I have an insurance dilemma.

Uncle Bozo

Uncle Bozo

Member
I scraped the door on my car. Called insurance co. to see what collision deductible is.
........................$1,000

If I pay for the work myself there's no premium penalty.
Sooooo I get a couple estimates.
I honestly believe both are criminal .....but....they match darn close.
$5,000
For this:

this.jpg

Both places listed every possible part. Said door "skin" had to be replaced. Warned that door is "compromised." Sure...scratches are a serious safety hazard. :censored: Even listed the window trim... that was not even touched.

Used to be I could fix myself. Sand, fill, paint.

Mirror was the cutie. What fell off in the pic, I snapped back on. Mirror motor works fine.
They said the GLASS would have to be replaced. (mirror glass) AND that the plastic can't be replaced even though it is on eBay
Has to be FULL MIRROR ASSEMBLY!!

Anyhow...... shorten this...

If I claim thru ins. my premiums would go up 400 per year.

Which is cheaper than 5 grand right now. (oh, for 6 years...declining every year)

I figure I can claim it, take some short term hits and then

Get insurance quotes from different insurer.

A quandary. Could leave it like it is because the door is NOT "compromised."

OR leave it like is and put flower stickers over the horrible "compromise."

What to do?
 

It depends on whether or not you will want to sell or trade this car in. If you do not repair or only partially repair, your car’s insured value will decrease, but if you plan to never resell, that would not be an issue.
 

I drive my car until there is nothing left.

I would probably submit a claim and bank the money from the insurance company.

You might try to find a trade or technical school in the area to see if they would make the repairs at a reduced rate.

Good luck!
 
I have a broken mirror on the passenger side, it is just hanging by the wires. I did it myself rushing to get the car in the garage during a sudden hail storm. It also got a few dings from the hail. My deductible is only 100. It has been like this all summer because I have just not felt up to getting to the repair shop.

The big one is I also sustained hail damage to my roof. That one will be a pricey deductible one percent of the homes value. This is due a new law that was passed a couple of years ago in my state.
 
Michael Z said:
It depends on whether or not you will want to sell or trade this car in. If you do not repair or only partially repair, your car’s insured value will decrease, but if you plan to never resell, that would not be an issue.
Click to expand...
Who would tell it was partially repaired?
If I don't file a claim it's all private.
 
Aunt Bea said:
I drive my car until there is nothing left.

I would probably submit a claim and bank the money from the insurance company.

You might try to find a trade or technical school in the area to see if they would make the repairs at a reduced rate.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

The school is a good idea. Have to do more research
And the insurance companies don't pay the owner. They pay the shop.
If no shop, It's all mine to pay.
 
I smacked the driver-side door mirror yesterday going through a parking pay-station gate.

I got lucky. Even though they're manual the mirrors are foldable, so it just folded back without even a scratch on it. I wonder if power-folding mirrors would have suffered more?

And on newer cars the outside mirrors often have things like indicator displays that shine through the silvering when on, defrosting heaters, etc. Mirrors are getting darned complicated and expensive.
 
Check Craig's list to
See if anyone does car repair 'on the side'
Might give a good/fair price ( earning extra case)
Good Luck!😉
 
I'd find a few other places to have it checked & compare what everyone said. I like @Aunt Bea's idea about a trade school that would work on it.

Your experience reminds me when I was 18 & needed a muffler on my Pinto. The first guy said it needed this, that & the other & could work on it right away. I went to another shop for another estimate. He showed me the parts list & I asked about the "thingy" that wasn't on the estimate the other guy said I needed. He said Pintos didn't have that. His estimate was reasonable & he got the job.
 
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Uncle Bozo said:
Who would tell it was partially repaired?
If I don't file a claim it's all private.
Click to expand...
My auto insurance company required photos of my repaired car. Of course that only happened because I filed a claim. But I have had requests from my company in the past as to the current condition of my insured car even without a claim.
 
You get a "black mark" from some insurance companies if you don't even make a claim.

Someone told me that the had a smoosh on their door like yours and they inquired with the insurance company about it. The deductible was too much, so they just buffed it out and ordered some paint that was an exact match.

Two years later, they were backed into in the same spot and made a claim and the insurance company lowered what they would payout because " the door was already damaged and they couldn't provide proof that the door had been 'professionally' repaired."

Insurance companies will stop at nothing to avoid paying out.
 
jujube said:
You get a "black mark" from some insurance companies if you don't even make a claim.

Someone told me that the had a smoosh on their door like yours and they inquired with the insurance company about it. The deductible was too much, so they just buffed it out and ordered some paint that was an exact match.

Two years later, they were backed into in the same spot and made a claim and the insurance company lowered what they would payout because " the door was already damaged and they couldn't provide proof that the door had been 'professionally' repaired."

Insurance companies will stop at nothing to avoid paying out.
Click to expand...

Yeh. I'm debating whether to pay the bill and consider the unraised premiums as return on my investment or file the claim and just pay as time goes on.
I'm so old now that it probably wouldn't get paid at all. :unsure:
 
Uncle Bozo said:
The school is a good idea. Have to do more research
And the insurance companies don't pay the owner. They pay the shop.
If no shop, It's all mine to pay.
Click to expand...
This is new to me.

I live in New York State and the last time someone bumped into me I got an estimate from the insurance company and they sent me a check.
 
If the door is not dented but only has that white paint on it, get some mineral spirits and wipe off the white paint. See what you're left with and if it really needs any additional work.
 

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