Body shop intrigue. Any experts?

Our 1995 Volvo T5R wagon (Olive Green- a slightly collectible car in Volvoland) was pushed 3' back into another car and then both were shoved another 2' when it was legally and courteously parked. The driver of the 2004 F-250, who apparently could not make the space fit his truck in spite of his best efforts, drove off and parked a couple blocks down the street. Thankfully a nice person ran down and got the driver's info. Driver had insurance- the cops gave me all his info when I filed the hit and run report. I skipped talking to him and went with my insurance, Geico.

So I took the car to the Geico recommended shop as instructed. They were quite willing to total the car instead of replacing and spraying the bumpers. Apparently insurance companies like to screw each other? Shocking. I politely asked that they repair the damn thing. So they did. Thanks.

Then a non shop tow ruck driver backed into it. He didn't want to lose his job, so he is paying the repair out of pocket. Now the body shop is trying to stick the tow truck driver with my rental as well. According to the shop the Poor dude is trying to scrape up "financing". And they tell me they wont release my car until the tow truck driver pays up. That's right. Makes very little sense, and in fact, it sounds a little criminal.

Obviously I am calling the Geico mothership tomorrow.

Any words of wisdom?

Thanks!

Big problem trusting someone to pay like that. He could very well say "sorry--I don't have the money" and expect you to take him to small claims.

Flakes are EVERYWHERE and they SUCK.

Damn, someone has it out for that car! I'd definitely file your claim with Geico for the second hit at the shop; they will pay the shop off - probably within a day - and go after tow truck driver or their insurance to be repaid. Oh, we need pics.

Sorry, if I were you, I would be talking to the tow truck drivers boss about this. After all he did do this with a company vehical, witch also means his place of business is involved. It would be nice to give some one a break but who knows how many other times this driver has done this. Sounds like this guy should not have a job that has to do with driving for a living.

I have to wonder what the problem with reporting the accident, how many has he had that he would get fired for it?

that's a sign from the universe that the car has a target on it, it's time for it to go... or bring in a shaman or priest to cleanse it of all it's ills

fasted58 wrote: that's a sign from the universe that the car has a target on it, it's time for it to go... or bring in a shaman or priest to cleanse it of all it's ills

The thought of letting it go has crossed my mind. I will be getting it back....... (hopefully) all shined up and half resprayed. It may never be worth more- approximately half of what 2003-2006 v70rs are going for that are 10 years younger with 100k less on the clock.

In any case I am going to hit it somewhere underneath hard with a hammer and call that #3.

Thanks, I'm glad I asked. I was looking at this as business that is between the driver and the shop. Just because that would seem to make sense I guess. How silly.

Obviously, If the shop wants to keep the car as collateral, ultimately the are looking at me as the responsible party no matter what blarney they fed me. Kinda like my relationship with Wall Street. Sort of.

So, yes, your right; Contact Geico, and inform them of the second collision. The shop did send pics... I have an account somewhere. I'll put them up.

My sister once owned a car that was involved in 2 major accidents before it was paid off (and it was a used car). When it was involved in a 3rd, she got rid of it (tho I think the insurance company may have totalled it). Oddly enough, the second accident was a hit and run, too.

With all these claims in such a short period, even tho none of the accidents were your fault, I will be surprised if GEICO doesn't drop you.

As far as the tow truck driver...I agree with others here, WAAY too much going on with this driver not to involve his shop. When my 1st Civic was towed after an accident, I went to the impound yard to pick up a few things. Imagine my anger when I found the whole right side was scraped by something red. (The accident involved a truck that was not red hitting my left side.)

The shop does repairs, and gets paid. They don't really care who pays it, as long as they get paid for their efforts. A tow truck hitting a car on their lot isn't really their responsibility, as it sounds like you've concluded.

Tow trucks have to carry expensive, massive amounts of insurance. So you should (have) go through them. But...a lot of tow truck companies have denied being on the same planet as you when these things happen. It never seems to be their fault. For a quick resolution, I'd be going through the lizard.

As for totaling your Volvo, I hate Volvos. They are a blessing when we can total them out. Regardless of how good of a car they are (or not). they are one of the PITA brands to fix. Much like a VW or Audi, they have 2 million separate plastic parts in the front end, all of which cost $200. I total 2005 Volvos pretty easily; I'm not at all surprised a '95 would have been close to it even on a relatively light hit.

ddavidv wrote: The shop does repairs, and gets paid. They don't really care who pays it, as long as they get paid for their efforts. A tow truck hitting a car on their lot isn't really their responsibility, as it sounds like you've concluded. Tow trucks have to carry expensive, massive amounts of insurance. So you should (have) go through them. But...a lot of tow truck companies have denied being on the same planet as you when these things happen. It never seems to be their fault. For a quick resolution, I'd be going through the lizard. As for totaling your Volvo, I hate Volvos. They are a blessing when we can total them out. Regardless of how good of a car they are (or not). they are one of the PITA brands to fix. Much like a VW or Audi, they have 2 million separate plastic parts in the front end, all of which cost $200. I total 2005 Volvos pretty easily; I'm not at all surprised a '95 would have been close to it even on a relatively light hit.

