2011 Escape. Does it look totaled?
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Elder User
Joined: Feb 2008
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From: Chicago Area, Illinois
I agree, carfax is a joke. Im not too worried about it but you never know. I dont know if the shop its at reports to them. I haven't heard from the insurance company yet. They said monday or tuesday. If I dont hear from them this afternoon, Im gonna give em a call. Ill keep you all posted. Thanks again for all the advice.
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Elder User
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 783
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From: Chicago Area, Illinois
Quote:"If he specializes in those euro cars, I think an escape should be a no brainer."
Generally true. Owners of the higher dollar vehicles won't put up with flaws. Most times a shop that caters to them has one craftsman who has pride in his/her work, and won't let a bad job go out the door. If a plastic clip that holds the ambient temp sensor behind the grill has one mounting tab ripped, but the other is still solid, he'll replace it 'because' it was damaged. It would work, forever, with no problem, but it is not 'right'.
The good ones, in other words, replace stuff that most people wouldn't care about.
The BEST ones are those that work on very late model vehicles. The Mercedes that has 800 miles on the clock, and got rear-ended. The owner, a young lady who had worked and saved for years for her 1st car, disappointed at her 'baby' being damaged, should expect and get a vehicle returned that is just as good as what rolled off the dealer lot a few days earlier.
A good shop will replace that parts you don't see... a shoddy shop will leave the bent trunk floor, straightened, but if you look, you can see the wrinkled sheetmetal. The best will specify the particular brand/style of spray insulation & trunk 'splatter pattern' paint so they can match the factory perfectly. You will not be able to tell any work has been done by visual inspection, and if put on a rack or frame tool, will meet or beat factory specs. I've seen it done. I've seen a regular Porsche turned into the model with the wide fenders and it looked like factory, used factory parts, and satisfied the customer. It was expensive and took time. Dunno if the shop made any money on that deal. I've seen a Jeep Wrangler(? Really squarish late model) with the whole roof panel replaced, complete, and you couldn't tell it had been touched. Hailstorms are a boon to body shops, as are people who really do trim tree branches and expect somehow they'll fall somewhere else...
Can't say about the Escape in question. Gotta wait for the adjuster to do their thing.
tom
In those cases, it is almost at the will of the adjuster to determine if a vehicle is totaled, and sometime the supp's will take it over the limit when extra 'features' are found.
Generally true. Owners of the higher dollar vehicles won't put up with flaws. Most times a shop that caters to them has one craftsman who has pride in his/her work, and won't let a bad job go out the door. If a plastic clip that holds the ambient temp sensor behind the grill has one mounting tab ripped, but the other is still solid, he'll replace it 'because' it was damaged. It would work, forever, with no problem, but it is not 'right'.
The good ones, in other words, replace stuff that most people wouldn't care about.
The BEST ones are those that work on very late model vehicles. The Mercedes that has 800 miles on the clock, and got rear-ended. The owner, a young lady who had worked and saved for years for her 1st car, disappointed at her 'baby' being damaged, should expect and get a vehicle returned that is just as good as what rolled off the dealer lot a few days earlier.
A good shop will replace that parts you don't see... a shoddy shop will leave the bent trunk floor, straightened, but if you look, you can see the wrinkled sheetmetal. The best will specify the particular brand/style of spray insulation & trunk 'splatter pattern' paint so they can match the factory perfectly. You will not be able to tell any work has been done by visual inspection, and if put on a rack or frame tool, will meet or beat factory specs. I've seen it done. I've seen a regular Porsche turned into the model with the wide fenders and it looked like factory, used factory parts, and satisfied the customer. It was expensive and took time. Dunno if the shop made any money on that deal. I've seen a Jeep Wrangler(? Really squarish late model) with the whole roof panel replaced, complete, and you couldn't tell it had been touched. Hailstorms are a boon to body shops, as are people who really do trim tree branches and expect somehow they'll fall somewhere else...
Can't say about the Escape in question. Gotta wait for the adjuster to do their thing.
tom
In those cases, it is almost at the will of the adjuster to determine if a vehicle is totaled, and sometime the supp's will take it over the limit when extra 'features' are found.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 4,512
Likes: 18
From: Detroit
Good luck, Mercman. My wife over the years has had TWO of her cars crunched by other drivers (not her fault), one at 3k miles in 1986, her current car at 6k miles in 2008. SUCKS with such a new vehicle.
