Learn me: claims and body shop

So, earlier today, I went to a city park with my wife. She had a meeting to attend there, and I wasted some time on GRM, making comments on the economy from my phone, as one would. When I went outside, this is what I found:  

It's hard to see here, but some jack leg with an ATV (the track is very narrow) did a doughnut in the parking lot, pummeling my car with gravel, and knocking out all of the glass on the passenger side. So, I have the insurance claim process started, and I'm planning on driving it to the Honda dealership in the morning to get it quoted out, and possibly repaired. You know, because this is what I wanted to do with my deductible funds, and exactly what I wanted to do with my first free weekend in a while. Good times. Any advice on the claim and repair process? The call center said it's a no-fault claim on my comprehensive. Any reason I wouldn't just let Honda fix it? They're open on Saturday, and I can't really spare much weekday time next week.

Edit: fixed image links. Edit edit: fixed image links again, since I again linked this thread. Edit 2021: jeeze image relinking

Windows missing = not driveable. Leave it there and get in a rental. If your shop isn't a direct repair shop for your insurance they will send someone out to look at it. The shop should nitpick the car to find every stone chip. Pretty straightforward claim. Let the system work for you at this point. Most of the problems in the claims process on something like that are caused by meddling owners.

In reply to ddavidv:

Thanks for the advice. By the time I posted last night, I'd already drove the short distance home, took all of my stuff out, and put it somewhere safe with a roof over it. I haven't and won't clean it up, or otherwise muck about with the state of it.

Holy cow. I hope that jackwad falls off his ATV and meets a large boulder or something. Good luck with the repairs.

Sign says it is a City Park....you might want to talk to the City about your deductible.

Well hell. Went to drop off the car, and the Honda dealer doesn't "do" glass.

None of the body shops do weekend hours, so I'm going to miss work.

(Edit: Snipped my whining.)

does the city allow ATV use in city parks?

No. They've been cracking down on non highway vehicle use lately.

You might be covered under uninsured motorist coverage with no deductible. Take a good look at your policy. The insurance company is not your friend and will take the least expensive way to them. Not a rant against the insurance companies, but an observation after 40 years as a body shop owner.

In reply to bgkast:

That's an interesting idea, but I'm not sure how I'd start the conversation, or what the underlying reasoning would be.

I don't really understand how having a deductible is making the insurance company "not your friend" or taking advantage. You can pay higher premiums and get a zero-deductible policy, if you want. It is usually more cost effective to select a small deductible policy, but that doesn't mean it's unfair.

On the original topic, man, that sucks. Vandalism should be a capital crime.

You want to get the car into a body shop as soon as you can. Let them deal with the insurance company directly, STAY OUT OF IT !

Seriously, don't get involved in any way that you don't have to. Write down your "statement" and read it back to whomever calls to ask you about what happened. You came out and found it this way, period. DON'T speculate on how or why it happened, DON'T offer an explanation or reason or solution or speculation. Just the facts, you were away, you came back, you saw it. Don't comment on anything at all related to what happened, NOTHING !

Don't want to seem paranoid, but with insurance companies, you HAVE to be.

As Don49 points out; they are NOT your friend.

And good luck ! Oh, and there will always be something wrong with the car after this, even if it's only an increase in wind noise from the new window.

Datsun1500 wrote: Why would the park have any responsibility for damage done by an illegal activity? The only one responsible is the ass hole that did it.

I agree with that, however I'd still contact the city and let them know it happened.

TeamEvil wrote: You want to get the car into a body shop as soon as you can. Let them deal with the insurance company directly, STAY OUT OF IT ! Seriously, don't get involved in any way that you don't have to. Write down your "statement" and read it back to whomever calls to ask you about what happened. You came out and found it this way, period. DON'T speculate on how or why it happened, DON'T offer an explanation or reason or solution or speculation. Just the facts, you were away, you came back, you saw it. Don't comment on anything at all related to what happened, NOTHING ! Don't want to seem paranoid, but with insurance companies, you HAVE to be. As Don49 points out; they are NOT your friend. And good luck ! Oh, and there will always be something wrong with the car after this, even if it's only an increase in wind noise from the new window.

Everything in the above post is wrong on pretty much every level. But what the hell would I know...I only do it for a living.

They're likely not going to take a statement for a simple comprehensive claim like this. If they do, and you have any idea who may have done it, tell them. Telling them "nothing", unless you're committing a fraud, is about the worst thing you can do.

But like ddavid said, this is a simple claim. Find a body shop, make sure they look the car over real well, let them and the insurance company handle it. Done.

Holy hell, looks like it even took some chips out of the wheels. Yeah, this is one for the insurance to handle. Only thing I'd have done different is probably call the police from the park and have them write up a full report for vandalism. It'll make it on the map for them and give some support to get some more presence at the park if E36 M3 like that is going down.

In reply to Mike:

I work for a City. Depending on the size ask for the parks director or mayor/city manager if smaller than 10,000 population, explain what the situation is (calmly) and ask what they can do about it. I can almost guarantee that the will be more than happy to pay you deductible to be off the hook for the rest of the damages.

johndej wrote: Holy hell, looks like it even took some chips out of the wheels. Yeah, this is one for the insurance to handle. Only thing I'd have done different is probably call the police from the park and have them write up a full report for vandalism. It'll make it on the map for them and give some support to get some more presence at the park if E36 M3 like that is going down.

Actually, I did exactly that. They came out and took down the pertinents. I need to look at the wheels up close. I don't have covered parking, so the car is with family to protect the interior, so I haven't spent much time studying it. I'll have to do that before I drop it at the body shop.

