cromulius

The rear door on the drivers side was backed into and the adjuster came to my house and appraised the damage. This is going to be covered by the persons insurance that hit the truck but my question is the money they allowed he said would cover a new door outside portion and he said they would also have to paint the front door so they would match. One question is that if they have to paint the front door to match is the cab and bed not going to match then. I also paid 37k for this truck that has 30k on the od and I want the same great primer, paint and clear coat that comes from the factory not just a paint job that can be done for the amount the insurance is willing to pay. Also there was a quarter size spot on the bed and the appraiser came in after looking at the truck for 30 minutes and said he had some rubbing compound and the spot buffed out. I did not give this guy to be working on my truck nor do I like the idea of just buffing off the clear coat in that spot and whatever else he hit with the rubbing compound. Now will a carfax show my truck as being wrecked? Any advise on this and how not to get screwed with a high dollar truck that looks like crap in five years?

ratlratl

I work as an estimator at a body shop and deal with this everyday.

First and foremost, you are the claimnant and you have alot of rights. They have issued money that will not cover the complete and appropriate repair. You need to find a shop that you are comfortable with. Don't shop around for estimates as that part is done. Just shop the shops for the quality that suits you best. Once your vehicle is in the shop, that shop (if they are good indeed) will copy the estimate you have and use it as a starting point. They will then make their own repair order that will involve the rest of the items necessary to repair your vehicle to it's prior condition. They will contact the liable party's insurance company and issue them a supplement request. It is possible that the company will then send out another adjuster to that shop to see this info or maybe not if it is not that high of a difference.

Your vehicle is not finished until you are happy with it.

This is the game that we must play everyday. On the other hand, insurance companies do pay out less initially because if that person pockets the money, then they aren't out the total amount they could be. It helps to make sure that people will actually repair the damage. It also shows how good a shop it really is in that if they accept the initial estimate and that's all they do, then it's not the right shop for you.


Chris

br6ad

My buddy and significant other had an accident where it was the other persons fault. The drivers door and surrounding area was damaged. They took it to a reputable repair shop and everything worked out well. They also fought for compensation for the diminished value since it had been involved in a wreck. I'm not sure how much they received but they were satisfied.

Brad

Mocho

Just a note, carfax is about useless, it won't show up. Your truck is technically worth less because it was involved in an accident and if you tell a potential buyer many don't like it, but it depends on how bad of damage etc.

I would definatly say you want compensation for the reduced value of your vehicle. The insurance company has to please you and don't give in to easily.

When I got into an accident and it wasn't my fault I just went to two shops got estimates, and they were very similar to what the insurance came up with. I just took their money and fixed it myself. Could of probably got more but the damage was extremly minor and I made some pretty good coin anyways.

Grit Dog

First, don't be paranoid about getting part of your truck repainted. As new as it is, no shop should need to paint more than the damaged panel to get a good color match. Don't stress over losing some of your "great" factory paint. Just about any good quality base/clear paint is going to be as good or better than factory and the application of it will be better (thicker) than factory. The factory paint leaves ALOT to be desired on these trucks. The clear coat is very thin.
Unless you get a crappy body shop, the only part that might look bad in 5 years is the factory paint.

mega-engr

I don't think the issue for most people is the paint material other than the color match. It seems as though there are 5 or more shades of a particular color with some slight changes in color since a lot of factory paint is often faded. Even on a newer vehicle. Getting the new paint to exactly match the old paint (where it the old paint doesn't match the brand new paint) is the difficulty. One has to make sure the match is done in the correct light when there is a choice of shades...

Other than this issue to contend with, the rest of the quality should be fine if a reputable shop is chosen (as previously suggested by others).

Ram Daddy

I have to respectfully disagree with not needing to paint anything other than the damaged area....I`ve been in the bodyshop business for almost 20 yrs. now , as a painter , and the very first thing they stress in any of the PPG or BASF paint classes is you get the color close enough to blend it out...not "panel paint". There are WAY too many variables in the automotive paint world to ensure a perfect match in 99% of the cases , esp. with high met. colors , like gold , silver , lt. greens /blues etc...

