boysan
04-23-2005, 02:33 AM
Jesse S.'s post about getting his car fixed reminded me to post about my recent repair there.
After a fender bender courtesy of the Mrs., the other object of my affection looked a little worse for wear. Thankfully my wife was unhurt. She was just really upset with herself.
Alan at EA thoroughly explained everything he anticipated doing. He replaced the right front quarter panel, lower bumper spoiler, and right headlight. The hood was undamaged and the bumper cover ended up just being repaired and repainted.
In terms of approach, Alan was both conservative (he didn't recommend blending the OEM paint on the hood to "match" the new fender because they're viewed on different planes) and aggressive (he tried to negotiate with Geico for a new bumper cover since he expected the clear bra removal to take long enough that labor costs approached replacement costs; also, rather than follow Geico's work estimate to just reinstall my existing door trim after blending the door, he replaced it since reused trims don't seem to sit tightly against the door panel).
The paint match is great. In bright sunlight or under artifical lighting, I can't distinguish between the original and the new. Geico did a great job servicing us and they cut us a check immediately. I still have to schedule my clear bra reinstallion at TNT, but thankfully, Geico is kindly offered to pick up the tab for that too.
Before and after pics (please excuse the camera color correction differences):
http://www.audizine.com/gallery/data/502/31030402_damage01-med.jpg http://www.audizine.com/gallery/data/500/31030409_repair01-med.jpg
http://www.audizine.com/gallery/data/500/31030402_damage02-med.jpg http://www.audizine.com/gallery/data/500/31030409_repair02-med.jpg
http://www.audizine.com/gallery/data/500/31030402_damage03-med.jpg http://www.audizine.com/gallery/data/500/31030409_repair03-med.jpg
After a fender bender courtesy of the Mrs., the other object of my affection looked a little worse for wear. Thankfully my wife was unhurt. She was just really upset with herself.
Alan at EA thoroughly explained everything he anticipated doing. He replaced the right front quarter panel, lower bumper spoiler, and right headlight. The hood was undamaged and the bumper cover ended up just being repaired and repainted.
In terms of approach, Alan was both conservative (he didn't recommend blending the OEM paint on the hood to "match" the new fender because they're viewed on different planes) and aggressive (he tried to negotiate with Geico for a new bumper cover since he expected the clear bra removal to take long enough that labor costs approached replacement costs; also, rather than follow Geico's work estimate to just reinstall my existing door trim after blending the door, he replaced it since reused trims don't seem to sit tightly against the door panel).
The paint match is great. In bright sunlight or under artifical lighting, I can't distinguish between the original and the new. Geico did a great job servicing us and they cut us a check immediately. I still have to schedule my clear bra reinstallion at TNT, but thankfully, Geico is kindly offered to pick up the tab for that too.
Before and after pics (please excuse the camera color correction differences):
http://www.audizine.com/gallery/data/502/31030402_damage01-med.jpg http://www.audizine.com/gallery/data/500/31030409_repair01-med.jpg
http://www.audizine.com/gallery/data/500/31030402_damage02-med.jpg http://www.audizine.com/gallery/data/500/31030409_repair02-med.jpg
http://www.audizine.com/gallery/data/500/31030402_damage03-med.jpg http://www.audizine.com/gallery/data/500/31030409_repair03-med.jpg