Minor Body work - vandalism

by velu » Tue Feb 03, 2009 09:40 pm
Posts: 16
Joined: 08 May 2008

Hello Everybody!
Front passenger glass of my car is broken (car vandalism)...which caused some minor chip on the door...Insurance adjuster gave an estimate of around 450 dollars for fixing the door paint and 350 dollars for window glass. He said they will do color matching and repaint half of the door
Its very minor chip about 10 of them of pen dot size are there...visible only when you want to scan for chip on the door. Am still paying for my car.
Questions
1) Am not sure if they work on the body paint it will be as good as the original one... bought my car 9 months back. If I can ask the insurance agent to fix the window glass alone, will it create problem for me in the future as am on lien with the honda finance. Is there anyway I can get money from the Insurance and fix it later if the Honda finance asks me about that.

2) I have other very minor dents on the otherside of the car not happened by this incidence. can they fix that thing too?! I have full coverage. Other dents happened 3-4 months back when i was still with the same insurance. If they can...do they file separate claim for that?!

3) Will the claim on car vandalism increase my insurance premium?!

Appreciate ur help!
Thanks
velu

Total Comments: 34

Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 06:11 am Post Subject:

Hi Velu, regarding you first query....if you don't want to repair the damages done to the body of the car you may avoid it, though, I fail to see a reason why the work wouldn't be of same quality. You can also take the car to a bodyshop that you would trust. However, if the damage is only cosmetic and not affecting the performance of the vehicle you may skip the mending work as well. A comprehensive claim is likely to affect your premium rate, therefore, avoiding repairing minor damages would help you to keep the rate hike at check. And, as long as you stay current with the lienholder, it might not cause a problem to them either.

Hope this helps.

~Jeremy

Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 06:32 am Post Subject:

3) Will the claim on car vandalism increase my insurance premium?!



It may, ya know, depending upon the carrier and nature of the claim. Some insurer may not increase the premium when its a single car claim, but at the same time the others do. Comprehensive and collision portion of the auto insurance is the most expensive part. Hence, you may see a rate change after this claim.

InsureAmi

Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 07:01 am Post Subject:

Most likely, the insurer wouldn't cover the old damages and please don't try to outsmart the adjuster by claiming that the damages are recent since they are trained to distinguish between old and new scratches. You may end up being accused of fraud even.

You may remain truthful to the adjuster and express your desire to mend the old dents as well, he may consider the issue and include it to the claim, or may ask you to file a separate claim altogether. The final decision would certainly be upto you.

Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 02:06 pm Post Subject:

He said they will do color matching and repaint half of the door

:roll: :roll: good luck with that unless the car is flat black...seriously ain't happenin'...

1) Am not sure if they work on the body paint it will be as good as the original one

yes, most likely it will as good just likely won't match...(again unless it's black and i mean 'flat' black no metallic)

If I can ask the insurance agent to fix the window glass alone, will it create problem for me in the future as am on lien with the honda finance

No not unless they repossess the vehicle.

Is there anyway I can get money from the Insurance and fix it later if the Honda finance asks me about that.

Honda won't ask about it unless it's repopped...you could just tell the shop that you do not want to repair the door just replace the glass and use whatever is left (money wise) to cover your deductible...however if there are chips these will continue..eventually..

2) I have other very minor dents on the otherside of the car not happened by this incidence. can they fix that thing too?! I have full coverage. Other dents happened 3-4 months back when i was still with the same insurance. If they can...do they file separate claim for that?!


Yep separate claim separate deductible...

3) Will the claim on car vandalism increase my insurance premium?!

Not in any state I'm aware of unless there is a clear pattern of these types of claims...

A comprehensive claim is likely to affect your premium rate

Jeremy you have it backwards...a comp claim is NOT likely to affect premiums..

Re: your damage to the opposite side, you just say a couple of dents if they are small and no paint is damaged ask the shop what they would charge to repair these using Paintless Dent Removal...it's much cheaper...'if' the shop you are going to has properly trained techs or a rover PDR tech that will come to the shop.

Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 11:31 pm Post Subject:

Just a quick note. If you do not want to have the vehicle painted and want to use the money for the deductible then go to an auto parts store and get touch up paint. If you look inside your car door there should be paint and color on info..you can use this to match the paint. You could also just buy one of those paint pens they sell everywhre and try to get as close to the color as possible.
If the chips are as little as you say try spraying some of the paint onto a container and use a fine paintbrush to cover the marks. Pens usually do the trick themselves but cover more of an area then just a little pen dot. Make sure you cover these marks so they do not rust.
Lori is correct about if the shop paints it...it will be close but not exact..I have had to have this done to my car..doesn't look too bad and you got to look close to see the difference. Good Luck.

Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 12:59 am Post Subject:

Lori is correct about if the shop paints it...it will be close but not exact..

Normally there wouldn't be an issue but this OP said the adjuster (clearly ) is not paying blend and said they are repainting '1/2 the door' one panel is being repaired, this is not a good practice...but it could be there are two tiny chips dead center at the top of the door, and maybe it's a huge door, I don't know...but i do know this...if it's very far down this panel at all (and not black) there will be a variance.

Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 04:02 pm Post Subject:

Thx for your responses guys! My car is accord 08 silver. I dont know much abt blending or doing color match. I jus decided to leave like that! Insurance will pay money to shop and my name. so I think I cannot get money for the body work which am not doing!
Thx
Velu

Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 08:03 pm Post Subject:

Oh Velu...

My car is accord 08 silver.

With the possible exception of a tri-stage there is NO harder color to match than metallic silver...

I dont know much abt blending or doing color match.

Typcially if there is work on say the middle of the door it would be necessary to blend to the rear door or quarter and maybe the fender to get a true/good color match...(costs more)

I jus decided to leave like that! Insurance will pay money to shop and my name. so I think I cannot get money for the body work which am not doing!

You absolutely can! whether you repair the body damage or not is inmaterial you are still due the cost of that repair (now if you damage it again in same place they won't pay it twice)...for instance if the body work is 200.00 the total claim is 800.00 then you can use that 200 toward your deductible if you chose not to fix that portion...be sure you tell the shop you're not fixing it though...so they won't start detriming that door! The adjuster will issue payment to you and the shop minus your deductible including the cost of that door repair...

Thx Velu

You're very welcome let us know if we can be of further assistance.

Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 05:40 am Post Subject:

Velu, the body shop would only receive the amount for the repair work, rest of the claim check would come to you. if you decide not to do the paint work, then the bodyshop won't charge you for that.

Hope it clarifies.

~jeremy

Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 05:54 pm Post Subject: Minor Body work - vandalism

Insurance adjuster estimated damage 750 (after deductible). Insurance is saying they will write a check only for the work done on the car not for the estimated damage. Now what to do?!
Thx
Velu

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