Body work on car or not -- what would you do?

Sunset said:
What an odd situation.

While I do have dash camera's , I have been pretty nervous passing semi's as many put the Roman Chariot wheel shredders on their front wheels what is with that ??
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To motivate people to let them merge into traffic and not ride up on in front of them in merger situations.
 
Many years ago I was driving our 1968 VW Bug to a car show . A guy in a Suburban blew a tire came running out of control booted me and the bug like a little football . I flew off the road hit an embankment and rolled on my side . My bug was my baby , I was like super crazy mad . The suburban had Mexico license plates . He got out of the Suburban and completely ignored me ….Ok , I don’t recommend this but he was pulling out his spare tire I asked for his insurance . He kind of shooed me I slammed the door on the guy . He started yelling , by then the sheriff showed up. He made me stand far away . The guy changed his tire and drove away. The sheriff told me , he had no insurance but we just want him out of our county …..The little car was totaled . I lost .
 
Tough call. The first new car I ever bought got a big dent in the passenger side door at 1500 miles, in the parking lot of my employer. I never found out who did it, another employee or a visitor. I was very young and stupid, didn't even file a claim, and never had it fixed, traded it in about 3 years later as is.

I can afford to fix a car now, but it would depend on the car and what the dent looked like - for me to decide whether to fix it or not.

Accidents and car repairs, especially auto body, are always a PITA. I had a very minor scrape (one that probably no one else would even notice) in my drivers side door fixed a couple years ago. It was $1200 to fix - but the first available appt was 4 weeks off to get into the body shop, and 2 more weeks to fix. They told me finding good employees to do quality work was a big problem, that's why it took so long. And FWIW I traded that car in last year, and while Carvana never noticed the repair (undetectable to the naked eye), when I took it to CarMax, their appraiser found it and their offer price was $1400 less than Carvana's...
 
As I've said before, the damage is purely cosmetic -- no effect on functionality, and it doesn't bother me enough to pursue it. I have an enormous amount of stress in my life right now, and many things are just not worth dealing with. Sorry I roused so much curiosity here.
 
The police clearly didn't want to be bothered..........and the same goes for your insurer. If I were in your situation, I'd sue the trucking company, directly, in small claims court. If they're insured, then their insurance company will respond and voila you now know who the insurer is. If it gets to a court hearing stage, then it's a matter of proof, and you have credible proof of 1) the damage 2) how it likely happened and 3) that the truck left without giving information. I'm positive the Judge would rule in your favor. I would not just live with this dent.
 
braumeister said:
They said it would likely be $5 to 6K at a minimum, they couldn't get to it before November, and they would need it for at least 4-5 weeks. Of course I would need a rental car in the meantime, so add another thousand.

Another issue is that since it's a new model with limited availability, there could be a lengthy wait for the shop to get that new door after ordering it.

My feeling is that since it's purely cosmetic (the car is perfectly driveable) I'm OK with just leaving it alone. When I eventually sell it, years from now, the hit for that dent won't be anywhere near the current cost of repair.
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Why would a dent in a door be 5 to 6k minimum? Why would they need a new door? Why would they need to keep it 4 to 5 weeks. Why can't they get to it until November? All rhetorical questions but all raise red flags to me.

If it is really just cosmetic, why would they need a new door? Is there something special about the car/door? Usually Just some bondo, paint and labor and a few days in a body shop (at most) and you'd been done.
 
braumeister said:
Sorry I roused so much curiosity here.
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Why? Replies are meant for anyone interested in the subject, not just the OP. When I start a thread, and I've learned all I want to know, I stop reading it (but don't tell anyone)...
 
braumeister said:
As I've said before, the damage is purely cosmetic -- no effect on functionality, and it doesn't bother me enough to pursue it. I have an enormous amount of stress in my life right now, and many things are just not worth dealing with. Sorry I roused so much curiosity here.
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Too much stress is not good--take care!
 
braumeister said:
As I've said before, the damage is purely cosmetic -- no effect on functionality, and it doesn't bother me enough to pursue it. I have an enormous amount of stress in my life right now, and many things are just not worth dealing with. Sorry I roused so much curiosity here.
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In that case, leave it for now. But when you do have the bandwidth, perhaps pursue another estimate, one that doesn't have to replace the door and can just fix it, quicker?
 
