VX casualty.... again

[WormGod]

Going in for a final estimate tomorrow. Sadly, I am back to work, but my lovely sister has volunteered to run these errands for me. This next shop is the shop that did the repairs on it years ago and they are familiar with it, so I am a LOT of confidence in them.

I think in the end, I will just take the vehicle history hit and collect the check. I am sorry, but I am not so generous to left this tech make a mistake and get away with it. They are a good shop and I always appreciated their business, and they will continue to get business from me, but I may rethink things some and start doing my own oil changes again. Probably time to get the "lazy" out of my system and stop relying on other people to do my "simple" things, heh. Be nice to get back in the garage some anyways. :gring:

[Trudy Carp]

Going in for a final estimate tomorrow. Sadly, I am back to work, but my lovely sister has volunteered to run these errands for me. This next shop is the shop that did the repairs on it years ago and they are familiar with it, so I am a LOT of confidence in them.

I think in the end, I will just take the vehicle history hit and collect the check. I am sorry, but I am not so generous to left this tech make a mistake and get away with it. They are a good shop and I always appreciated their business, and they will continue to get business from me, but I may rethink things some and start doing my own oil changes again. Probably time to get the "lazy" out of my system and stop relying on other people to do my "simple" things, heh. Be nice to get back in the garage some anyways. :gring:

I am the office manager at a body shop and deal with these issues everyday.
There will be NO Carfax history hit. Are you going to tell them? The 1994 Driver Privacy Act prevents insurance companies from sharing claims info with 3rd parties. Only the vehicle owner can release that information to ANYONE, including the body shop he choses to make the repair. Carfax is a joke and will never have accident claims information, only public DMV records. IMPORTANT QUESTION: Who is the insurance company? That will determine, more than anything else, how your vehicle is repaired.
Don't just accept a check and walk away. Every repair has the potential for additional damage upon tear down and the need for more parts. This becomes a "supplemental damage request" and is reviewed/reinspected by the insurance adjuster, documented and okayed. You can't write what you can't see, it's technically insurance fraud. Also, what's listed as a "repair" on the original estimate can easily turn into a "replace" once work has begun and it's determined to be more cost effective to replace instead. That could easily happen with your fender. You also have 12 months from the date the claim was filed to submit any supplement requests for additional accident damage that surfaces after the fact. And, of course, the old "diminished value" allowance that has already been mentioned. Don't be afraid to wheel and deal with that: replace my fender instead of repairing it and I won't ask for diminished valve money. Got the idea? Good luck!

[WormGod]

Good to know about the car history details. I worked in a body shop LONG, before the intar-webs were given to us by aliens, so tracking anything in any manner was stone-age and nobody cared.

Travelers Ins has been very cooperative, surprisingly. The notation on the estimate about "other possible damage TBA upon teardown" had to be signed by me and the body shop. It dictates that an immediate check for damages visible will be cut now, to begin repairs, and the body shop is to inform them and the me of any damages uncovered during repairs, of which then they will send out an adjuster to review what was found. Pretty typical from what I remember (even though I was a painter and rarely dealt with adjusters).

Its all covered though. She has been torn down since last Wed and is probably hitting the NEW spray booth (thats right, my VX will be the 1st vehicle to christen their downdraft, haha).

And just for the sake of it, I took it to a shop previous to going to the body shop to have the brakes and the coolant system looked at. No issues anywhere. They found no coolant leaks and brake pressure/rotors/pads were fine. It was worth the day and the $20 to have them look it over with a fine toothed comb. These guys were recommended to me by, of all people, my sister.... and they were great. Even more impressive was the entire row of 1/4 mile cars and offroad vehicles they had sitting in the bays. I think I found my new shop. They loved the VX. Never seen one before.... and they wouldn't shut up about "you know, if it was mine I would do this and this and this and....". Enthusiastic techs can be scary and reassuring at the same time, heh.