Property Damage Estimates

Please do not just take the insurance company estimate and assume it is right. It may not be.

I recently had a client who had an estimate from her insurance company. The insurance company wanted to repair the bumper on her one year old car. They were going to fix the dents and paint it to match. (Anyone want to take a wager on whether that could actually be done?)

Two body shops looked at the car and both decided to replace the bumper. Why? First, because it would look better. Remember, the body shop wants you as a satisfied customer so you will tell your friends. And most body shops guarantee their work so they don't want you to keep coming back to get it fixed. Second, because it was cheaper. In this case, it was about $500 less expensive to do a replacement than a repair.

I tried telling this to the appraiser during the inspection. However, she wanted nothing to do with a replacement. She was adamant everyone would do the repair.

Even if you are not going to have your car fixed, make sure you get an estimate from a reputable body shop so you can make sure the insurance company is paying for your car to be fixed properly.