What if?............The unspeakable...

[tonyteesdale]

Recently a friend of mine (NOT ME THANK GOD) was hit by someone who took a turn too wide while he was driving.

The guy is CRAZY about his car... but in a different way than most of us. He's crazy under the hood... he kinda neglects the exterior. But now he has a huge dent in the side of his car. To say the least, he's freaking out.

So my question is...
What would YOU do if the unspeakable happened to you? Not only considering that you'd need a new paint job, but that you'd have to trust your car with someone as meticulous as yourself...

I, for one, would probably spend every day just sulking about it... praying someone would call so that I could detail someone else's car to forget about my own...

I'm PRAYING that I'm not the only one as hopelessly addicted to detailing... and would be in that pathetic a state about my car if anything happened

[jpegs13]

I've only had 2 experiences in my life. The first one I was driving at night in the fog and hit a car parked in the road. ( It had been stripped and there were no taillights) Totaled the car.
The second, I got t-boned by another car and rolled 4 times ( or so I was told). So in my case, I never had to worry about dings and dents, i always got a new one, thankfully or luckily or boy. I'm glad to be alive.

[Wax Gorilla]

It happened to me. I just resolved myself to the fact that for a week I would not be able to tell how my vehicle was treated. It needed a new Hood, Fender and headlight in addition to some trim pieces. All in all it was about $3200 dollars that GEICO Paid the Mercedes Collision Center in my area. The work performed was about a 96% job. To this day there is a little bit of Ornage Peel that I am unwilling to mess with for fear there may also be too little clearcoat there. Once a car is damaged you cannot un damage it ! I took it to the next level Hired a certified appraser for $250.00 and was able to secure a settlement of $4000 in DIMINISHED VALUE. I was able to prove that if I was to try to sell the car right after the certified repir was made that it would be worth $4000 less. I had a check within 10 days. That helped me feel like I was made whole again. Had this been my dream car that I had had for decades I might of felt different. This is not an expensive car, It is my son's dailey driver Mercedes C280 that was worth about 26K at the time. A couple of model years old and about twenty thousand miles. We had numerous before pictures which made for a perfect case. We could show that the vehicle was kept in above average condition. Alot of the anxiety of keeping it perfect is now gone. Once a vehicles PAINT VIRGINITY has been taken the little things don't matter much any more !

[Larry A]

Repaints can be better or they can be worst, but they cant be the same.

[2003 GMC Denali]

The only true way to get over it, is to sell it or trade it in. That way you get to start all over again.

Being OCD and owning something that got smashed up, does not go together very well.

I had a new car being prepped by the Dealer, while my smashed up one was in the Body Shop getting fixed.

There's no greater feeling than buying a new Car (ok, maybe one)

[ScottB]

I too would allow insurance to repair to the best possible outcome, and then get rid of the car. Diminished value is nice "if" you can get it, but alot of policies negate this benefit especially if you are at fault or if other party is uninsured.

[Wax Gorilla]

Diminished value is not negated by any auto policy in any state if you get the correct data collected. Sometimes it may need to goto court but they (the insurance company) will settle. You are allowed to get diminished value even if you are at fault ! If you can prove diminished value (and you always can) you are entitled to it!

[LincolnZephyr2006]

ehhh it happened to me and now I am over it. Face it.... it is a huge chunk of metal.... just try to find a body shop that will match the color and orange peel to your clearcoat..... nothing will last forever.....

And believe me.... I am highly meticulous when it comes to detailing my cars...

[2003 GMC Denali]

My Insurance Policy allows 30 Months of Full-replacement Value in the event of a Write-off.

Do you guys in the States have such a Policy?

[PAR Detailing]

Ya I have to say its just a huge hunk of metal that can be replaced. My grandfather always said "never fall in love with a hunk of metal" and I have taken that to heart. I have been rearended twice in my life (both times I did nothing to bring it on, no slamming on my breaks or anything like that, just a negligant driver behind me) so I would say just go to a shop that your trust and dont let it bother you, afterall YOU are the one that determines if you let it bother you or not.

And on the diminished value issue, yes you are entitled to compensation for diminished value. No insurance company will tell you about it but if you bring it to their attention they will give it to you

[CharlesW]

Never had the occasion to get into the "diminished value" thing, but as far as repair of damage to my vehicle, it depends on the quality of the repair.
A few, very few, body shops can make repairs that are not easily detected. I once looked at a vehicle that had a "Prior Paint Work" tag and I never did determine just how much had been repaired. I was able to find evidence of painting, but I really couldn't tell if it was one front fender, both front fenders or a complete front clip.
I have also seen some that looked like they were painted with a rattle can.
Good job, I would just move on. Crappy job, the vehicle would belong to someone else in a short time.

Just like detailers, some bad, some good, some outstanding.