Truck damage update

rrlund · Feb 6, 2014

I went to the office this morning and asked the agent what my options were on getting that $8000 piece of plastic fixed.
First off,she was as stunned as I was. I took Glennster and RLA's replies with me as evidence.
She said that they don't handle such things through the agent anymore,only through the claims department,but had advice. She said that since the place I took it was a State Farm First Choice Authorized shop and they told me to take it there,and it was not an at fault accident,that if I took it there and had them fix it State Farm would pay for it,no deductible,no questions asked even if it was unbelievably outrageous.
I asked about other options. She said that since I had glennsters estimate and rla's parts price list,if I didn't want to rip off State Farm,take it someplace else for another estimate,they'd still pay it with no deductible.
She said there probably wasn't much chance they'd total it. Said an adjuster would have to come out and look at it and make the determination,but if it was just broken plastic,not likely.
The option would be to get a realistic estimate and they'd pay me that and I could either drive it like it is,sell it as is,of get the parts and fix it myself,but any way I did it,they'd pay me that estimate if the adjuster thought it was reasonable.

What I took away was that it's a sweet gig being a State Farm First Choice Authorized Body Shop. Apparently you can charge twice what a vehicle is worth to repair $1500 worth of damage and get paid,no questions asked.
Original post

Welding man · Feb 6, 2014

Down here in my neck of the woods,we call that a license to steal.

glennster · Feb 6, 2014

get a second estimate and then call state farm corporate office at 800-782-8332 and ask for a supervisor. i'd get that shop kicked off their list if they are doing stuff like that.

rrlund · Feb 6, 2014

I'll tell them again,but when I called the claims department yesterday after the shop called me with the estimate I told the woman how outrageous it was and that I couldn't believe they were even an authorized shop.

mkirsch · Feb 6, 2014

Maybe it works like a doctor and health insurance company?

When you get the bill for any medical work, there's the price the doctor charges, then the negotiated price that the insurance company gets. The negotiated price that the insurance pays (less any deductibles/copays) is much lower than the retail price you see.

JMOR · Feb 6, 2014

(quoted from post at 13:36:15 02/06/14) Down here in my neck of the woods,we call that a license to steal.

y long association with a body shop does not align well with this theory. Insurance companies were always trying furiously to beat down the cost of repairs! Even though this shop was on their recommended/preferred list.

Welding man · Feb 6, 2014

I have done a lot of body work myself over the years and have had a couple of darn good body men work for me. Our estimates always came in under what others charged and even had insurance companies to call and ask me to refigure jobs because they thought we were too cheap. I just never felt like charging total retail on parts and charging 4 hrs labor to do a 2 hour job even though I knew I could get paid for it. I guess that is the reason I'm not rich.

johnlobb · Feb 6, 2014

So far, so good, I just hope and pray you have a better outcome than I did with Nationwide (run and hide). If you do want to fix it, I have had success in using car-part.com, you can configure the search engine by your area and it really helps on finding parts for you. Most of the junkyards are involved with car-part.com

rrlund · Feb 6, 2014

Sounds like you and I are both just too darned honest. I can't in good conscience let the insurance company pay that for that rinkydink repair to such a high mile truck.

RLA · Feb 6, 2014

I know that State Farm use's a thing called
Parts Trader.. From my side of the parts
counter it's called parts Traitor.. I don't
get involved with it, but from what I understand?
Is that a estimate for parts gets faxed to many
Dealers & they have the right to respond with
what they would sell the parts for.. To me it's
like jumping through more hoops to make a living.
There will always be someone to under cut your
bid. I know from standing on this side of the
counter we now count penny's when we usta count
a few dollars.. The prices I posted were Ford's
Suggested List, that Is the list I use. Some
Auto stores use a MATRIX pricing that inflates
Suggested list. Most of the parts I sell to
Body Shops are discounted 25%, unless it's one
of the many parts that now seem to carry a 20%
margin from cost to list.

All I know For sure there's something fishy
about the estimate you received...

notjustair · Feb 6, 2014

This will sound rude but it is not intended that way.

Think of how many ladies (that aren't mechanical) would have that body shop cheat the ins. company out of money. For that matter, how many yuppie boys wouldn't know something was amiss, either? I'd hate to think of how many thousands of dollars they have pulled off of insurance companies doing this.

My agent told me this year my rates went up because of everyone else. He said that in the city there are places with up to 40% uninsured motorists. I think of that every time it snows.

rrlund · Feb 6, 2014

He did say that he had to put it on the internet to get bids on the parts prices. What you're saying must be what he was talking about.
Is it normal for them to get the prices that soon? It was just over 24 hours from the time we took it in Tuesday afternoon until he called Wednesday afternoon with an estimate.

