Got Rearended......

IndigoGTI · 07-21-03, 07:32

Well, my wife and I were driving home from a nice lunch at Texas Land and Cattle, when a girl about our age hits us with her Taurus. We were stopped at a light behind a BMW, and when the light turned green, he took off and BOOM, I am looking at the roof of my car for some reason. I get out of the car, and the girl gets out and is real apologetic, she said her flip-flop got stuck under the brake pedal, and she couldn't stop. Nobody was hurt, I have a couple of sore muscles, and my wife said her lower back was hurting, so if it is still hurting today, we are going to get her to a doctor.

We figured that she hit us going about 15-20. Upon first inspection of the car, it only looks like the bumper is damaged, but after getting home I see that the hatch opening is tweaked a little, the hatch is pushed in a little (there is no sheet metal damage to the hatch). The taillights are out of alignment, but not damaged, and a piece of interior trim is buckled and there is a mysterious plastic fastener laying in the middle of the hatch floor.

She has Allstate insurance, so I am not worried about getting it repaired, what I am worried about is finding a competent body shop to do the repair. I have already told my claims representative that I am very picky, and I will not accept the car back if it does not look exactly like it did before it was hit.

So, any suggestions on where to go? I have seen the job that Mister Collision in Dallas did to Scottwax's Accord, and if he is satisfied with the work, they are definitely good enough. Any other suggestions on body shops in the Dallas area? I know that Allstate likes Service King, but after seeing what they have done to a friend's car, I will not be trusting any of their shops to do the repair.

Oh yeah, I will post pics, but they are on the computer at home, so it will be later tonight when I get to that.

*edit* Forgot to add that it just turned over 10,000 miles earlier that day.

*edit2* Ok, here are pics:

Oh, and a funny addition to the events that took place over the weekend: My insurance adjuster called the girl's house to talk about the inurance claim, and her mom answered. The adjuster started to ask her mom about what had happened when she said "My daughter was in a car accident?" Evidently she was borrowing her dad's car to go out of town (she lives in Jacksboro), and hasn't yet told her parents about the accident.

On a good note, the insurance agency said my car will be evaluated on Thursday and could possibly be in the shop on Monday. I wonder what kind of high-quality rental I will get...

IndigoGTI · 07-21-03, 08:24

Quote:

Originally posted by ejant
Sorry to hear about the accident. I hope your wife is OK.

She seems to be fine. I just talked to her at work, and she said that she isn't having any pain or soreness. It looks like she just tensed up after the accident, understandable as she doesn't take things like that too well. I'm glad it was me driving and not her.

Accumulator · 07-21-03, 09:02

IndigoGTI- I'm sure glad you two are OK! Sorry I can't help with the shop recommendation. But BE CAREFUL, it seems that SO many Autopians are having awful experiences at various shops. There oughta be SOMEONE who can steer you to a good place, even if you have to travel a ways to get there (the shop my "good cars" go to is at least 90 minutes away and worth the drive).

IndigoGTI · 07-21-03, 09:05

Quote:

Originally posted by Accumulator
IndigoGTI- I'm sure glad you two are OK! Sorry I can't help with the shop recommendation. But BE CAREFUL, it seems that SO many Autopians are having awful experiences at various shops. There oughta be SOMEONE who can steer you to a good place, even if you have to travel a ways to get there (the shop my "good cars" go to is at least 90 minutes away and worth the drive).

To be honest, I'd be willing to drive to Oklahoma if I had to. I just want my baby back to the way she was before.

Accumulator · 07-21-03, 10:23

That's the right attitude

There are a lot of nice cars in TX. Do some research (expend effort BEFORE rather than after) and you should be able to find a good shop. e.g., who does the most work on Rolls Royces, Astons, etc.?

IndigoGTI · 07-21-03, 10:42

Quote:

Originally posted by Accumulator
That's the right attitude There are a lot of nice cars in TX. Do some research (expend effort BEFORE rather than after) and you should be able to find a good shop. e.g., who does the most work on Rolls Royces, Astons, etc.?

After reading a couple more of the raves that Scottwax gave Mister Collision, I will probably be going there. If you look about halfway down the page on Scott's site, you will see why he likes Mister Collision so much.

Click here to go to Scottwax's page

medic · 07-24-03, 08:03

call a few high end dealers and see who they recommend. If you're willing to come to CA, I know a few of the best body shops in the country you could go to.

IndigoGTI · 07-25-03, 07:07

Quote:

Originally posted by medic
call a few high end dealers and see who they recommend. If you're willing to come to CA, I know a few of the best body shops in the country you could go to.

Well, CA is a little far for me.

The place I did find was where Scottwax went when his car got damaged in an accident. I was surprised to find that it is only two miles from the house. At least I'll be able to stop by every couple of days to see how it is progressing. I'll probably bring the guys some pizza too.

The adjuster quoted me $1033 initially, but said that if the bodyshop finds any hidden damage that they would take care of it. They'd better...

The car goes in Monday, so we'll see how everything goes.

By the way, Scottwax, very nice people to deal with, the lady on the phone offered to take care of arranging for the rental car and everything.

Accumulator · 07-25-03, 10:27

IndigoGTI- Yeah, that seems like a good outfit. And "good enough for ScottWax...", etc. etc.

Medic- Even though I'm in OH, I'd still like for you to post the names of ANY great shops. Just good to have the information out there. When I finally give in and have some more work done on the XJS, I may very well send it to XK's Unlimited in CA.

This goes for anyone else, too. If you know of a shop you would, for example, take a priceless classic to, let us know about it.

IndigoGTI · 07-25-03, 10:31

It would be cool if David would add what we find to his list of bodyshops on this site, it would be a great reference for members should they require the services of a bodyshop.

Malibu · 07-28-03, 12:14

I'll throw my recommendation out there for my shop of choice in the Southern California area: Premier Coach in Westlake. They mostly do European cars, but they've done work to my Explorer and Jeep and their work is flawless.

Mike

Corey Bit Spank · 07-30-03, 01:41

Argh. Those rear bumpers cost a pretty penny. I was rearended in our Stratus and the bill came to over $1000 for the bumper and everything (no damage to the body). They did a nice job, and it wasn't my insurance money.