"Everything in the above post is wrong on pretty much every level."

Not in my experience. Every insurance company that I've ever dealt with, every insurance estimator who's ever come into the shop, ever insurance related phone call that I've ever had has been a total crap ride.

If you work for an insurance company for a living, then I'd take your comment as nothing more than the company line, if you work for a body shop, well then you're either lucky or have a good estimator working for you who can also work with the insurance company.

Here in Massachusetts, the insurance companies were so full of crap that a law had to be passed that REQUIRED them to pay up for factory replacement parts and panels, NO aftermarket or off-shore junk permitted ! ! Some idiot chick hit my rear bumper while texting, the insurance company tried to get me to agree to an aftermarket bumper cover, if I'd agreed then the l;aw wouldn't have applied, the body shop guy told me to refuse any phone calls and just say, "Call the body shop, they have everything all worked out."

Insurance people are just swindlers . . .

TeamEvil wrote: Insurance people are just swindlers . . . If you work for an insurance company for a living, then I'd take your comment as nothing more than the company line

Thanks. Being one pays for my racing, and we get extra bonuses for everyone we swindle.... berkeley you for whatever you do for a living, as I am certainly just as well informed about what that is and how you do your job as you are about me and mine.

Seriously, most of the issues come from people who have no idea what their policy actually covers or what their coverages are. There are certainly issues with customer service and struggles between different priorities, but I can say with certainty that any time I or my staff are dealing with a claim, we really push to make sure we pay what we owe. The friction comes to that people think they are owed is often different from what we think, but we have very strict laws making sure we always give our customers the benefit of the doubt and act in their interest per the language of the policy. I do work for a top tier company, some of the lesser companies are certainly much shadier and pushing the boundaries of legality.

As for the OP, this is a simple comp claim, clear cut. Bring the car to the shop of your choice either now or after the adjuster has seen it. Either way, the adjuster and shop will work out the details of your repairs. If the policy you chose calls for the potential use of LKQ or aftermarket parts, it is your choice to pay the difference for the OEM or upgrade or whatever you want to do. That, and it really really sucks that some mouth breathing jackwad did that to your car, total bummer.

bgkast wrote: In reply to Mike: I work for a City. Depending on the size ask for the parks director or mayor/city manager if smaller than 10,000 population, explain what the situation is (calmly) and ask what they can do about it. I can almost guarantee that the will be more than happy to pay you deductible to be off the hook for the rest of the damages.

Thanks for explaining it. I really appreciate the insight.

TeamEvil wrote: Here in Massachusetts, the insurance companies were so full of crap that a law had to be passed that REQUIRED them to pay up for factory replacement parts and panels, NO aftermarket or off-shore junk permitted ! ! Some idiot chick hit my rear bumper while texting, the insurance company tried to get me to agree to an aftermarket bumper cover, if I'd agreed then the l;aw wouldn't have applied, the body shop guy told me to refuse any phone calls and just say, "Call the body shop, they have everything all worked out." Insurance people are just swindlers . . .

I would get pissed, but your post about what you think are the basis for rules in Mass...oh, and you don't even have the regulations right...show your ignorance.

Yep, I'm nothin' but a swindler. My job is to steal money, rip people off, take advantage of everyone, deny claims just because it's Tuesday, and insist a body shop use newspaper and silly putty to fix cars...especially BMWs. Like Sonic said, insurance people are actually told to pay every penny that they owe. It's drilled into their head, I have taught literally hundreds of adjusters this mantra. The insurance industry is so heavily regulated, especially in the New England area, that the price they'd pay for "swindling" someone would be monumental. So in fact, insurance companies often pay claims that they really don't owe. But I'm sure you knew all that already, since you're so well informed.

TeamEvil wrote: Here in Massachusetts, the insurance companies were so full of crap that a law had to be passed that REQUIRED them to pay up for factory replacement parts and panels, NO aftermarket or off-shore junk permitted ! ! Some idiot chick hit my rear bumper while texting, the insurance company tried to get me to agree to an aftermarket bumper cover, if I'd agreed then the l;aw wouldn't have applied, the body shop guy told me to refuse any phone calls and just say, "Call the body shop, they have everything all worked out." Insurance people are just swindlers . . .

My insurance policy clearly explained UP FRONT that they may use aftermarket or used OEM parts to repair the car. I took exception to the aftermarket clause, and that was struck, and I pay a little higher premium for that. Sounds like maybe Massachusetts is just full of idiots who don't pay attention to what they're buying, then get pissed off when they get something different from what they assumed.

And if the insurance company has to ask you before they're allowed to use third-party parts, why would you ever answer "yes" unless there was some benefit to you? Of course the law wouldn't apply, if you agreed. So don't say yes if don't agree. Problem solved.

I'm surprised that you think the insurance company is automatically out to dryberk you with a whiffle bat, but you trust the body shop implicitly without question. Maybe the body guy was your brother, but I'm not getting that impression from your posts.

In reply to Datsun1500:

Not saying it's logical, but I've seen way stupider and more expensive things paid out. Can't hurt to ask.

Duke wrote: *but you trust the body shop implicitly without question.*

But body shops have never swindled anybody...LOL...Nope, couldn't even type it with a straight face.

In reply to Duke:

Nobody reads their policy. They get excited that some magic website saves them money but never ask how then when they get poor results its because the company is crooked. Insurance is one instance where you get what you pay for.

Sonic and Klayfish,

No disrespect intended in my answer to the OP. It is ultimately the OP's responsibility to do his due diligence and know what his coverage is. My experience has been, that intentional or not, insurance companies do make mistakes and the insured does not get properly reimbursed for a claim.