[Guest]

Ok guys here we go, let the raving begin....Allright, I went to the body shop where my truck is being held hostage today to pick up the estimate the insurance company left. The estimate is for a little under $3,000. Does this sound totally insane yet. But get this, they are saying that nothing needs replacing, that they are just going to "fix" the bashed in right side by straightening the metal, and then smooth it out with BONDO!!! and then repaint. And as for the rims and tires which are totally bashed in. They are saying that both rims can be "re-aluminized" or something, and that they can "clean up" the front tire WHICH IS WHERE THE INITIAL HIT TOOK PLACE TOTALLY BASHING IT IN AND SCRATCHING THE LIVING HELL OUT OF IT. and then replace the rear tire. They valued the rear tire at alittle over 120 bucks, last time I checked, my tires were at about 165 a piece. THEY DIDN'T EVEN CHECK THE FRONT SUSPENSION/STEERING parts!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHH. so tomorrow my plans are to go and break my truck out of that place and take it to the guy that has done its previous body work.

-Ryan S- 1994 Chevy Z-71 TwoTone Navy/Silver, 33in BFG Mud Terrains. Custom Flowmaster Dual Exhaust. K&N system. Custom Kenwood/Rockford Fosgate system, two 12" Rockford HE subs.

 

[Guest]

yea thats crazy man. i was gonna tell you to take it to a different place and have them do an estimate. theres no way in hell the insurance can make you BONDO your truck!! what insurance company do you have?? weve dealt with them several times in my family and weve never had a problem.

Mike ~
* Earnhardt Forever *

89 Chevy K1500 - 350TBI/700R4/NP241 - 3" lift - 33's

 

[623]

When given in the context that you gave all of these ("bondo" "fix" "re-aluminized" "clean up") are really bad words in my mind. I would most definately go to another shop. Is there any way you can go to a dealer for the estimate, then go to your body guy for the repairs after you get the money (then use the extra for mods). Or do they want to do that "send us the bill" thing. Most places screw the insurance company real good, tell the body shop that you want it returned to "before accident shape" with no bondo (except for small dings). I'm sure they'll be happy to markup steering/suspension/body pieces to make a double profit.

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[Guest]

I have USAA, my dad is army. But I mean they've been awesome before, my mom flooded her van and like an idiot kept cranking it over under the water..... I guess she thought water could be compressed, anyway, she bent all hell out of her engine and USAA just gave us a brand new engine, like THEN ENTIRE THING, I think it totalled up to about 5,000 bucks. And they're trying to dick me over on this??? AHHHHHHH

-Ryan S- 1994 Chevy Z-71 TwoTone Navy/Silver, 33in BFG Mud Terrains. Custom Flowmaster Dual Exhaust. K&N system. Custom Kenwood/Rockford Fosgate system, two 12" Rockford HE subs.

 

[Guest]

Consult a attorney like yesterday. Thats not right.

 

[Shorts]

get your truck outta there!!! that estimate sounds like poop to me.

ryan, did you get any pics of your truck???

i'm currentlty dealing the with guy(small claims court) who fried my motor...the one who left the oil cooler line disconnected...anyway, i feel your pain.

Shorts <-- its not what you think...and don't ask what it is /wwwthreads_images/icons/smile.gif

 

[Guest]

No, no pictures yet. My mom's camera died on me right as I started taking some wed morning after the accident. I'll go buy a disposable camera tomorrow after I bust ol' blue out of that crappy shop tomorrow morning I'm drivin it out, wobbly tires and all!!

-Ryan S- 1994 Chevy Z-71 TwoTone Navy/Silver, 33in BFG Mud Terrains. Custom Flowmaster Dual Exhaust. K&N system. Custom Kenwood/Rockford Fosgate system, two 12" Rockford HE subs.

 

[Guest]

I dont know much about this stuff, but shouldn't the truck be returned to the exact original condition as it was before the crash? I mean, you get insurance to replace stuff that gets wrecked, not repair it dangerously and decrease the value.

Good luck!

