Collision repair, dealer only?

[PhyrraM]

So, my 'new to me' LR3 had an encounter with a deer. Considering what I've seen from deer hits on normal cars, I'm amazed at how good the Rover still looks. Other than the obvious from the pics below, the cowl molding was shook loose, the airbag light is on (none actually deployed), and the A/C condensate is pooling in the passenger footwell (drain knocked loose?). It was a small to medium deer, but it hit solid. The whole truck shuddered and the engine stalled - but restarted right away.

MY question for the old timers is should I let a competent, but normal, shop work on my truck? Or should I insist on a dealer repair only?

 

[454]

If it's on the insurance company's nickel I'd insist on a dealer repair.

 

[LR Max]

Just put a new fender and bumper cap on it. There you fixed it.

Get used parts so it matches the rest of your trim. The drain isn't a problem, just pull back the carpet and re-insert. Buy a OBD reader to get rid of the light. I would assume this would be cheaper than your deductable. I mean, that isn't that much damage.

Also FYI, most dealerships take their vehicles in need of bodywork to a nearby body shop. So if you really want to take it to a shop, cut the middle man and just take it to a body shop.

 

[proper4wd]

Yes I'd call your local dealer and ask who they use for bodywork. We work with several, depending on the extent of damage (and how much we want to pay for the repair).

Also I would avoid going through insurance if possible because it will permanently tarnish the CarFax and thus the resale and trade in value of the vehicle. That does not look like more than $1000 of damage especially if you buy a headlight assy from a junkyard.

www.car-part.com is your friend! Headlight assy's (xenon) from $350

 

[406to417]

Like others already said I dont think very many dealerships have their own body shops anymore.

 

[PhyrraM]

I'm comfortable replacing panels and bolt-on stuff. I'm just not sure how to check for damage to the core support. I would think that the light is smashed from behind, because the lens is still intact. Also, the gap from the fender to the door is not 100% straight anymore.

My first thought is to get a check from the insurance, but use it for an ARB or T4x4 bumper. Bad thought? This LR3, even used, is my first 'nice car'. I usually drive Subarus.

 

[proper4wd]

Then keep it nice. Fix it right.

Insurance is always available but remember it comes at a cost. A bad Carfax can decrease the value of a vehicle by thousands of dollars. And your premium may go up.

 

[getlost4x4]

CarFax is a joke. its right 10% of the time.

Get the insurance check. buy an ARB bumper, new fender and headlight. upgrade thank the poor deer that gave his life for your fancy new bumper. LOL

 

[proper4wd]

CarFax is no joke. Debate it's accuracy all you want until you are trying to sell or trade your vehicle... I work with these issues every day. Bad carfax equals serious hit in value. Every time.

 

[getlost4x4]

unless its totally completely wrong.

I've seen quite a few cars come in to a dealership I worked at with damage and no maintenance. but carfax claimed it was a "clean car"

The simple truth they like to keep on the down low is, if it wasn't reported, they can't report. easy to do, easy to manipulate.

 

[proper4wd]

Of course, but going through your insurance for a collision repair is a sure way to get it reported...

 

[PhyrraM]

CarFax is no joke. Debate it's accuracy all you want until you are trying to sell or trade your vehicle... I work with these issues every day. Bad carfax equals serious hit in value. Every time.

I don't think that anybody is arguing that CarFax doesn't hurt values. It obviously does. The problem is when what is listed on CarFax is wrong and the value is wrongly lowered.

I have a personal example....I bought a used Mazda at 30K miles with 4 year terms. It had service, registration and smog checks done to it on regular intervals. Each time the mileage was reported to CarFax, as expected. Each time the mileage was increased a fairly predictable amount. When the car was paid off, a DMV title change event was reported to the DMV - again as expected - only this time it was reported with the original 30K miles. CarFax flagged it as a possible odometer rollback. Fast forward 2 more years to trade-in time and the dealer used that to make it virtually worthless as a trade. The even admitted it was an obvious artifact of the way CarFax reports but they could not accept such a liability. The dealer wasn't really to blame, the whole CarFax system, and how widely folks lean on it is.


Back on topic..LOL

The local bodyshop gave a preliminary estimate of $3000, with the disclaimer that "something is going on with that corner, but I can't tell until we get it apart". That tells me he expects the estimate go up after disassembly. They said that the insurance makes them quote used parts first - so the fender ($420), headlight ($360) and foglight ($120) are quoted used. The bumper cover is not available reconditioned, so that is quoted new. How is the fender more expensive than an Adaptive HID assembly? Weird.

A new bumper cover is $792 according to the estimate, so maybe adding the bumper beam, paint and labor to the mix means an ARB actually makes more financial sense? Car-Part doesn't seem to list a price on just the beam/structure.

 

[proper4wd]

There is recourse with carfax if you take it up directly with them. I have had issues like the one you describe from your Mazda rectified for my clients.

If the body shop estimate is that high then I would be inclined to take advantage of the insurance money to fix it with the proper parts. Proper meaning an ARB bumper of course

 

[KyleT]

airbag light is prob from the seatbelt pretensioner firing.

 

[LR Max]

Go get a number of quotes and talk to people. Like realtors, everyone has a favorite body shop but one out of ten will be right for you.

I've got a local guy here that is really good and pretty cheap.

@KyleT, can you elaborate more on this pretensioner you speak of? Does it automatically reset and you can just reset the light or does something need to be pulled and replaced? Just for my own education.