It will never be the same, but if they do a decent job and you plan to keep it for a LONG time, it won't make that much difference. My wife's current car has 90k miles on it now. It had to go back a few times for tweaks on the repair job (scars in the interior when they replaced the side air bags, headlights that would not aim right, etc). Michigan does NOT have a "lost value" law to recover any reduction in value due to an accident.
But we will probably keep her car to 120-150k miles (when she will retire and lose her commute) and at that point, if any buyer points to the Carfax, I will honestly be able to say that the accident happened at 6k miles, the car has gone well over 100k miles since, and what you see is what you get. It is in nice shape, does not eat tires, and runs perfectly. It would certainly have had a big effect on value if we decided to sell it at 40k miles on the odo, but at 120-150k, not so much.
One thing is that we have State Farm insurance, and if you use one of their approved body shops--our dealer was one of the approved shops--then the shop and State Farm will warrant the repair work for life. This presumably means that if a panel starts rusting prematurely, or if the new paint work starts peeling, the dealer and State Farm will make it right. (I have not tested this warranty but it is in my mind if there is any early rust.)
Rejoice that your wife was not injured, and again, best of luck with the repairs.
That looks like over 10 grand to me if airbags are involved, but I'm not an auto body guy.
Good luck,
George
It will never be the same, but if they do a decent job and you plan to keep it for a LONG time, it won't make that much difference. My wife's current car has 90k miles on it now. It had to go back a few times for tweaks on the repair job (scars in the interior when they replaced the side air bags, headlights that would not aim right, etc). Michigan does NOT have a "lost value" law to recover any reduction in value due to an accident.
But we will probably keep her car to 120-150k miles (when she will retire and lose her commute) and at that point, if any buyer points to the Carfax, I will honestly be able to say that the accident happened at 6k miles, the car has gone well over 100k miles since, and what you see is what you get. It is in nice shape, does not eat tires, and runs perfectly. It would certainly have had a big effect on value if we decided to sell it at 40k miles on the odo, but at 120-150k, not so much.
One thing is that we have State Farm insurance, and if you use one of their approved body shops--our dealer was one of the approved shops--then the shop and State Farm will warrant the repair work for life. This presumably means that if a panel starts rusting prematurely, or if the new paint work starts peeling, the dealer and State Farm will make it right. (I have not tested this warranty but it is in my mind if there is any early rust.)
Rejoice that your wife was not injured, and again, best of luck with the repairs.
That looks like over 10 grand to me if airbags are involved, but I'm not an auto body guy.
Good luck,
George
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Elder User
Joined: Feb 2008
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From: Chicago Area, Illinois
I just got a call from the bodyshop. Their estimate is $10,950. Thats just about 1900 bucks shy of being totaled according to my math. So, it'll be done in 2 weeks. We'll see how it turns out. Im confident that it will come out ok, I just hope it will be the same in the long run.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 4,907
Likes: 39
From: suburban atlanta
If it were mine, I'd be visiting the body shop on an irregular basis. Watch as it is pulled, let the artist show you how the laser ding-dongs show that all the measuring points are within factory tolerance. How they replace these little bits that were damaged, but still functional. and hidden from sight.
They might have to remove window glass to do proper body prep and painting. Don't be alarmed as if the metal is straight, and the tech cleans the mounting grooves/channels, it will be leakproof.
Take a look around at the time of pickup to see if all the bits have been re-attached and your floor mats are in place, as is the jack & spare. Sometimes stuff gets removed, set on a shelf, and just doesn't make it back in place when a pickup is scheduled too soon. Take your time in DAYLIGHT to inspect your truck. Check seam fit, paint for runs/orange peel, and 'blend'.
tom
They might have to remove window glass to do proper body prep and painting. Don't be alarmed as if the metal is straight, and the tech cleans the mounting grooves/channels, it will be leakproof.
