Fender Bender Bumper Thumper (Advice?)

[GlockSpock]

11/8 I was involved in a minor traffic accident in a parking lot. Essentially, a woman was attempting to exit the parking lot and had it in reverse. Gassed it and backed right up into me. Police report sided with me and the driver confirmed that she backed into me.
 
Her insurance, State Farm, is going to take care of it.
 
Ultimately, I have, I believe, three main options.

• 
  
• Take it to Young's Body Shop, Cleveland Collision, or Abbra's. (If I do this, they will bill State Farm and I never have to exhange money at all).
• Have the damage estimated by State Farm and have them cut me a check. I can then use that money to use whomever I wish.
• Have the damage estimated by State Farm and use that money to pay off part of the $6,210.84 I remain on the car. Get the car fixed out of pocket at a later date.

Option 1 seems to me like probably the "safest" and "easiest".
 
Option 2 potentially allows me to come out "ahead" if I find someone that can do it cheaper than the estimate. However, if additional damage is found I think they can directly bill State Farm for the adjustment. My family knows and typically uses someone that does body work and has his own body shop. In the past he has always done good work.
 
Option 3 is tempting because it seems like "free money" to pay off debt. I estimate that the damage is probably $2000-$3000 but I truly have no idea. The front bumper and front right quarter panel would need to be replaced. Although this option seems tempting I am not entirely sure it is even possible, nor entirely sure it would be smart. Right now I'm "steamrolling" the debt at about $500 a month. I'll have it paid off in less than a year but if I used $2500 towards the debt I could have it paid off in less than 6 months. After that I could easily afford the cost to get it fixed. But at that point if additional damage was found I would probably have to pay that amount.
 
State Farm will pay for a rental for me while it is being fixed. Right now I am "in-line" with 2 because tomorrow is when the estimator comes to take a look at the vehicle.
 
I am just curious about your experiences with auto insurance claims and estimates when it comes to this stuff. Do the estimators get it pretty spot on in terms of reasonable repair costs? Should I do #1 or #2 for a very important specific reason I am overlooking? Should #3 be eliminated completly or is it a viable option (I'd love to knock 4-6 months off paying that vehicle off)?
 
Anything else to consider?
What is my best bet?

(Clicking the images will bring them up full resolution)
 






Edited November 18, 2014 by CZ9MM

[dralarms]

Get it fixed. That way if there is something you don't see they can get it too.

[maroonandwhite]

I would suggest if you get the work done now to use the guy you know and trust. Make sure the work is done right while you still can. Not saying the other big name body shops don't do good work but I have seen a few that cut corners.

[GlockSpock]

 

“Capitalism is God’s way of determining who is smart and who is poor.” – Ron Swanson

 

http://www.buzzfeed.com/juliapugachevsky/if-ron-swanson-quotes-were-motivational-posters

 

I have to say, I likely would not watch that show were it not for him. I know most of the show's humour towards him is tongue in cheek, but I like the character of Swanson enough to watch the show regardless.

 

Sorry, got distracted but I will probably go with #2 unless someone has experience leading me to #1.

[Troutburger]

How bad is the damage?

If you plan on driving the car until it dies, and can live with the damage. Why fix it? 

 

Now if the crash impacted your front passenger wheel, then there could be steering, suspension or alignment issues. Those would need to be addressed immediately. 

 

All my cars have dents and dings on them, i'd go with option 3 

 

Have local shop or two write estimates to compare with the STF adjuster. Then you can be pretty certain nothing was missed.

[GlockSpock]

How bad is the damage?

If you plan on driving the car until it dies, and can live with the damage. Why fix it? 

 

Now if the crash impacted your front passenger wheel, then there could be steering, suspension or alignment issues. Those would need to be addressed immediately. 

 

All my cars have dents and dings on them, i'd go with option 3 

 

Have local shop or two write estimates to compare with the STF adjuster. Then you can be pretty certain nothing was missed.

 

It seems to be driveable. I had just had an alignment before the crash and it seems to still be in just as good alignment. Not saying that nothing did happen, just saying I've driven it quite a bit since and so far so good. The damage itself is only something that would need to be "secured" a bit better. You could pop most of the damage back out but it wouldn't look perfect.

[gregintenn]

Why not get a written estimate from your body man and submit it to her insurance company. At least, you can compare his with her adjustor's estimate to see if they are in line with one another.