Stormy Kromer said:
This would be considered a collision claim, not comprehensive.

It would not be a "hit and run" incident, that requires to you be legally parked.

Depending on the insurer it could be considered an at fault accident if they're unable to collect from the other party (subrogate). Questions for your agent.

I put a cosmetic dent in my 10 year old Chevrolet pickup a couple years ago. I'm not fixing it.

If I had a newer car that I know I would be trading in someday I would definitely fix it.
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Not sure about your state but you do not have to be parked to have a hit and run here...

All you have to have is someone hits you (even if you are moving) and RUNS...
 
If the OP has the name of the trucking company and the license plate number, I wonder if he might call the trucking company and at least file a complaint against the driver. It sounds to me like the driver may have not been licensed so perhaps the OP could find who in government regulates that and file a complaint there. While it won't help with the damage, it might at least make the OP feel good if there can be some consequences to the trucking company and/or the driver.

Perhaps call the state's attorney and file a complaint. Isn't it illegal to refuse to provide your license and insurance information if you are involved in an auto accident? If the OP has pictures it sounds like a good story for a local news station to run as a public service announcement... I bet that would get things moving in the right direction.

Even if the OP decides to live with the damage, won't he get dinged when he later trades or sells the car?
 
Sunset said:
What an odd situation.

While I do have dash camera's , I have been pretty nervous passing semi's as many put the Roman Chariot wheel shredders on their front wheels what is with that ??

Lesson here to me is: somebody hits me and doesn't want to show license & insurance, I should immediately dial 911 and get a cop there... (after all driver might be drunk, dangerous).

As for OP, his insurance seems lazy, knowing the plate # and truck and time of accident, there is a record of the driver (who may not actually be licensed) as the trucking companies don't send someone off to deliver goods and "hope" he shows up. It's all well tracked by the company and dept of transportation.
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Whether it is worth it or not I would also take a picture of the driver along with the truck, license plate, and damage. And maybe one of the truck driving off.
 
braumeister said:
Yeah, it was a weird situation. The cops rolled their eyes when I told them it was a semi. They said it was generally impossible to prove anything against a big trucking company, and especially in this case which was essentially a hit and run. My photos of the truck and its driver didn't impress them at all.
They told me I could fill out an accident form but they would just immediately close it and do nothing.

The body shop said they don't write estimates for USAA because they don't accept any estimates but their own. They said I could go ahead and make the claim but I would only get a small fraction of the actual cost. "That's why USAA has such great rates. It's fine until you need to file a claim."

The USAA claims folks pretty much agreed with that opinion when I talked with them. And they said that without the details of the trucker's insurance they would have no way to follow through.

It's a nasty case, but I'm actually OK with it. Just disappointing, since I expected better.
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That’s strange. I had a person rear end me because he was following too close and traffic stopped quickly. He stopped but said he didn’t have his ID or insurance information. I took photos of my damage and his licenses plates and turned it over to USAA.
They were able to track down his name, I filed hit and run with the PD and USAA paid for the damage and the rental car.
 
This thread reinforces my strategy for semi trucks. I have noted that many drivers are on their phones and weaving all over their lane. Therefore, when passing, I try to stay beside them for a few microseconds at most. This is one reason I could never have my insurance company monitoring my acceleration rates.
 
Yeah. Some people cruise slow and dawdle next to semi trucks.
I give 'er all she's got and blow their doors off. Get out of the danger zone fast.
 
MC Rider said:
Yeah. Some people cruise slow and dawdle next to semi trucks.
I give 'er all she's got and blow their doors off. Get out of the danger zone fast.
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Me too!!

BTW, when I was young and driving next to a semi my dad said do not stay here... if one of those tires blow you are in trouble... and we all see the carcass of tires strewn on highways so it does happen often..
 