Take a look around at the time of pickup to see if all the bits have been re-attached and your floor mats are in place, as is the jack & spare. Sometimes stuff gets removed, set on a shelf, and just doesn't make it back in place when a pickup is scheduled too soon. Take your time in DAYLIGHT to inspect your truck. Check seam fit, paint for runs/orange peel, and 'blend'.
tom
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Elder User
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 783
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From: Chicago Area, Illinois
Hi Guys,
We got the car back a few weeks ago. It turned out PERFECT. So far, no squeaks, rattles or gremlins have reared their ugly heads. I won the battle against the insurance company who wanted to have it put together with used and aftermarket parts. The only used part that is on the car is the engine cradle. I was able to inspect it myself before it was installed and it was in perfect, clean condition. Everything else that was used was brand new parts from Ford. The owner of the shop had been driving it for a week proir to make sure it was perfect. Total bill: 13,071.00.
We got the car back a few weeks ago. It turned out PERFECT. So far, no squeaks, rattles or gremlins have reared their ugly heads. I won the battle against the insurance company who wanted to have it put together with used and aftermarket parts. The only used part that is on the car is the engine cradle. I was able to inspect it myself before it was installed and it was in perfect, clean condition. Everything else that was used was brand new parts from Ford. The owner of the shop had been driving it for a week proir to make sure it was perfect. Total bill: 13,071.00.
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Cargo Master
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 2,511
Likes: 9
From: hinckley ohio
Hope it is good as new.There was a guy on a Focus site that was wrecked insurance was under total so the car was all fixed he went to get it and the seatbelt wouldn't buckle so with that repair to replace the seat belts they totoled the car even though it was all fixed.
Senior User
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 140
Likes: 0
From: Fl
You cannot just look at a photo and determine "if a car is totalled" or not.
You have to consider things like state laws, the possible usage of used parts or a donor
("clip car"), the fact that hidden damage arises halfway through the repair, or even on the road test upon completion. Some shops will lowball the estimates in order to pull in a bunch of money in terms of labor and supplements, especially if the insurance company is using used parts from a pool of totals nearby. It's a game, and a complex one.
You have to consider things like state laws, the possible usage of used parts or a donor
("clip car"), the fact that hidden damage arises halfway through the repair, or even on the road test upon completion. Some shops will lowball the estimates in order to pull in a bunch of money in terms of labor and supplements, especially if the insurance company is using used parts from a pool of totals nearby. It's a game, and a complex one.
Hotshot
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 11,537
Likes: 27
From: Long Beach, Ms.
Airbrush, are you in the auto repair industry?
If a vehicle is near the total percentage we would rather not deal with it.
The effort and resources a borderline total repair requires reduces the output of the shop.
In short they eat into the profits that the time would generate with us getting multiple vehicles repaired as opposed to the one.
If a vehicle is near the total percentage we would rather not deal with it.
The effort and resources a borderline total repair requires reduces the output of the shop.
In short they eat into the profits that the time would generate with us getting multiple vehicles repaired as opposed to the one.
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Elder User
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 783
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From: Chicago Area, Illinois
Hello everyone,
The car has been fine, however when my wife returned to it after parking at work, this is what was done to it. On the brand new fender. No note, no nothing. The survailence cameras there dont cover the area she parked in. People are just so ignorant it makes me sick.
Thats just my luck. Sorry, I had to rant.
The car has been fine, however when my wife returned to it after parking at work, this is what was done to it. On the brand new fender. No note, no nothing. The survailence cameras there dont cover the area she parked in. People are just so ignorant it makes me sick.
Thats just my luck. Sorry, I had to rant.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 4,512
Likes: 18
From: Detroit
Hard to tell if the paint is chipped off or if that is paint from the other vehicle. Paintless dent removal will get most of the dent out, and touching up with a brush if needed to prevent rust should help.
Funny, but someone put an almost identical dent in my almost-new Subaru Forester back in 2010, right on the front wheel arch. PDR has made it all but invisible. I had it done while it was in the bump shop after I was rear ended while stopped on a freeway exit ramp...
Take care,
George
Funny, but someone put an almost identical dent in my almost-new Subaru Forester back in 2010, right on the front wheel arch. PDR has made it all but invisible. I had it done while it was in the bump shop after I was rear ended while stopped on a freeway exit ramp...
Take care,
George
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