#despite the dealership supposedly replacing them before i got my car inspected to get the registration renewed

[2dou]

i want to be smart and sexy about car maintenance but i also struggle to get the teeny lightbulbs out of the plastic housing so. can't imagine how anything else would go for me

[smoothshift]

2014 Mustang - Collision Repairs Scam via /r/cars

2014 Mustang - Collision Repairs Scam

February 22nd was set to be an ideal day; beautiful weather, finished homework, and an afternoon spent detailing my car after school. I was on FL121 headed north, it was 6:55 AM, and the day was set to go well at school. I had just passed a county line, and was in a long line of cars going 60 - 65 mph. The car in front swerved a little, and that's when I saw the deer - standing perfectly still on the shoulder of the road. Within a second, it jumped into the road, and I smashed into it, causing the deer to tear through the crash structures of the passenger side, and eventually I ran it over. I called the Florida Highway Patrol, and had an incident report written, as well as my nerves calmed - this was the first major road accident I had ever been involved in! I then called my insurance company, Gieco, and was reassured that they would handle everything, even the towing. They recommended a shop in the area, who was part of their Direct Repair Program (DRP), otherwise known as "Auto Repair Xpress". I consented to have my vehicle towed their for inspection and repair, and set about to calling my parents for help - after all, who else can you call?

This started the months long saga, detailed below:

February 22nd (Day 1): After the tow, I was at G. Collision Center, awaiting a call from my adjuster. I took these photos:

[Front Damage]http://ift.tt/2oF7HOd

[Grill Damage]http://ift.tt/2oPVmJd

[Sheet Metal Damage]http://ift.tt/2oF0aic

[Intrusion Into Engine Bay]http://ift.tt/2oPMZx3 -

[Damage]http://ift.tt/2oF64zM

[Fender Rail/Apron Damage]http://ift.tt/2oPRtUy

[Radiator Support Damage]http://ift.tt/2oF2tlw

[Body Panel Misalignment/Scrap on the A-Pillar]http://ift.tt/2oPKQlc

[Overall Damage]http://ift.tt/2oF0w8A

[Kinked Aluminum Hood]http://ift.tt/2oPICCk

I spoke with my claims manager there, apparently an experienced autobody worker, and pointed out areas of concern - especially the kinked hood, the warped/mangled metal shoved into the tire, fender alignment, and suspension issues. I was told "We'll look into it". At this point, I signed the consent forms, and left.

February 23rd (Day 2): I'm reassigned an adjuster, and the shop tore down the car and was estimated at $3000 in repairs. I had my adjuster fix the quote to include the correct headlight, $3300. They are fixing the hood, putting aftermarket body parts. I call my adjuster, and make my request for OEM parts quite clear. He says he'll get back with me.

February 24th (Day 3): Adjuster calls, he's authorizing some of the components to be OEM - Yay! He also updated the Estimate of Record. Estimate

February 26-March 2 (Days 4-8): I called the shop asking for updates, as they were supposed to update online, but failed to ever do so. I point out errors that I see as they're going through - scraped A-pillar, scraped rocker panel, incorrect structure repair. I swung by the shop to see the car and collect some belongings, and noticed these errors on parts they said were "done". I called my adjuster to raise my concern with the radiator support, and was assured that it would be handled. On the rack

March 3rd (Day 9): The original completion date comes up, the car isn't ready. They were supposedly waiting on parts to come in that they did not realize were broken, despite tearing down the car before starting repairs and notating "everything".

March 8th (Day 14): I called 5 days after that, and it's supposed to be ready. I drive the hour and 45 minutes to the shop, and it isn't ready. At this point, I'm told to be patient (sitting at the 2 week mark). There was still the scrape in the A-pillar, the paint job was terrible, the foglight was missing, and the undersheild was also missing - apparently the car wassn't supposed to have one according to my experience claims manager at the body shop. I also point out a huge dent in the new fender that was "normal", and that the hood did not sit right on the car, which was met with "those are small adjustments that aren't even worth looking at". He also tells me that he only drove it down the street and back, at low speeds. I'm furious, and send a terse email to my adjuster asking him to handle those issues, and to only have the shop call me when it's ready and safe to drive.