Enter Ground Zero - http://rj.coloradok5.com

 

[Guest]

Ryan, Walmart has a digital camera for $45 bucks. I use it for all my pictures if you need a sample of the quality. Its no mega pixel camera but it is good for general stuff. Get the one with a flash, Mine was $99 at X-mas , I am pretty sure the $45 camera is the same one, the prices are just coming down.

 

[Guest]

i have usaa as well, they have always been really good to us. is this the body shop that they recomended your going to? if so, i would just contact usaa and tell them what the shop told you, and recomend they get a new local shop. everyone i have ever talked to at usaa has been extreamly nice and helpfull, we have a 250+ year old oak tree in our front yard (charleston), braches are always falling and hitting the boat, cars and truck. they never once told us to cut down the tree, just sent us to a good bodyshop and paid for it. im sure that usaa will take care of you, maybe they just arent aware of how crappy the shop is.

Jonathan Rogers
[email protected]

 

[Guest]

no no no no no, right now the shop has nothing to do with all of this. They are just holding my truck. USAA sent an adjuster (sp?) out to do the estimate. So far the only estimate I have is from USAA and that is the b.s. estimate that i'm mad at.

-Ryan S- 1994 Chevy Z-71 TwoTone Navy/Silver, 33in BFG Mud Terrains. Custom Flowmaster Dual Exhaust. K&N system. Custom Kenwood/Rockford Fosgate system, two 12" Rockford HE subs.

 

[Guest]

Since it sounds like you are dealing with your own insurance company, I'm kind of surprised they are giving you the run-around. I had a similar problem several years ago when a car run a stop sign and hit me, but it was the other driver's insurance that gave me the problems.
It's pretty much standard that the insurance company will try to get out of it as cheaply as possible, but you do not have to settle with that. Just keep your cool and make sure you have your facts straight when talking with them, don't go off on a tyrant and start yelling at them....at least at first. I'm not completely sure as to what the laws are in your state regarding insurance, but I think you have at least some right to specify how the truck is repaired (including replacing body panels instead of repairing). However this sounds strange as most of the shops I have dealt with say that if the body panel has more than a simple ding in it, it's easier and cheaper to just replace it with a new part.


6.2Blazer

 

[166]

Hey Ryan,

I had a similar experience with my insurance company when the lady across the street backed her big a$$ van outta her driveway and creamed the entire rear quarter-panel of my truck --I guess she forgot how to use her rearview mirrors... BUT I digress... My insurance company only wanted to pay for bondo-ing, etc. I "politely" refused and insisted they replace the quarter panel. Eventually they concurred/wwwthreads_images/icons/smile.gif. Another time, I got rear-ended on the freeway and when I picked my truck up from the shop, they had slapped on some ridiculous, wimpy, plastic bumper/wwwthreads_images/icons/crazy.gif I pitched a fit/wwwthreads_images/icons/shocked.gif. But the insurance company would only pay for what they thought was reasonable considering the year, mileage, etc. of the truck. I offered to pay the difference for the heavy-duty bumper I had originally and they (the shop) went ahead and replaced it.

Be persistent and don't take "no" for an answer. The insurance company is going to try to save themselves money and screw you if they can. That's the nature of their business. Sorry for the novel... just my experience and $.02.

Cheryle

You never really learn to swear until you learn to drive!!!

buh bye!

 

[Guest]

What a hose job! What all is wron with it? I bet you could get NEW parts and have them painted and labored for that much. A body shop around here does mostly that, it seems like they don't like to straighten things out. Good luck.

 

[Guest]

Buuuuuuuullsh*t!!!This kind of crap drives people to go postal.Get your pride and joy out of there and call a lawyer.There is no way in hell you should have to settle for half-assed work on a truck that was in good shape to begin with.I havent really been paying attention to your story (sorry!) but it sounds like the insurance co. is trying to save a buck at your expense.You dont have to put up with it.I live in Maryland and you're entitled to get an estimate whereever you want check your local laws dude.Anyway I hope it works out for you.Good luck.