 

Nothing wrong with pocketing the check from the insurance company, and driving the damaged car if that's what you'd prefer doing. You will have a car worth less money than before the accident, but will have been compensated for the difference. Not really different than "trading down" in car.

Edited November 18, 2014 by gregintenn

[maroonandwhite]

Why not get a written estimate from your body man and submit it to her insurance company. At least, you can compare his with her adjustor's estimate to see if they are in line with one another.

 

Nothing wrong with pocketing the check from the insurance company, and driving the damaged car if that's what you'd prefer doing. You will have a car worth less money than before the accident, but will have been compensated for the difference. Not really different than "trading down" in car.

True. Lot's of folks think you are cheating the insurance company by doing this but this makes sense. 

[GlockSpock]

Kelly Blue Book, if you still give them any worth, roughly estimates:

 

Very Good (I think it would have been this pre-wreck): $11,999 Private Party

Fair (Arguably better than this because body work is all it needs to be in "Good) $10,541 Private Party

 

Now, I know that's quite subjective and to find a buyer for either "condition" would simply be subject to finding a buyer willing to pay that amount.

 

The difference is $1,458.

[buck1032]

Me. I would get it fixed. Young's Body shop does solid work. My wife has had a two accidents in the not so distant past, neither one her fault. Both time Young's was the place the car was taken to.

[Dolomite_supafly]

Also ask about depreciation. Should be able to get some cash in hand because no matter how good the fix there will still be a record and people are not going to pay undamsged prices for a car that has been damaged.

[GlockSpock]

Also ask about depreciation. Should be able to get some cash in hand because no matter how good the fix there will still be a record and people are not going to pay undamsged prices for a car that has been damaged.

 

I was wondering about this. Because personally when vehicle shopping I typically "move on" if I see the report shows an accident. Cars with records sell for less. It would be a huge no brainer if I could just take it to Young's or Cleveland Collision and then end up with something in the checking account to cover time/depreciation/gas in dealing with all of this. Truth is I could make it look "ok' by popping some of those dents out as much as possible and pushing the bumper back in and making sure it is secure.

 

I am adding some photos to the original post as I type this.

[GlockSpock]

http://www.settlementcentral.com/page0455.htm

Interesting read.

[peejman]

State Farm may not just "cut you a check".  They may only give you a portion of the money now and only pay the rest after you provide a receipt showing the car got fixed.  That's what they did when my house got storm damage.

Edited November 18, 2014 by peejman

[bersaguy]

Ok, I realize you would like to get the most bang for your buck so to say. If you were driving a 1975 ford LTD I would say grab the money and run. Thing is your not. I'm guessing there is at least 5 body sensors located within 1 or two feet of the damage on the car. These sensors may very well be damaged but still working right now. Once the body panels and bumper and bumper cover are removed is when those sensors can be checked for damage. Your headlamp assembly will have at least 2 sensors in it that can be operating now and go bad 2 weeks from now. When the Sensor in the headlamp assembly goes back the entire headlamp assembly will need to be replaced. I have a brother that owns a huge very busy Body Shop in Rockdale Illinois and I sent him the pictures and he is sending me this information I am passing on to you. He said that some of the body sensors can cost upwards of $500.00 and that headlamp assembly is about $700.00. If you grab the money and run and all or some of these sensors begin to trigger you may wind up losing a lot more then you will gain. Plus , he said also if you get it fixed by a reputable repair shop and a month from now a sensor goes out the body shop will repair it and bill State Farm under a new claim with residual damage from original accident. It's your car and you can do what ever you choose. I just wanted to give you a few parables that could be lurking underneath that damage............................... :up: :up:

[mikegideon]

#1. Best chance of getting it done right. In my experience, if you spend the money, coming out of pocket to fix the car will NEVER happen.

[none]

My vote get it fixed by your shop of choice. Too many variables now a days with vehicle construction the advent of ultra high strength steel has been a game changer. Also your vehicle will now show a hit on nicb as well so I would definitely present a claim for DIV as well.

[Grayfox54]

Body work is extremely expensive these days. I'm thinking your estimate is way too low. Let State Farm deal with it and get it fixed. I think any atempt to come out ahead on this will come back to bite you on the butt. 

[mikegideon]

Body work is extremely expensive these days. I'm thinking your estimate is way too low. Let State Farm deal with it and get it fixed. I think any atempt to come out ahead on this will come back to bite you on the butt. 

 

You can bet that State Farm won't overpay by a lot. They do this every day.