As far as the rest of what was said , your are right on.

Take it to a good repair shop , and let them fix it as they feel is best for you (the customer) and not the insurance company.

cromulius

Great advise, thanks y'all. My truck is black by the way and in the texas sun it may be a bit faded.

Mocho

Black is a tough color. One thing i'm sure you know but be picky! Don't settle for any crap work, and let them know it.

I've seen two "blended" jobs on trucks only a few years old and the guy had to be on crack. It shouldn't be that tough but it is. They weren't terrible, but my motto is, you shouldn't be able to tell the paint was ever touched.

I should really snag a pic of the paint job on my dads truck, it makes me sick that anyone would let that work out of their shop. Stupid mistakes someone whos never done it before wouldn't make

And just a note, "reputable shop" don't mean squat, the place my dad went to was recommend by the insurance company, and a couple other people said they did good work. But they turned out to be a bunch of hacks.

If the job isn't done to your satisfaction don't hestitate to tell them to redo it, just make sure your happy, because once you sign, they won't know who you are anymore.

Ram Daddy

If it`s black met. it may still need to be blended , but straight black on Dodge and Ford is one of the few colors that are able to be painted without blending...at least with PPG products.

Also , food for thought....if you go to a shop "recommended" by the insurance company , you`ll have better luck getting a quality job done , because they usually bend over backwards to make you happy , as to not have you gripe to the ins. co. and get kicked off the "good" list.

mmurray

One other issue that should calm your nerve I have not heard yet.

If you go to a reputable shop check to see if they warranty there work. Most all of them do. So that should relax you a bit! Keep your paperwork and if for some very strange reason the panels they repaired is fading faster than the rest or the clear has flaws or oxidation, etc. They will redo it for free!

I have a silver truck! Just about every inch of my truck has been repainted except the roof and passenger front fender! (Drivers side was side swiped in a hit and run!, passenger bed side changed after my brother-in-law left his truck in neutral and rolled down the drive way into the bed!) Silver needs alot of color matching, blending and my work was done at 2 different shops. You can't tell that work was ever done! Like it was said before, it looks as good or better than factory!

Good Luck and remember... you are always right!

Grit Dog

Well, I knew his truck was black! Just kidding!
Maybe I have just been lucky (and I have no where near your experience, just a shade tree body man), but The last 2 repairs I've had to make, Dodge Patriot Blue and Dodge bright red were exact color matches, used Sherwin Williams, panel painted both and never could tell the difference. Have had alot of others in the past that I to blend. That light blue that comes on the '90's Chevy trucks comes to mind. That wasn't even close to matching.

mega-engr

I think another part of the issue is even when the color looks sweet and matched when it is painted, that after a certain amount of time, the new and old paint will fade at different rates... Hence, I think this is another reason why one would want to blend out and try to have as generous a transition between new/old paint as possible and not just paint one panel and have a sharp transition so to speak... I have vehicles that looks great when done, but can see the difference in paint over time.

cromulius

The body shops around here def want to blend to the front door and around the back of cab which means removing the bed. Not sure I really want someone removing my bed that works at a body shop but I guess it will be alright. I am debating having them blend to the front door and not romoving the bed to blend around the back. Any ideas? I also spoke with my insurance agent and he could not believe that the appraiser the insurance company sent out used rubbing compound and worked on my truck. The more I think about some guy working on my truck without my permission the hotter I get. Is the clear coat in the area where he used rubbing compound now gone? My agent said they would not pay my lost wages to got drop the truck, pick up etc but they would have to compensate me for now haveing a repaired truck opposed to the almost new perfectly stock truck. Now how much money is it worth that the truck has been in a wreck and repaied? Any ideas on how to determine? Thanks y'all.

Mocho

A truck that is written off and declared salvage drops in value 25% after being rebuilt. I would say maybe 10-15% of it's value should be compensated for.

I would let the body shop do the repairs they want like removing the bed etc, so if it doesn't match or something they cannot say "we did it your way". They SHOULDN'T mess up anything by removing it, like scratching it, or not adjusting it right, but yea a lot of shady work around. Just be very very picky and look it over when you pick it up and don't sign until your happy.