RLA · Feb 6, 2014

No the process should get under motion rather
quickly, when it become in writing & a check
can or will be issued. This where you need to
look at the estimate & make sure all parts
Are ( TRUELY ) Available at the Price Posted.

You & I both know your vehicle with the mileage
it carries doesn't need OEM parts, but on the
other hand it does need either Very Good
aftermarket or Quality used parts. Which ever
carry's the lowest price & still maintains
quality.

This is why We call it Parts Traitor, because
places of Business will post a parts price that
is the lowest but the parts listed isn't or
hasn't been available for some time. Then the
process of Supplement Estimate is created to
replace with apart that is available & carry's
higher cost.

I'm a farm boy, The process is called Creating
a Estimate ( WHAT IS A ESTIMATE? ) Guesstamated
Cost of repair... Fix the freaken car, if it's
a few dollars higher or lower so what.. Issue
the Insurance Check, car is fixed you are happy.
They've turned it into a nite mare...

waltdavies · Feb 6, 2014

Like I told before they have to repair or replace it with like vehicle if that is what you want.
Standup for your rights and get it fixed. You will come out better.
Walt

rrlund · Feb 6, 2014

Ya,I plan to. There's a better shop where I'm sure the owner will actually put on his coat and look at it and come up with a real estimate.
It's like I told the agent,I CAN fix it myself,but I'd prefer that somebody who knows what they're doing does it. As long as the price is reasonable. This fight isn't with State Farm yet,it's a major problem with that particular body shop trying to rip off State Farm.

oldtanker · Feb 6, 2014

rrlund: They can total the vehicle without there being much or serious damage. It goes like this. As you adjuster I get or do an estimate. I look at the book resale value of the car/truck. If repairs exceed 70% (for most companies) of the value I can total it. That's because a lot of the time there is unseen damage that will add to the cost. With some companies I call around to recyclers and have them give a bid for the vehicle in question. If the values of repairs added to the bid meets or exceeds 70% of the values it can be totaled.

This is where it get interesting. Not picking on him but if G1355 bought an new Ram 1500 today with the new engine, then gets in a wreck the recyclers will go nuts trying to bid on that track because there are basically no parts in the yards. So those parts are almost as good a gold. While I have, lets say a new car that really hasn't changed much in the last few year models and they sold a lot of that model. Well then there are parts out there but there isn't much demand because it's still a relatively new car. They are not worn out yet so demand is low. They are not going to be willing to pay near as much for mine.

That my friends is why sometimes a new model vehicle with little damage can be totaled.

Rick

waltdavies · Feb 6, 2014

Good for you. Don't let anybody cheat you.
They raise your insurance to pay that excessive cost.
Walt

rrlund · Feb 6, 2014

Ya,I'm sure that's why she said that if it's just broken plastic it wasn't likely they'd total it. If they went by that first outrageous estimate I don't doubt they'd do it in a heart beat,but looking at glennsters estimate and rla's prices for parts,it's not going to come anywhere near 70% of the value,even if it is 12 years old and has 276,000 miles on it.
But then,she wasn't the adjuster either.

Traditional Farmer · Feb 6, 2014

Sounds to me like someone(s) is getting a kickback along the line if State Farm has a fraud division I'd call them.

Anonymous-0 · Feb 6, 2014

My 2000 Explorer bumper cover was torn up from abuse so I went online with the part number and found a new one for $45 from amazon. Bought it, pried the old one off and snapped the new one on and it was good as new. Those plastic snaps really hold it on tight. I thought I could just grab hold and rip it loose but found I was not strong enough.

paul · Feb 6, 2014

I saw the pics on your other thread.

My 3/4 ton pickup got hit with 3000 miles on it, spun me around. Caved in the side of the box, nicked the rear corner of the cab, foot rest, tore the rear axle loose, dropped the drive train on the pavement.

That was under $7000 to fix including recreating the clear coat.

