not sure to be honest man, came with the truck. I'll look in the morning and see if there is a brand name on the inside somewhere.

And I know dang well it's gonna cost over $2k, I laughed when I got the estimate. But I already talked to a body shop and they said if the amount goes over what the estimate is, then the body shop will bill the insurance company directly for whatever extra it is. Either way it's getting done. I'll make sure everything is the same it was before the accident. Especially the exhaust and body kit. I'm going to be pissed if that's not done the same.

I forgot who put the picture of the mustang up, but that sucks man...I love mustangs, if I could have anything other than my truck it'd be a mustang.

 

My SIL just got rear ended about 3 weeks ago in her '07 F-150 Screw. It didn't even look quite that bad and it ran about $4700. I spent a lot of years in the trade and I can tell you for a fact, get straight right up front that the job is gonna be perfect or there's gonna be problems. Don't wait till you get it back and find all kind of things wrong and then start complaining. If it's not done right the 1st. time, all the band aids in the world won't make it RIGHT after the fact. Our grandson was broad sided several months ago in the car we bought new (his car now). The shop that fixed it is a USAA aproved shop and supposed to be the best around. It looked good on the outside ($6000. job) but when I started to take trunk interior out and look around, I ended up writting up a FULL 2- 8 1/2X 11 sheets of things wrong with the job. I was disgusted. The car was back in the shop 2 weeks having the things fixed that weren't right. That SHOULD NEVER BE! Make sure that doesn't happen to you.

 

Code58: Man that really sucks, I mean it sucks to know that body shops do these high price fixes and sometimes don't do it right. I just don't get it, like it's your job, why are you half-a**ing it you know? I appreciate the advice, I'm going to call the adjuster/whoever today and make sure that everything will go smoothly. First time I've been in an accident, besides on the racetrack of course, so this is all new to me.

 

I'm the one with the mustang. It did suck because I wanted my mustang to be accident-free, but nope a lady decided to run a red light...

 

Harley, I don't understand what goes through people's heads sometimes. Sorry that happened to you man, you still driving it or was it totalled?

 

Oh and an update: Insurance company called today, sending me a check for $3600 which is more than what was said on the estimate but still going to be less than what it's gonna cost imo. They said I should receive the check within 7 business days, that's the part that really pisses me off. I have to drive around in my truck for another 7 days and wait for this check so that I can take my truck to a body shop of my choice. Then my truck is going to be in the body shop for 7 days getting repaired, hopefully correctly. Thankfully they're providing me with a rental car, but they're not paying for the insurance or gas for the rental car just whatever it costs to rent it. Which is ok I guess, but it'd been nice for them to pay for everything, ya know?

 

Why should they pay for insurance and gas? Your insurance covers a rental with the exact same coverage as your truck, and if you are underinsured, it's not THEIR fault. Paying for gas? Are you serious?

Do NOT sign anything until the repairs are completed to your satisfaction. I'm betting the insurance company wants you to sign a release before they give you the check........

 

The insurance company was able to put it back together. It wasn't my fault though, the other person paid for it. Drove it 'til this summer (late June) and traded it in for my Harley Davidson. I was shocked when I heard the price they gave for my mustang even though the accident is on the carfax file. So it wasn't too bad after all but still, that $7000 is steep for my damage.

 

I thought it'd be nice lol. I don't think I'm dumb for thinking so, but it doesn't bother me if I have to pay for gas or not....least of my worries at this point. They haven't said anything about signing a release, they sent the check out today and said to take it to any body shop of my choice when I receive it. No signing anything, not to my knowledge at this point anyways.

 

Well like in my situation, atleast you didn't have to pay for anything. Still a frustrating process man. I'm still thinking about trading my truck in and getting a mustang, I just can't seem to part away from my truck at this point lol.

 

For you guys who don't know... there is such a thing as "diminished value". It is a state by state thing (I honestly think it should be nation wide) and covers the "diminished value" as the result of being in an accident. Most of the time when anyone (dealer or PI) checks Car Fax and it shows an accident, even if the repair is undetectable, the vehicle still has "diminished value" compared to one that has never been wrecked. You are compensated for that diminshed value. Doesn't mean it will be automatic, you may have to fight for it. I was rear ended in '03 in my '02 F-150 and could collect no diminished value because good old Californy is not a DV state. Was hit at about 35 MPH with $3500. damage and $1850. in medical bills. The repair can be perfect, it's paying for the hit it will take when you trade and they check the Car Fax. When I bought the '04 I kept the '02 for a friend but when they wanted to give me an offer on it (was FLAWLESS at 18k mi. and undetectable repair) they said "it hasn't been in an accident has it?". I said yes, it was rear ended, they wouldn't even run a Car Fax or make an offer.

