is this how body shops work (insurance, etc)

[loustylez]

so basically i had some minor damages to the bumper/hood in an accident earlier this year. if i decide to get a new bumper instead of having the body shop repair the stock one i have, does it work like this? :

they have $200 in the repair estimate for a new headlight. all that's wrong is the top brackets broke off. i can fix that myself.

they have another $300 labor in to repairing the bumper and hood. i'm confident i can get them to agree to REPLACE the hood, so this $300 in labor is no longer necessary (won't be repairing the hood, won't be fixing the bumper).

and this is my question. can i tell the body shop "can you take the $500 that geico wants you to put towards a new headlight and repairing my bumper/hood and put all of that towards BUYING (shop buys and has shipped to them) another bumper i want instead?" of course if that comes out to be a little extra, i'd pay that + my deductable.

can they do that? is it shady/illegal at all for them to do that? surely a body shop would rather just paint and install new shit and put it on than try repairing this and that. if they can do this, my deductable would still be only $500. new bumper + new hood + painted/installed for $500 = win.

otherwise, it's pointless to tell the body shop not to worry about doing this and that because what's the point of getting less work done and still paying the same deductable.

the current estimate is at $1200. if i can "save" them $500 by not replacing the headlight and fixing the bumper/hood because i have other plans, that only brings the estimate down to $700. i would still pay $500 deductable and i'd still have to pay for whatever bumper out of my pocket.

if a body shop is willing to do this, then i'm totally going to have them put on a reiger or S4 bumper, reiger v1 sides, paint my rear lowers (and the rest of course).

we might throw on some BBS CH's as well ;)

[loustylez]

well, i did call one shop now and they basically said they can do that so... i think i'll just get this baby in and go from there!

[pipe7284]

show us once is done.

[loustylez]

show us once is done.

obviously ;)

[seank]

yes that should be fine, your insurer should cut you or the body shop a check for the estimate of what was wrong this is the money you will get but what you do with that money is up to you and you just pay anything over the estimate. at least i have never had a problem doing this when any of my cars have been hit.

[UN-PIMP-Z-A4]

it's your money to spend how you choose.

[onemoremile]

Once the quote is accepted all they care about is the dollar amount. They may require before and after pictures to show that the repairs were made.

[loustylez]

*fingertips together grinning evily*

oh reeeeeeeally? ;)

i'll be tickled to death if i wind up all of a sudden with the style i've been wanting foreeeeeever.

on silver:
reiger rs4 or modded s4 (will most likely be a last minute decision)
reiger v1 sides (door strip left black, love the look of that contrasting line)
BBS CH 18's
painted rear
magnaflow

i can most likely get all of that done coming out of the shop paying the decuctable and using my tax return money for the rest...

i dunno, i'm not getting too excited yet, but damn this sounds nice.

[UN-PIMP-Z-A4]

no mention of hood replacement?
$1200 can't really go far as far as exterior mods go.
Shucks that cant even buy those BBS's unless used with soon to be replaced tires...

[loustylez]

well, i can most likely get the body shop to make them replace the hood, so that would be figured in to the estimate. basically, i should be able to save conservatively $400 off the estimate.

starting with $500 deductable out of my pocket.

~$500 bumper - $400 body shop savings = $100 extra i have to pay for getting the bumper.

so now i'm at $600 cost to me. add $250 for reiger V1 sideskirts + ~$300 paint (including getting rear professionally painted).

now we're at around $1150

since i prolly can't afford BBS CH, i'll look at OZ Ultra 18's. shipped from tirerack with tires ~$1800

now we're at $2950.... damn this is getting expensive

money back from taxes: $2200.

i'm glad i thought this out. i may just do wheels later and rock the 17" RS4's for a while longer. they're all curbed from the previous owner and i hate it but you can't really tell from a distance, or while they're moving, and they DO look pretty snazzy either way. then, i can throw the rest of the money towards my car loan and have it payed off sooner and not feel SO guilty about dumping more money into the car ;)

[b00st]

Once the quote is accepted all they care about is the dollar amount. They may require before and after pictures to show that the repairs were made.

estimate contains repairs for the car. supplementals are called in and if its a pro shop they don't need to call in. normally most body shops don't care what you do. as long as you cover the costs outside the estimate. like the RS4 bumper and such is yours for what they can get the bumper at plus whatever overage it takes to get it. if they can replace your front bumper for 300 and it costs you 600 for an Rieger. you pay/owe $300. but it will most likely result in longer hours for install since it will not fit like OE. so more money there...if they say 1 hr for labor. it maybe 2hrs for labor for your RS4 front. i think we get the idea now.

[loustylez]

yah i loosely kinda figured that in. thanks for the info fellas.

not knowing this information was what kept me from getting the work done in the first place in february.

[UN-PIMP-Z-A4]

Wait you don't own the car yet and want to dump money into it already?

My next car hopefully a b7 would be a chip and tint and i'm calling it a day.

[loustylez]

i go back and forth, seriously.

my car is an eye sore to me right now because of the chipped painted lowers and the non-painted sides, curbed wheels from the last owner. i want to just get a new bumper (prolly S4), hood, sideskirts and maybe fix up the wheels and that's all i could ever do with the car and be happy. any other mods would be for fun and because i have the money.

but then i go back to the fact i have an auto, the tranny clunks in gears here and there and just ruins the driving experience of driving a nice, smooth, firm, lowered, audi. so i start thinking "what's the point in making THIS car simply LOOK like i want when i can just save money, keep it running and get an S4 some day or supercharge another 2.8 but get a manual this time" then i start thinking about tranny swaps... just not worth it.

so, don't spend money on visual appeal and spend money on chip + exhaust + any repairs and throw the rest to the loan? maybe i can paint the lowers myself again next time and do it right (and also do the sides now).

don't spend money on performance because the car drives fine now and it's an auto anyway?

ugh, baaaaaack and forth, back and forth.

if i'm smart, i'll just make sure it's running good (fix a possible wheel bearing going out) and pay off the thing and repaint the wheels/lowers myself. we'll see i guess...

i also won't get a large chunk of money like this again - the chance to have it come out of the shop looking just the way i want.

following up with this insurance claim isn't worth it to me to get a fixed hood and a repaired stock bumper. $500 deductable. it makes me just want to spend the rest to get a NEW bumper and sideskirts and get it looking good right out of the shop.

but if i don't do that, i still got a busted hood and a bumper with holes in it even if i paint the lowers again myself. this is why i keep going back to bumper + sideskirts + hood = done.

[GTO]

Yes what your doing is techincally illegal, but if the body shop is willing to do it just don't make any mention to Gieco and you should be alright. An insurance company isn't going to waste their time on that type of claim, your total is too low to raise any flags. They'll most likely pay out without any questions. If you start adding more you might get someones attention.

[blackaudia4tk]

yea technically everything thats on a insurance estimate has to be done that is the law but changes to replace vs repair are a money issue i had a guy hit me my estimate for a head light, hood and fix a the scuff on the bumper was 1583.. 404 for a new hood 324 for a head light then labor and paint i kept the money and bought a hood new lights and painted the whole car s4 skirts ha but you do have to show your insurance after to show that what was wrecked is now fixed unless they just trust the shop if not than any damage to that area wont be covered

[loustylez]

my eyes are bleeding now, but thanks for the info :)