Listen to what he says ^^^^ He works in the business, as do I. He's right. The shop fixes the car and gets paid, they really shouldn't care who pays them. They also have no legal right to hold your car hostage trying to make the tow driver pay, they don't have a claim...you do. Like ddavid said, the tow driver should have insurance. And I also agree with him that the driver may deny being in North America at the time (I've seen it happen umpteen times), so maybe your carrier is the best option.

ddavid, I'll forgive you for your lack of Volvo love, even though my DD is a '96 850GLT wagon. You're right they're a pain when it comes to repairs, but German cars are definitely worse...

Olive green was used as camouflage for a reason. Paint that thing dayglo orange so people will stop hitting it.

The body shop most certainly has the legal right to hold the car until their work is paid for.

Why does it seem that Tow trucks are the crookedest industry around? If I got in an accident and then denied it I would probably wind up either poor or in jail yet tow drivers are just forgiven because "that's the way it is".

foxtrapper wrote: The body shop most certainly has the legal right to hold the car until their work is paid for.

True but they don't care who pays it.

foxtrapper wrote: The body shop most certainly has the legal right to hold the car until their work is paid for.

Correct. But what I was saying is that they can't say "We're not releasing your car until we make the tow truck driver pay up". That's none of their business. If they get paid, which is the obligation of the vehicle owner, the shop has to release the car.

Shaun, if you're looking to offload that T5R, don't forget your buddies on the GRM boards. I'm sure there are some interested parties, your truly included.

Datsun1500 wrote:

foxtrapper wrote: The body shop most certainly has the legal right to hold the car until their work is paid for.

Who authorized the work? I see this as an issue between the tow truck driver and the shop. If the driver hit the car and told the shop to fix it without the car owner saying it was OK, how can the shop hold the car? If you own a shop and someone brings you MY car and has you do work and you don't make sure I am going to pay it, how can you hold my car?

This is exactly what happened- they started fixing it before I was informed about it.

With the info gleaned here, I think they are holding onto the car because if the tow truck driver does not pay, they call his boss, and they need to point to the car. If that fails, they would ask me to make a claim with Geico. I would decline and ask that they make a claim their insurance company.

When I talked to the body shop guy yesterday I could tell the car was done- he said it was not under orders to bullE36 M3 me and he was not much of a liar.

An interesting twist is that the only reason the car was still at the shop to get hit by the tow truck driver was that they ordered the wrong front bumper and had to re-order. The t5r comes with a molded in air dam splitter looking bottom cover that the aftermarket does not supply. I pointed it out to them when I brought the car in, explained the trim level, the minor collect ability, I am gear-head- I care, blah blah blah, but whoever ordered the parts blew it.

Going to call Geico now.

alex wrote: Shaun, if you're looking to offload that T5R, don't forget your buddies on the GRM boards. I'm sure there are some interested parties, your truly included.

Thanks! After reading that my beloved wagon was a POS, this cheered me up!

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: Olive green was used as camouflage for a reason. Paint that thing dayglo orange so people will stop hitting it.

Ha ha!

25 years ago (or something, I am to old to remember much), when I lived in Orange County California some idiot had their Ferrari pointed dayglow orange. It sported personalized plates: "so crass". It takes all kinds.

If the OP wants to pay the shop the bill, the body shop will certainly release the car to him.

To me, it sounds like the body shop is actually fighting the OP's battle for him against the tow truck driver. Fine if the body shop and OP are happy together with that.

Shaun wrote: This is exactly what happened- they started fixing it before I was informed about it.

That's roughly the point where I'd call a lawyer, and I'm not someone who does that lightly. Find out exactly where you stand but I would expect that given how you described the situation, you should legally be able to waltz in there and drive the car out given that your obligation to them is finished.

Basically they started doing additional, non-authorized work (well, non-authorized by you) based on something that happened on their premises and an agreement that they had with a third party you didn't know about, and they're holding your car because of that?

Or to put it more bluntly, they're depriving you of your property based on a third party's debt to them that you didn't co-sign for and have no legal liability for, either. There's usually a legal term for something like that...

I think calling the lizard to get them to put some pressure on the bodyshop is a good thing, but if that doesn't help, find out exactly what your rights are and politely read them the riot act.

foxtrapper wrote: If the OP wants to pay the shop the bill, the body shop will certainly release the car to him.

The problem I see with this is twofold:

• The OP didn't authorize these repairs
• It's not the OP's debt to the bodyshop.

foxtrapper wrote: To me, it sounds like the body shop is actually fighting the OP's battle for him against the tow truck driver. Fine if the body shop and OP are happy together with that.

If they had discussed this with the OP beforehand and told him they couldn't release the car before they had the cash from the tow truck driver, but they'd take care of the whole mess and the OP agreed to that, I'd applaud them. But that's not the way I read Shaun's post.

Yeah, I know, armchair lawyers and all that, but if the OP didn't agree to the above it makes a massive difference in this situation.

+1 on what Tim is saying. Having owned a body shop for many years, if I did work on a customer's car that was not authorized by the customer. I would have no grounds to hold their car. Most states have laws that require documentation of the owner's authorization to do the repairs. This usually also specifies a specific dollar amount or not to exceed *** dollars. This clearly between the tow truck driver and the shop.

Yeah, I'm failing to understand how holding your car is supposed to make the tow truck driver/company/insurance pay up. And given the E36 M3storm that's brewing over that little mishap, I'd probably like to get out from the middle of it post haste.

Tell the body shop to politely shove it, and wish them luck with the tow guys before you drive off.