Paul

Pops1532 · Feb 6, 2014

(quoted from post at 17:20:10 02/06/14) I went to the office this morning and asked the agent what my options were on getting that $8000 piece of plastic fixed.
First off,she was as stunned as I was. I took Glennster and RLA's replies with me as evidence.
She said that they don't handle such things through the agent anymore,only through the claims department,but had advice. She said that since the place I took it was a State Farm First Choice Authorized shop and they told me to take it there,and it was not an at fault accident,that if I took it there and had them fix it State Farm would pay for it,no deductible,no questions asked even if it was unbelievably outrageous.
I asked about other options. She said that since I had glennsters estimate and rla's parts price list,if I didn't want to rip off State Farm,take it someplace else for another estimate,they'd still pay it with no deductible.
She said there probably wasn't much chance they'd total it. Said an adjuster would have to come out and look at it and make the determination,but if it was just broken plastic,not likely.
The option would be to get a realistic estimate and they'd pay me that and I could either drive it like it is,sell it as is,of get the parts and fix it myself,but any way I did it,they'd pay me that estimate if the adjuster thought it was reasonable.

What I took away was that it's a sweet gig being a State Farm First Choice Authorized Body Shop. Apparently you can charge twice what a vehicle is worth to repair $1500 worth of damage and get paid,no questions asked.
Original post

Doesn't matter if it's a State Farm authorized shop or not. SF isn't going to pay that shop 8K to do a 3K repair. The adjuster will estimate the job and tell the shop what they'll pay. The shop estimator will argue and get the price up a little. SF didn't get to be so successful by paying out more than they absolutely have to. This is just a game some shops play trying to get the rates up on insurance work.
Stop worrying about State Farm and start researching what a comparable replacement vehicle will cost.

samn40 · Feb 6, 2014

Just thinking abput your truck today when a brand new pickup pulled out of the local Toyota dealer's yard....No rear bumper at all! Nowadays the style is a piece of stainless tubing, closed at the ends and curved slightly forwards.....I just thought with a welder and a pipe bender you culd fix your truck and bring it up to modern standards real cheaply?????

Sam

SDE · Feb 6, 2014

A person backed into my car. Broken headlight and folded the edge of the hood to a ninety degree angle. Body shop charged his insurance $1100 plus and when it was finished they cut a check to me for about $289.

Maybe you would have gotten a kick back also. Definitely a scam going on. Either State Farm is getting ripped off big time or some agent is getting rich with him.
SDE

Whiskey Bent · Feb 6, 2014

If you decide to fix it your self I have a box side I would sell you for $100, im in south Dakota not shure where you are. Im a bodyman and I think state farm is the best ins company to work with, they pay good and use mostly oem parts. Most them aftermarket parts are pure junk! Try working with progressive or nation wide and you will really appreciate state farm.

donjr · Feb 6, 2014

Randy, if it was me, and my truck had that much mileage on it, I'd be awfully tempted to tell them to write me a check for that amount, and go out and find a newer vehicle with less mileage on it.

On the other hand, there are plenty of poor, out of work lawyers just waiting to get you a bigger settlement from the big, bad insurance companies out here in la-la land and on TV hunting for clients for a nominal, 1/3 split on your settlement. Maybe $8k isn't enough for your damage.......

Bret4207 · Feb 7, 2014

I'm wondering about the Adjuster in this case. The Adjuster who has done our Allstate claims is known for being a hard nose and going cheap. I can't believe another big company would employ and Adjuster that would give an estimate lining up with what the body shop wants in this case. I wonder if someones palm is getting greased?

Mashbox · Feb 7, 2014

I have State Farm insurance and just had my truck repaired last week at a local dealership whose body shop is on the State Farm Preferred list. I have had several repairs made here over the years and they do a great job. Not a lot of damage, but the bumper was folded back under the truck from hitting a deer.

State Farm wants used or aftermarket parts used when they are available. Yes my truck is 4 years old, but I take very good care of it. The body shop manager told me he was able to find a junkyard bumper as well as an aftermarket bumper for my truck, both of which were cheaper than the OEM part. BUT he also told me he would not want used or aftermarket put on his truck and he lowered their mark-up on the OEM bumper to get under the other pricing.

Parts and labor, my truck was repaired for $600. My point, there are some good shops out there.

Pops1532 · Feb 7, 2014

(quoted from post at 12:02:24 02/07/14) I'm wondering about the Adjuster in this case. The Adjuster who has done our Allstate claims is known for being a hard nose and going cheap. I can't believe another big company would employ and Adjuster that would give an estimate lining up with what the body shop wants in this case. I wonder if someones palm is getting greased?

SF adjusters are as hard nosed as they come. From the OP's comments it doesn't look like an adjuster hasn't even seen the vehicle yet!
The value of the vehicle has a wide range based on condition, but the high miles will really knock the value down. If the real repair cost ends up in the $3K range there's a good chance they'll total it.
Something to keep in mind when an insurance company totals a vehicle they owe you what sales tax would be on the replacement cost. I forgot to mention that before.

Truck damage update

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