Visible Part of A-pillar Scrape

Visible Misalignment of Hood

Bowed Out Fender

Visible Fitment Issue of All Body Panels

Missing Splash Shield

Clear Fitment Problems, Paint Doesn't Match

March 9th (Day 16): Come Friday, the manager called me to tell me the car is ready. I have my parents drive me to the shop (it was Spring Break), I pay for it, and pick it up. I noticed some rattling, but didn't figure there'd be any issues that couldn't wait until after spring break. They've run $6,700 in repairs, but so far, they've used all OEM parts, to their credit. $300 headlight bulbs, $300 ballast, $1000 projector housing, labor to adjust, bumper, fender, both grills, radiator baffle, brackets, structure repair, wheel alignment... When I arrived, the hood closed sensor was not attached, the hood didn't line up still, the scrape to the A-pillar was still there, the paint didn't match, there was a small buckle in the fender apron I noticed was left unpainted - I requested they fix that so it didn't rust, and they huffily agreed - getting overspray on EVERYTHING in the process. I also noticed the maladjusted headlight - pointed significantly higher than the old one, after being supposedly sent to the dealership for alignment.

March 11th (Day 18): I take it for a trip down the coast with my girlfriend. The speed limits were pretty low, and I never exceeded 55 mph on the way there. On the way back, I attempted to go faster on a different route, and that's when the hood tried to come off. I freaked out, and called Geico, who promptly sent out a person to tow the vehicle back to the first body shop. As it was the weekend, there was 2 days of storage fees ($180), and eventually, I found out, a $720 tow bill for 200 miles. I got a sweet dinner at the beach, waiting for my folks to get there, and I had a good time after being stressed about the car.

March 13th (Day 20): I get a very worried call from my adjuster, who assures me that the shop will make it right. I asked about a rental, but was assured the repairs would be less than a couple days. I didn't speak with the shop at all. I was also told that the shop (G. Collision Center) would be handling the cost of the tow, which worked out not to be the case.

March 14th (Day 21): I get a call from the shop's manager, who was very angry with me, and told me to come collect my car, as it was ready. I showed up, after graciously being dropped off by a friend, and noticed the hood still didn't sit right, and that the other issues were never addressed. He told me that I was trying to scam his shop out of a new hood, and told me to get my "shitty" car out of his shop, this was as good as he would make it. I collected my keys, and promptly called my adjuster. He then informed me that I could take it wherever I chose - I was armed with more knowledge at this time, and took it to a non - DRP shop, who is certified by Mercedes, Ford, and Hyundai to do factory warranty work - they came extremely well reviewed online, and I drove the car to them after making an appointment. They found lots of horrifying unrepaired structural damage.

Overspray, kinked fender apron

Body panel mismatch, much more obvious in person

What's this, a big fat shim between the fender and fender rail? MY my, that's concerning

Terrible fit for the fender splash shield - it wasn't attached to any mounting points on the unibody... wonder why? (Hint, its all bent to hell).

initial proof that the unibody was still damaged/unrepaired - they also left my A/C unhooked. Hello leaks.

Delicious Overspray

Digging deeper - what do we find? Oh damn, the whole chassis harness is left dangling, the fender apron is still compressed, the fender rail is shoved down... surprised yet?

More shimming, but now it's underneath the bumper too - what damage does that indicate, you ask? I found out later.](http://ift.tt/2oPRqIe)

April 3rd (Day 41): I made it to my appointment at the new shop (B. Paint and Autobody). They reviewed everything, took my keys, and sent me off to get a rental. Surprise surprise, guess who pays out the rental, per their contract with Geico? You guessed it! G. Collision Center! They've put me up in a Hyundai Sonata - its mine for the next 30 days. The contract states $30/day, so that is an additional $900 just for a rental car.

April 14th (Day 52): I get a call from my claims manager - he asks me to come by the shop. I swing by, and he points out everything they found, and tells me that he will be repainting everything - rocker panel, a pillar, fender, bumper, and blending into the door. They'll also be replacing the radiator support, fender rail, and fender apron, and also possibly the hood - turns out, you're not supposed to use regular old bondo on an aluminum body panel. So with replacing all of that, putting it on a frame machine, and putting it on an alignment rack, they should be able to have it back to pre-accident condition. Ballpark, he said, was 4 to 5 thousand dollars at minimum, perhaps more. I won't have my car back until April 28th, or 66 days.

I will continue to update this for those interested. The lesson to take away from this, as a consumer, is that you should not take it to a contracted repair facility - they are under a contract with your insurance carrier to get you out for the minimum dollar spent. Indeed, they don't work for you, they work for your insurance. Also, make sure you have rental coverage-it's literally a few dollars over 6 months, and takes away all the stress of not having a car. All in, this repair has tallied up: $65 initial tow, $6700 in initial repairs, $500 deductible, $900 tow bill, $900 rental, $5000 second repair, and the potential for more. For those without calculators, that is $14,065. Don't hit deer, don't take guff from your insurance, and do make sure you check out your insurance policy.