MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
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Following a high pavement / car interface a couple of weeks ago I was copied in on the repair quote that was sent to my insurance company yesterday.
It really doesn't match what I would expect to see - it references book time for removal and replacement of things I don't have (front parking sensors, for example); replacement parts for same; and painting when I know that replacement bumpers come pre-painted from the factory.
Would you mention it to the insurance company, or is it something that their own loss adjustors should be keeping an eye on?
They've approved the repair and I don't want to rock the apple cart right now.
Well if they are invoicing for stuff that is not being done then that is fraud. Fraud pushes up premiums so I'd probably at least mention it once you have the car back.
On the bumpers do you know they come painted or just primed?
Main dealer parts guy told me they come painted from the factory to assure the colour match.
Might be worth querying it as, presumably, the higher the cost the bigger the increase on your insurance..
So a parts supplier that may not be the chain used by your repairer claims to paint theirs
Have you phoned the body shops supplier and asked them the same thing ?
How ever as they probably do 10s of quotes a day it's possible your quote isnt even for your car.
A lot of time we would just repair the damaged bumper if it was quicker than stripping the car. That way the painters get all the time for the job which means extra bonus. The new bumper goes back into stock.
Sometimes the damage just polishes off and everyone’s a winner.
Not all bumpers come painted, they can but mostly they don’t. As for the colour matching sometimes there’s over 10 shades of the same colour. Factory painted doesn’t guarantee a match.
Main dealer parts guy
Dealer supplied ones might.. body shop purchased aftermarket ones probably don't.
FWIW over here, the body shop has to pull from salvage inventory before buying new aftermarket.
If you want new factory, then your vehicles needs to be inside 3yrs old iirc or have an extended warranty that covers the pricing difference.
Will see what happens. Manufacturer doesn't permit bumper repairs if particular area damaged. Seems reasonable hich is why I went through the insurance.
Come to think of it the cutouts on the bumper for the non existent parking sensors do actually look like sensors...
Parts won't come from the factory they will come from a supplier and then painted to match the car as different batches of paint will differ slightly plus fade over time etc
Removing the blanks to fit them to the new bumper is as much work as removing the actual sensors fwiw.
Oh and no surprises that the manufacturer doesn't permit repair of bumper...... They are in the market of selling you a new one.
2 years ago I hit a deer and took the car to the insurance company preferred repairer, they quoted £1200, it was a small back street place and i wasnt very impressed. A few days later I was passing a main dealer and thought I'd take it in just to see what they came up with ....... £800.
I queried this with the Body Shop Manager and he said they can usually beat the preferred repairers but the insurance companies just won't give them the work, they also gave a written lifetime(?) guarantee on the paintwork.
I raised this with the insurer and they weren't the slightest bit interested, I argued that I wanted the car to go too the main dealer and they agreed but only on the understanding they wouldn't give me a courtesy car (didn't matter as the dealer provided one).
It's an absolute disgrace and only leads to higher insurance premiums.