 

Wow man that's so dumb. If the truck looks good, has no frame damage, has nothing wrong with it then I don't see why it being in an accident has anything to do with making an offer on it or not. That sucks you had that happen Code58. Not sure how it is here in Florida, hopefully that's not the case for later on down the road if I want to get something else and trade my truck in. I'll be highly upset.

 

Insurance def will not pay for your gas. The way they look at it is you were going to be driving either way, whether you had the accident and needed a rental or not. It is their responsibility to ensure you have a way to get around. In the 12 years ive been an estimator I have never seen an insurance company pay for gas for the rental.

Sometimes your insurance policy will cover the rental. You should check with your agent or a rep from the insurance company.

Many shops bank on the fact that the customer is not going to start removing panels to check the quality of workmanship. We call those shops "hacks". I have seen many nasty things come out of shops. Really the only excuse is either laziness or inexperience in my opinion.

Dont be afraid to go check on your vehicle to see how it is doing. Any reputable shop should let you check it out during the process. At least your accident was in the rear. Alot more things to damage up front that in the rear. Bumper, exhaust, t/gate, possible bedside & rear sill damage. The frame ends might be tweaked. If they are they can be repaired using a frame measuring system and a frame rack. With the measuring systems these days they measure down to the mm and you can do live pulling. In most cases the frame can be pulled exactly to factory specs.

If anything just explain to the shop that you take very good care of your truck and you want to make sure it is done correctly. There is no needed to go into the shop with an "it better be right or else" attitude. Thats just my opinion. Bottom line though is its got to be right. Unless you are going to camp out at the shop during the process you really dont have any option except to wait until the vehicle is done to see if its right.

It is your repairer's responsibility to have QC procedures in place to make sure the repair is done right. At the shop where I work, before the body man can take the vehicle to the paint shop the vehicle must be inspected and signed off on the RO sheet by either an estimator or manager. Also someone must witness and sign off on any corrosion protection that is to be applied (for weld panels). Once the painter sprays the vehicle he must de-nib and polish the vehicle and it again must be checked. Any add'l imperfections that are found are noted and signed off on the RO sheet. The body man will re-assemble the vehicle and check functionality. before he takes it back to the painter all aiming of lamps and funtionality of panels worked on must be done in front of an estimator or manager. The vehicle will then go back to the painter to final sand and buff. Once the painter is finished he once again has the car inspected and signed off on.
At this point the vehicle will have any decals/stripes/bedliner/etc. done. Vehicle then gets test driven. It then goes to detail. Once this is done the vehicle gets one last QC inspection by the handling estimator and any remaining issues get addressed. Once everything is ok the customer gets called to pick up the vehicle.

You get lazy techs who do not repair things correctly and office staff that are too lazy to QC and thats how a situation like code58 had happens.

If you dont mind, see if they could email you a PDF copy of your estimate. I wouldnt mind reviewing it for you. Maybe see if they could email you photos of the vehicle in process. In many cases (especially if they are a direct repairer for the ins.) the shop will take photos of the vehicle in process.

 

Sorry to hear about your truck man, hope it works out for you.

Side note, don't be to worried about the est. When my audi was hit, my insurance gave me a check for 3k, which was the amount to get the work started. Once the autobody shop got into it, the amount went up to 7600, still all covered by the other person's insurance.

 

I appreciate the advice man, as for the gas part...first time I've been in an accident, besides on the race track, so as far as insurance and rental cars go I have no clue what happens lol. First time for everything. Although, I don't think I'll be able to drive the rental car because I'm only 19, don't you have to be 25 with a credit card on file? If anything one of my parents can drive the rental car and I'll drive their car. Hopefully I won't run into any lazy techs, I have a few body shops in mind that I'm going to check out and I'll pick the best one that I feel like my truck will come out the best in. As far as the estimate, I do have it in a pdf file, pm me your email addy and I'll send it to you to have ya look over it.

Jake