[DaveTN]

Someone hit my car while it was parked. A State Farm adjuster called me while I was at work and ask if they could come and take care of it. I told her I wanted it fixed at the dealer’s body shop. She said she was going to cut me a check and I could take it wherever I wanted. When I asked what happens if the estimate is more than the check; she said call us.

The check was more than the dealers estimate. I was getting the car fixed and it couldn’t have been easier. The body shop manager tried to rip me off when I picked up the car, but that didn’t work. The work was good and I just chalked the incident with him up to him being a thief.

[Sam1]

couple of things to remember

 

They HAVE to pay you diminished value for the accident.  Your car now has a lower resell value because there is an accident on the title.  Don't let them screw you around on that because they will say "the car was only worth $8000 to begin with, we're not dealing with a Corvette so diminished value doesn't apply" or something similar to get you to back off that, but don't. 

 

Don't use their shop, find your own and deal with them directly.  Their shops have a contract with them because they do cheap work, not because they do OEM quality work.

 

You need to get reimbursed for any time and trouble that you lose dealing with this mess.

 

Don't need to exaggerate anything, but they need to compensate you 100% for everything this has caused.  You didn't ask to be ran into, their customer did it to you.

 

Getting it fixed or getting the payout is personal preference,  I wouldn't personally be able to drive around a wrecked car just because it would irk the crap out of me knowing I took such good care of something just to have someone else ruin it.

 

<edit> and remember the most important thing... they don't care about you or the car, they care about how little they can get away with paying you - because that's the job of their claims department.

Edited November 19, 2014 by Sam1

[Troutburger]

[quote name="Sam1" post="1210709" timestamp="1416358530"]couple of things to remember

Don't use their shop, find your own and deal with them directly. Their shops have a contract with them because they do cheap work, not because they do OEM quality


Actually, the above is not even close to true.
I was an adjuster for 5 years, and our pro shops were the best in the business. Provided lifetime warranties backed by the insurance companies, and charged the exact same rates as every other shop in the community. Edited November 19, 2014 by Troutburger

[Dane]

Having dealt with State Farm in the past the first thing I would do is get a big bottle of Advil. They are a giant head ache.
2nd get 3 dealer estimates, the higher the better. Use these to negotiate.
3rd Do whatever you want with the check they give you. It is yours for the reduced value of your vehicle. There is nothing that says you have to have the car repaired to get the money.

[Sam1]

Actually, the above is not even close to true.
I was an adjuster for 5 years, and our pro shops were the best in the business. Provided lifetime warranties backed by the insurance companies, and charged the exact same rates as every other shop in the community.

 

They don't get on the list because they do good work, they get on the list because they cut the companies the best deal.  I get lifetime warranties on cheap Chinese toggle switches bought from eBay, that doesn't mean that it is quality work.  Grew up working for my uncle in his body shop, so I've seen it all from years past & from my experience two years ago on our Jaguar, nothing has changed.  We ended up taking it to a legit shop I found after the 'awesome' state farm shop did a number to it.  It also cost them more than double second time around because they had to undo the first round of repairs.

 

Any shop can be good or bad, but be danged if I take it to one just because they're on a magic list and it's easier, again.

Edited November 19, 2014 by Sam1

[GlockSpock]

couple of things to remember

They HAVE to pay you diminished value for the accident. Your car now has a lower resell value because there is an accident on the title. Don't let them screw you around on that because they will say "the car was only worth $8000 to begin with, we're not dealing with a Corvette so diminished value doesn't apply" or something similar to get you to back off that, but don't.

Don't use their shop, find your own and deal with them directly. Their shops have a contract with them because they do cheap work, not because they do OEM quality work.

You need to get reimbursed for any time and trouble that you lose dealing with this mess.

Don't need to exaggerate anything, but they need to compensate you 100% for everything this has caused. You didn't ask to be ran into, their customer did it to you.

Getting it fixed or getting the payout is personal preference, I wouldn't personally be able to drive around a wrecked car just because it would irk the crap out of me knowing I took such good care of something just to have someone else ruin it.

and remember the most important thing... they don't care about you or the car, they care about how little they can get away with paying you - because that's the job of their claims department.

So for the diminished value...what should I expect on a car I paid $16,000 for, owe $6,000, and is worth somewhere between $10,000 and 12,000 pre-damage.

2012 Ford Fusion SE 50,000 miles.


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