My dad "gently" rear ended another car while he was in his w*rk vehicle. The lady jumped out of the car, said there was no damage, and then drove off. Two years later his company was sued for $2M. One possible option is to get a lawyer, go after the trucking company for $2M and then settle for $6K.

I have several stories about when I have been completely screwed during an accident. I kind of like the old days when a horse drawn wagon hit your horse drawn wagon and you pulled your pistol out until the other guy gave you a cow or a bunch of chickens to pay for the repair.

One more thing. I have never used this but I was told that you can always go to a judge when you get in an accident and say your used vehicle is now worth less because it has a record of damage. The judge will make the insurance company pay for the decreased value. Again, I have only heard this and not used it.
 
Car-Guy said:
Why would a dent in a door be 5 to 6k minimum? Why would they need a new door? Why would they need to keep it 4 to 5 weeks. Why can't they get to it until November? All rhetorical questions but all raise red flags to me.

If it is really just cosmetic, why would they need a new door? Is there something special about the car/door? Usually Just some bondo, paint and labor and a few days in a body shop (at most) and you'd been done.
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Makes one wonder about the repair shop and their honesty? Recently on vacation in Maine my US car died and the car alerted me to “Alternator failure” so had it towed to the nearest dealer. Could have surely sold me a new alternator! But they found the oil fill cap was damaged and oil was spitting out onto the serpentine drive belt which was causing it to slip and not charge the alternator. Basically all it needed was a new oil cap and a clean up but I chose to change the belt while they were at it.

As to the body work, I would fix it as that kind of stuff bothers me. After a few years when the dings and scratches adds up I will take it to the body shop and get them to repaint the offending areas! Cost me $900 last time and car looks great again. But then I live outside the US and chose to forgo such repairs on my US car but then I don’t drive that one nearly as much!
 
I'm going to cut our friend Braumeister some slack. He did nothing wrong. Stop beating on him.

For all who haven't seen what's going on in the auto repair business (especially body work), this is your wake up call. We wonder why insurance rates skyrocket? This is why. The hit and run is only part of it. The big part is the cost and pain of repairs. The pain part includes long wait times for parts as Brau describes. This then creates huge rental car bills. Parts availability is a real troublesome problem.

As for the actual repair, just look at a car today compared to even 15 years ago. The paint jobs are now incredible. Repairing a small issue is expensive. Pick-a-part options are becoming rarer since everything is so precise.

I recently saw my cousin for the first time in about 10 years. Her husband has a very, very successful business as a paintless repair specialist. (He actually does some painting though.) When he first started this 30 years ago as a side hustle, I thought he was nuts. So did everyone else. Eventually he quit his desk job and now makes enough to go out and buy classic Corvettes and other collector cars on a whim. Yeah, he's real successful, and it isn't a show. He said business since the pandemic has been incredible, that's how he's building a new garage for the collector cars.
 
Where did this hit and run take place? Almost every business and a lot of houses have outside cameras now days. Chances are high it was caught on camera. This is a crime that if let unpunished will be repeated over and over again. The police should be willing and able to investigate by checking cameras. If a semi driver is hitting cars and leaving the scene it's only a matter of time before someone gets seriously injured or worse.
 
MC Rider said:
Yeah. Some people cruise slow and dawdle next to semi trucks.
I give 'er all she's got and blow their doors off. Get out of the danger zone fast.
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My new car has highway driving assist, it works really well at keeping the car centered in the lane, but the first few times I passed a semi it made me somewhat nervous. I'm used to hugging the left side of the lane when passing a semi, being centered in the lane was closer than I'm used to and felt a little unsafe at first.
 
We had a 6" scrape/gouge on the hatch back door of wife's 3 month old car. She wanted it fixed RIGHT so went to the body shops recommended by a couple dealers and got estimates from $2300 to $2600. I said NO WAY. went to a local, non corporate body shop recommended by a few friends. Fixed perfectly $500.
Shop around, don't underestimate the local small business guys.
 
A friend told me a body shop offered to do his repair for the insurance money only, and they would comp him the $1000 deductible. Wonder if they inflated that price.
 
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