This Gekko may not be your friend...

[Triathlete]

T4B...you got jacked. There are federal laws that regulate insurance co. that prevent them from "forcing" you you settle for aftermarket parts. It may take more time and be a bit of a PITA but the laws are there to help protect you.
Also you may be surprised at how many VX owners are military or prior military...Semper Fi!

[tom4bren]

Shoulda clarified. Shop was forced to order a used tailgate for an Amigo once but they returned it because of lousy condition & I got a new one anyway.

[Triathlete]

[nfpgasmask]

Nice Madagasy day gecko Chopper...

Bart

[Chopper]

That one is one of the Mad/Mads...I've Grandis, Standings, and a few Leaf Tails.That male was born in 1993, and has sired hundreds of offspring. Still goin' strong. Progressive always pushes for aftermarket, and reconditioned too. Allstate, and State Farm are among the best,(I've had S.F. for thirty years) True...you get what you pay for, but you do not have to accept substandard parts....YOU gotta speak up!

[Trudy Carp]

I am the office manager at a body shop in Colorado. This is my list of the top worst insurance companies that exist. The kind that you would walk or ride a bike if they were the last choices on the planet.

1. Progressive
Never has one insurance company done so much to screw their
customers & anyone they happen to hit. Yep, doesn't even matter if
they aren't your company. As much used and aftermarket crap as they
can find to do a repair. I've seen them keep an insured out of his vehicle
for 3 weeks on a 4 day repair just so they could pay $10 less for a part.
Will not pay any extra freight to get a part quicker, will tell you to get it
from the customer. Most of their policies are written without rental
coverage. Most people dump them after their first claims experience.
2. Allied/Nationwide
Both are the same company & they are NOT ON YOUR SIDE! Recently
made a liability claiment pay the difference between an oem fender & a
genuine Ford one. His truck was 3 weeks new.
3. Geico
Ah yes, the gekko. Another one that wants to use junk parts on a
repair. Get hit by one of their insureds and you will want to kill
somebody. Frequently advise liability claiments to use their own
insurance company, if it's not one of these listed, and let them get the
money back from Geico. You CAN get them to give you a check to cover
your deductable so you don't have to wait 30-60 days for it from your
company after they settle up.

The good guys are: Allstate, Encompass, American Family, Farmers, United
Fire & Causulty, USAA. I will include State Farm, for now. They are in the
process of changing their repair guidelines here in Colorado, so they could
end up on the "bad list" soon. USAA is my favorite.

[Chopper]

No problem with S.F. here...they were first in line to bump our shop rate this year. Every one else will follow soon(Allstate was second). I would not want home coverage from them...they were the very first to drop homeowners after the hurricanes here a few years back. Dropped a couple hundred thousand more coastal homes this year. Nationwide announced they are leaving home insurance in Fla. all together. We have a real problem comming in that respect.

[driver3]

1. Progressive
Never has one insurance company done so much to screw their
customers & anyone they happen to hit. Yep, doesn't even matter if
they aren't your company. As much used and aftermarket crap as they
can find to do a repair. I've seen them keep an insured out of his vehicle
for 3 weeks on a 4 day repair just so they could pay $10 less for a part.
Will not pay any extra freight to get a part quicker, will tell you to get it
from the customer. Most of their policies are written without rental
coverage. Most people dump them after their first claims experience.

I disagree... First of all, they tell you that you need rental coverage, and cheap people say no. Second, if you are fixing a 10 year old car, they will not put new parts on it, the car is not new either. They make it like it was before the accident. I would normally not stick up for insurance companies, but I work for this one and I know they are good with claims. In fact, if you total your white vehicross, they will go out and find one of the same mileage and color and buy it for you and give you the car as your replacement. There are some cool things they do, and I'm sure there are a few times when someone feels they get screwed. It will always be that way, the problem is, the happy people rarely blog their great experiences, while angry people make sure it's known that that's the worst company out there.

Also, I believe you need to be a "Progressive Approved" shop to get the best out of Progressive. They have consierge sites that give you a car and pager and they handle your claim and page you when your car is done. They queue up the best shops to be able to get your car back faster than most shops could. So maybe in that instance, the person chose to use your shop rather than one of theirs, which could have possibly fixed it quicker, but they will not pay any extra for them to take it to another shop. Basically, you had to order a part, their shop did not, therefor they will not pay extra for yours to get there? Maybe?

Not an arguement, but there are always exceptions.