Car - panelbeaters (insurance) did we get ripped off?

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rayonline

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Topic # 114686 27-Feb-2013 16:11

Not mine. Someone had a wee accident so there was a hole in the rear bumper that you could just put a pencil thru it. They weren't familiar with the insurance so they paid the $300 excess and was told after asking that the total bill was four hundred odd dollars. If we shopped around maybe we didn't need the insurance ... to pay for our car at least. Well it was us at fault so our insurance company had to pay for their car, automatically does that mean our car has to be insurance paid as well? But anyway, is a $4xx job excessive you think? We thought initially the hole was so small that the bumper didn't need to be dismantled but they did repaired it, spray painted and fit together. The paper said 1hr for dismantle, 1hr 15 repair and 2hr 15 for painting.

Did they had to dismantle it ... or was that job made larger than required, I don't think so right b/c the insurance assessors would know otherwise. If a little job, they could have just fixed it quickly we paid it all if it was less than the excess, no insurance for ours and insurance for the other car only. They wouldn't take all the exces sand try to recoup right..

Cheers

ubergeeknz

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Vocus

Reply # 771135 27-Feb-2013 16:24

It's easier and better to remove a bumper for repair and painting than leave it on the car, because the amount of masking involved is quite labour intensive and obviously there are more materials involved with that method.

$400 for repair/respray bumper sounds about right to me.

Edit: It pays to keep in mind that insurance companies (and customers) expect a perfect repair. Therefore, most repair shops will not take short cuts or attempt to do things the cheapest way to keep the cost down at the expense of repair quality, as if they have to rework to get the repair up to standard, it is then at their cost.

graemeh

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Reply # 771138 27-Feb-2013 16:36

+1

I had a bumper repair a while ago, the panelbeater was going to do it on the car but the insurance assessor insisted he remove the bumper cover and respray it separately.

One month later some idiot ran into the back of me and the panelbeater did the same job again.

ubergeeknz

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Vocus

Reply # 771139 27-Feb-2013 16:38

graemeh: +1

I had a bumper repair a while ago, the panelbeater was going to do it on the car but the insurance assessor insisted he remove the bumper cover and respray it separately.

One month later some idiot ran into the back of me and the panelbeater did the same job again.

HAHAH indeed -- newly painted bumpers are idiot magnets :)

graemeh

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Reply # 771143 27-Feb-2013 16:45

ubergeeknz:
graemeh: +1

I had a bumper repair a while ago, the panelbeater was going to do it on the car but the insurance assessor insisted he remove the bumper cover and respray it separately.

One month later some idiot ran into the back of me and the panelbeater did the same job again.

HAHAH indeed -- newly painted bumpers are idiot magnets :)

Yes but he definitely came off second best, I had a hole in the bumper cover, he had a bonnet folded in half, an air conditioning system with a gas leak and a fan that was hitting something. He probably broke a few other things too.

If you're going to run into the back of something make sure it is not a Subaru, the panel beater said they were really solid.

Cambo

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Reply # 771871 28-Feb-2013 18:49

Panel repair is expensive, so if you have the option, definitely shop around.
Sounds like they did a proper job, and the price looks right for the work they did.

And it still surprises me how many people don't know what their insurance excess is, what they are covered for and that they should contact insurer ASAP after an incident.

The insurance assessor is just an assessor to check the damage and approve the repair costs. They can't tell the repairer how to do it.

graemeh

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Reply # 772234 1-Mar-2013 12:34

Cambo: The insurance assessor is just an assessor to check the damage and approve the repair costs. They can't tell the repairer how to do it.

How do you get that idea? The assessor can and sometimes does tell the panelbeater how to do the job as they control the money.

Goosey

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Reply # 772246 1-Mar-2013 12:49

In all $300 bucks (the excess) to repair two cars is a good deal if im understanding your original post correctly i.e. the repairs total for the car in question were approx $400. How much damage to the other car? You perhaps might not even get to know that total.

Cambo

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Reply # 772247 1-Mar-2013 12:50

The assessor can pick and choose what work they accept under the policy, but they usually accept the professional opinion of the repairer. They only thing they negotiate with is prices - they will opt for second-hand or after-market parts in some cases.

I've never come across an assessor who tells the panel shop that the chassis straightening wasn't done to spec, or tells the mechanic that an engine can't be pulled out of the vehicle to be worked on, just because they want to save on labour cost.

graemeh

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Reply # 772250 1-Mar-2013 12:53

Cambo: I've never come across an assessor who tells the panel shop that the chassis straightening wasn't done to spec, or tells the mechanic that an engine can't be pulled out of the vehicle to be worked on, just because they want to save on labour cost.

True.

The case I'm thinking of was the assessor rejecting the panelbeater's suggestion of doing it on the cheap and to do it properly and the insurance company would pay the higher price.

Klipspringer

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Reply # 772253 1-Mar-2013 12:57

When my car was bashed I took it into the repair shop. The guy from the shop had a look and recomended that they replace the entire door. After the assessor had been around to see the damage the job was changed from a replacement to a repair.

I was not happy with this. I got hold of my insurance and told them that I want the door replaced. They ummed and arred because it was obviously more expensive. I told them I do not want it fixed and don't want it body puttied up either. Eventually I told them that if they were going to take this route I would cancel my insurance with them. They ended up replaced the door with a brand new one!

TinyTim

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Reply # 772261 1-Mar-2013 13:14

Neighbour's car cost about $1k to repaint bumper cover + replace indicator cover. No holes to fix.