Well, a lot of things went down yesterday. The first estimate for repairs came in at a laughable $3,400, so I have been pretty concerned about the situation since then. My car was finally torn down, and sure enough, the A-pillar was "crushed" (as the body shop adjuster put it), the lower rocker panel was damaged, the inner fender was damanged, the inner engine compartment skirt was damaged, the left front suspension was damaged. They told me that Allstate was informed and they would be sending someone out to survey the damage. That was a week ago.

I got tired of waiting for an update, and so I called the body shop yesterday afternoon. Not only was the car not going to be totaled, but the added cost of repairs was only $433. I was so confused by this that I asked for them to fax me the damage repair estimate so I could see why things were so inexpensive.

Apparently, Allstate and my body shop (United Collision in Aurora Colorado) decided that it was good enough to just pull the A-pillar back out to the stock location, slap a fresh coat of paint on it, and call it good. I am so shocked and furious about it that I dont even know how to react. Needless to say, this morning I'm contacting a lawyer that specializes in auto accident and auto insurance claims. Basically, it sounds like the car is ruined and nobody wants to take responsibility for it, so they are going to make it "look" like its back to new, and send me on my way in a deathtrap that will not protect me in a future accident.

Just wanted all you Allstate customers out there to know how your insurance company handles things when you need them. You're in good hands. Too bad those hands are fisting your rectum.

Eric

 

Thumbs down to fisting my rectum.

Sorry to hear this AtomHeart. Can you get a second opinion at a different shop?

 

While I am certainly sympathetic to your situation, I suggest you read the fine print of your insurance contract before you open your wallet to hire an attorney. I'm not so sure that the amount of damage justifies totaling the car.

 

Wow, I cannot believe that is what they told you. WTF is wrong with people?! It's bad enough insurance company's RAPE you, but when you really need them, they say F U!!! That is Bullsh!t dude. Definitely get yourself a lawyer. I got upset just reading that. Hope everything works out for you man.......Keep us posted.

 

I hope USAA is better when I need them .

 

LOL...that's kinda the point of this post, InfernoRed. The damage ammount SHOULD be $18,000 or so if they were fixing the A-pillar correctly. Once metal has bent, the glass-brittle bonds break on a molecular level. You can then push the metal back to exactly the shape it was in before and it will look great. But if you try to bend it again...guess what...it bends easier, and in the exact same spot as before, because all of those broken bonds are still there in the metal. It's called fatigue stress failure. That's why if you bend a paper clip four or five times, it will break.

I have no problem with them fixing my car instead of totaling it. The POINT was...they need to tear out the dash, remove the A-pillar that is crushed, and then check all the things behind it that it is attached to to make sure none of THAT is bent or buckled.

This is the structural rigidity of the car we are talking about, and the car doesn't just have to look fixed. It has to perform just as good in any future collisions as it would if it were new. A weakened a-pillar allows a car that hits me in the side to get into the drivers seat compartment easier and therefore endangers my life in the next accident. Now I have all kinds of sympathy for Allstate not wanting to pay to have the interior removed, windsheild removed and everything, but if that's what is needed to put the car in pre-accident condition, then the repair estimate needs to go up. if it goes up so much that they would rather total the car, that's fine too...but I will not have the a-pillar pulled out and repainted.

 

duplicate posts...................

 

I agree, they should put the car in pre-accident condition. Is United Collision where Allstate suggested to take it? You have the right to go elsewhere. Find a repair shop that specializes in high-end cars and see what they say.

 

Hmm...seems so typical. Sad, isn't it?

Keep us posted AtomHeart.

SQ

 

Its simple really, Ask for a letter from your insurance company rep that states the integrity and safety of your family is not going to be compromised as a result of the repair(s). Have them write out that the car is as safe as the new vehicle would be. [They wont do that and you can reject the repairs]

Find a good lawyer like mine that works on a comission, there is more incentive for him to take that BITE out of CRIME.......Works for me, Woody

 

or have it fixed and leave it in the ghetto with the keys in it

 

Get as much of this in writing as possible from Allstate. Then contact your state Attorney General and any state bureau that deals with car repairs and insurance. What Allstate is attempting to do with the repair amounts to fraud. If your local news stations have any kind of consumer troubleshooter segment then contact them too. At this point I would also contact the diminshed value lawyer except instead of settling for 8K I would shoot for the total value since your car will not have any value at all if these inadequate repairs are carried out. One final note - you're in a difficult position if you can't get proper repairs and then sell your car. The way liability is running amok, you may be on the hook for selling a known defective car.

25 years ago I heard how Allstate was a good insurance company - until a claim was submitted.

 

ouch, that really sucks, hell ya id fight it, see if you can take it to another shop, id bring it to a mercedes dealership body shop

 

Allstate and Progressive are the two WORST insurance companies around when it comes to making a claim. They both try to weasel there way out of buying parts and when they do they like to use aftermarket or used CRAP. I do high end collision repair for a living and can tell you that lightly damaged structural parts can and will be repaired. I have a Mercedes C-class rite now that slammed a poll in the rear door so hard it pushed the "B" pillar in 6mm...............I am repairing it via Cellette frame rack and laser measuring system. The car will be 100% reliable and safe when finished. I cannot speak for the shop you car is at though, but I can almost guarantee your car won't be fixed on a cellette frame rack(which it could since it has M-B unibody).

 

Your car's collision damage is not a fatigue stress failure, but is instead a combination of tensile failure of the material in tension mode and impact failure. A repair involving "stretching" the metal back into place means that the metal is significantly weaker than the original sheet metal. This is technically not a fatigue issue. The strength of the resulting repaired metal does not lie on the S-N curve of the material. Instead, the material's strength would be compromised as per stress risers in the ruined metal grain structure. The resulting strength would probably be near the material's notched strength.

The paper clip example you gave is an example of fatigue stress failure however.

 

I almost forgot................if you choose to join the millions of sue happy Americans make sure you sue for "depreciation of value" as well. I had a guy that was a lawyer wreck his Porsche(small wreck) and he bitched and threw so much legal BS at us and the insurance company that they total lossed it as a "salvage loss" since it was neither a structural, theft or monetary loss.

 

Usaa is the best insurance company in the US they're # 1 rated!

 

If I'm not mistaken the A-pillars of our cars are made of a partially martensitic material called usibor (tradename). Basically this stuff is the same thing they use in doors to prevent side impact intrusion to the passenger compartment. This stuff has to be heated to 1700 degrees to form it and then quick quenched to form the martensite grain composition. I'd be surprised if they could pull it fully back into shape without severly weakening the material. More than likely there will be plenty of bent pieces that they will just enlarge the holes on to reweld (BAD idea) and make it fit as close as possible.

I'd spend a LOT of time at the repair place to see that it's being done properly!

 

Am I missing something? Shouldn't the person's insurance who hit you be paying for whatever you want? Can't you take it to any shop you wish? That is your right, they don't tell you, but by law, you can take your car anywhere you wish. How about a Chrysler shop?

 

Now THAT was funny! And coming from the guy who had the worst run in with the Chrysler dealer...go figure.