass and I went along. My polarized prescription sun glasses, worn while driving, would reveal a âshadedâ area of streaks running through my field of vision. I complained, demonstrated the issue, and got a new OEM GM windshield installed. Problem solved, cost the insurance company some bucks.
I had a poor fit from a replacement bumper cover and argued it looked like Hxxx and diminished the value of the car. Insurance replaced that with OEM. Cost the insurance company more.
Used parts⊠Take the series of Impalas that used the same body parts (06-?) for probably over ten years worth of vehicles. A three year old car probably has little to no rust, whereas a possible ten year-old replacement could have considerable rust. Same as what was on the car? Absolutely not! When an insurance company tries to specify âusedâ I tell them (and the shop) I, as the owner, will inspect the parts BEFORE they go on the car and give a thumbs-up or thumbs-down. I am an insurance adjusterâs worst nightmare.
It got to a point where Iâd call my agent and theyâd just specify new OEM parts to begin with. Saved 'em money!
I encourage everybody to resist this used and aftermarket parts garbage. Itâs baloney, a PITA to me and my insurance company!
My son had a fender bender (deer hit) repaired on his Outback at a quality (Audi) collision shop. Insurance specified used/AM. This shop doesnât play that game. They used brand new OEM parts and âateâ the price difference, no extra cost to my son. They do fantastic work, too, on schedule.
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Well, at some point, they canât be sustainable with that approach.
The impact (pun intended) to consumers demanding brand new parts to fix their older car is that more of them will be declared totaled. I know a lot of people will be rejoicing in that thinking they get a better deal out of being totaled but thatâs often not the case. Most insurance pays out less than market value on a totaled vehicle unless you have a more expensive policy that has provisions for it. Demanding new parts be used due to a few instances where used parts would be perceived to be less safe has a price and I almost guarantee you wonât like itâŠ
I donât think so! This shop has done this for many years. As I said, they are a âqualityâ shop, doing high quality repairs for many discriminating Audi owners (the shop is at an Audi dealer). They have little choice because they canât turn out quality work with garbage parts. Iâm not sure whether or not on larger repairs they can get more money out of insurance companies or not. Since they are an Audi dealer, perhaps they make up for it by using many Audi OEM parts. Anyhow, Itâs what they do! They have a long wait time to get a car in there. Since my sonâs car was driveable, he waited, and it was worth waiting for.
Not true, from my experience, with 3 totaled vehicles!
Insurance companies have tried to âpay outâ less than market value to me. I refused to accept. I kept the cars and titles all 3 times. I found comparable cars and printed them out, had receipts from recent purchases (tires, batteries, maintenance), and built my case. I made my self available for limited times to meet with adjusters. I would refuse even second offers to settle. By the time I was done they were begging me to accept the settlement I had asked them for. I am was their nightmare.
A lot of what I learned about car collision repair, I garnered from my years as a body shop manger dealing with insurance companies and their insured, daily.
Owning multiple cars helps. It gives me time to negotiate, no hurry. Having 13 policies with an insurance company does, too. That carries clout.
The variation from one insurance company to another can be⊠drastic⊠and that applies to homeownerâs insurance, as well as car insurance. In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, my neighbor and I (who own the same model home) had similar roof damage, although his was worse than mine.
My insurance company (Mercer Insurance) âtotaledâ my 16 year old roof because it had lost ~40 shingles, and promptly sent me a check for $7,000. His roof lost about 60 shingles, and his insurance company (State Farm) wanted to pay him a few hundred dollars to patch the roof.
I urged him to appeal to the stateâs insurance commissioner, and as a result, State Farm eventually paid him ~$2k. He decided to accept that payment, and to not file another appeal because he had gotten tired of living with a giant blue tarp on his roof for over 6 months.
You are non-typical. There are always exceptions. Very few people will be able to do this in practical application. Aside from the skills and bravado needed, many people are operating on little cash reserves or other means to âwait them outâ. You canât apply your ability to resist and overcome to the general populationâŠ