Am I overreacting or this is just normal? I Brought my car in Monday for a minor rear bumper repair. I called in Tuesday to check and they told that they found more problem and the bumper have to be replaced, so they have to wait for the other party insurance to reappraise the car before they can start fixing it. I called in Thursday they told me they are waiting for the new appraised value to be approved? I called in Saturday hoping to finally get my car they and told me the car is done but they have to wait for the other party insurance to pay the supplement fee so I may get my car back on Monday. Basically my car is sunbathing in their lot for the last couple days.
Edit:
Thank everyone for your comments. My car was brand new Sonata Hybrid limited less than 1 month old. The party who hit me was a contracting company so they actually list their company as the insurance company. They didn’t get me a rental car and I had to put it on my credit card. I am trying to get reimbursement from them for the rental so that is why I am so anxious.
Possibly different insurance companies and/or differences in state regulations have variations in how claims are processed. But the time my car needed major bumper and rear quarter panel repair from being rear ended my insurance handled the repair cost appraisal and repairs and took care of obtaining reimbursement from the guilty party’s insurance. Since I was not at fault I wasn’t out a deductible nor had to hassle with the other driver’s insurance company.
You went through the other party’s insurance company so you didn’t have to lay out any money. Other people who have collision insurance just turn the matter over to their own insurance company, get their car back sooner and let their insurance co fight it out with the other carrier.
I would rather have them fix it properly once and be done with it than have to go back a few times. Hopefully, yours is fixed for good.
When I start working on our cars, my wife would always ask me how long it would take. I tell her if everything goes as planned, XX hours. If not, god only knows.
Oh no I didn't have to pay any deductible because the other party is at fault so I used their insurance to pay for the car repaired.
There you go--your issue isn't the shop; it's the other guy's insurance. The shop doesn't want to do work and HOPE that they get reimbursed, eventually. So, your car sits until money is in hand. If you were so inclined, YOU could pay for the repair, and get reimbursed if and when the insurnace company comes through. Don't want to do that? Well, neither does the repair shop!
Get a rental at the other insurer’s expense. Talk to your insurance company about it. If you have the rental, you will cost them money every day and give them incentive to decide quickly. Expect to get a no frills compact car, but at least it will let you commute and run errands the way you usually do.
Wifey got rear ended sitting at a stoplight, other driver ticketed, and paid the ticket. We had to wait for parts as it was a new car and parts were not yet available. We had to pay the deductible because after 3 months the other insurance company was not returning calls to our insurance company. Got our 1000 back about a month later, so f we were waiting on the other insurance company to fix our car, who knows if 9 months later we would still be waiting. Talk to your agent, my suggestion.
I agree. It wasn’t an issue of how long the repair took, it was the issue of approval from the insurance company and getting the additional parts. If I use an approved shop, the payment goes directly to the shop and I’ve never had to wait for my car until the check clears.
First, since your the claimant they should have provided a rental car so you could get to work, etc.
Second what you described is completely normal EXCEPT that part of them holding your car until they are paid.
Normally as long as the supplement is approved the car Is repaired and released since supplements are paid directly to the shop (there are some exceptions).
I had been an insurance appraiser for several years and only had one shop hold a car until a supplement was actually paid.
It is possible that the insurance company paying the bill has a history of slow pay so the shop holds until paid.
Worked in a body shop for 3 months and found out about supplemental estimates and the procedures involved. Some insurance companies are the pits and take inordinate amounts of time to complete transactions while others are extremely good. Many factors involved that the customer never sees or learns about. The time frame for the repair that the OP states is not out of line, but certainly constitutes an inconvenience. In agreement with meaneyedcatz.
You know that cut-rate insurance you, or they, shopped so hard to get ?
Guess what ?
There’s your answer.
The ‘‘bumper’’ you can see is just a cover. So…it’s no surprise at all that they’d find more hidden.
Waiting for insureance approval…waiting for parts…waitng to fit it in to the work schedule…
Pretty sure you answered your own question.
There’s a lot of back and forth at times between the body shops and the insurance companies with the adjusters in the middle and the latter two trying to make sure they get off as cheaply as possible.