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So I was involved in an accident about a week ago, and the front end of the Ex took a hit. Looks a lot worse than it is. Both of us claim to have had a green light, and there were no witnesses. I am currently working on getting security camera footage to either corroborate or disprove my side of the story - I truly remember having a green. However, people get things wrong and I hope that the security footage tells the truth either way. Nobody was hurt, and I thank God for that as she had two small toddlers in car seats. It was my first accident, and has definitely been stressful.
ANYWAYS, on to the Excursion stuff.
Bumper is dented, brush guard is toast, passengers turn signal housing is cracked, passengers side fender has a small about of paint transfer (no dents), hood is dented, grill is gone, and header panel has a small crack.
Appraiser put the damage at $5500 for their shop to fix. This is the insurance agency's "preferred shop". This involves a new bumper (painted to factory beige), new brush guard, new passenger headlight, new passenger side fender (painted Toreador red), new hood (painted Toreador Red), new header panel, and a new grill. I have no idea where they are getting $5500 for that stuff. All cosmetic damage.
I have been driving the truck since the accident in its current state - no creaks, drives as straight as an arrow, and no vibrations. Nothing deeper than cosmetic damage, I was travelling about 30km/h in a 50 in 4x4 as it was a whiteout blizzard at the time taking my time to get home. As she came in front of me I hit the brakes, and I slowed down even more than I was already going. It was a very soft hit, with the brush guard taking most of the damage, while also causing some (hood, grill, header panel).
I was told I have the option to do the work myself, and from what I have gathered as long as I come in under the estimate I am fine. I know I can do all the repairs for way less that $5500, with the only work I would pawn off being the painting of the hood.
My current train of thought is that if I do the work myself, I can replace the broken items with new ones. Namely:
1 - The 05 header panel/grill/and headlight (I would be paying for 1/2 the headlights as only one was damaged in the crash) change
2 - Instead of buying the bumper and grill guard separately, I could look at buying something along the lines of the Ranch Hand Legend Bumper (or another option as I welcome your guys opinions) to kill two birds with one stone and still be in the same approximate price range.
On the other hand, I can just replace everything as it was before to keep a stock look.
What are your guys opinions/thoughts/advice?
Bumper models, 04 vs 05 grill style, headlights, etc.
Additional info: the insurance company doesn't care about the cost. They said if my rates increase they increase by the same amount for a $1 repair or a $100,000 repair. So the $5500 quote is the same as me doing it for $3000 myself
Get a second..... and probably a third estimate. Preferred shops give the insurance co. a big discount. In order to make that money back they will tend to cut corners on repairs. I see the 5500 in damage, and as Mark said.... there will probably be more that shows up after the repair is started. I will bet a dollar you find the preferred shop's estimate is low.
Once you have a larger check in hand, then fix it yourself. Pay to have the paint done and the glue removed from the sides ().
Thanks for the advice so far guys, will go looking for additional estimates tomorrow.
The insurance company said that if I go through a "preferred shop" I get a lifetime warranty on the repairs as long as I am still insured with them... Really trying to push me to go through this shop. Makes more sense now. I have no experience with this sort of thing and appreciate the help.
I like this repair plan. Collect on the grille guard but don't replace it.
Is this legal? My understanding was that I have to submit my receipts following my repairs and get reimbursed then. In other people's experiences do they get a check for "X" amount and as long as the repairs are complete the insurance company is happy?
Since the grille guard is something you added, it should be up to you if you want another one back on there. It is not OEM safety equipment. Up near you, things may be different.
FWIW, if they are going to let you do the repair and only reimburse your ACTUAL cost, you would be silly to do it yourself. Send it to a good shop and let them worry about it.
I don't know how it works in Canada, but here you can take it to ANY shop you prefer. Typically 3 estimates is what I like to do, typically they will send their own estimator and then go by a combination of them.
I've had a few total loss accidents and a few small ones also, I've been through the insurance BS more then i'd like to think about..
If they write you a check it's over a done with at that point, you don't have to use the money to repair the truck at all. I've done this a few times and kept the cash for other things, Insurance doesn't care since they made you whole they are out of it by the time they write the check.
I don't know how it works in Canada, but here you can take it to ANY shop you prefer. Typically 3 estimates is what I like to do, typically they will send their own estimator and then go by a combination of them.
I've had a few total loss accidents and a few small ones also, I've been through the insurance BS more then i'd like to think about..
If they write you a check it's over a done with at that point, you don't have to use the money to repair the truck at all. I've done this a few times and kept the cash for other things, Insurance doesn't care since they made you whole they are out of it by the time they write the check.
A few years back I had a similar dilemma. I ended up doing the repairs myself to save $ - $3300 damage estimate. I used the saved $ to get a rear bumper, rear swinging tire carrier and used 6.0 cooler. Luckily no painting was needed.
Check your frame horns, the can absorb some bending so good to check when you put on the new bumper.
Sorry to hear of your luck, Nate. Glad no one was injured. Cowl or hinge damage? Looks like the hood is pushed back quite a bit
I agree w/ Mark's plan.
That said- all these pics of late of Ex's w/ new front ends would have me losing sleep.
Good Luck-
Upgrade to an 05 Grill & headlights, new body panels and paint as needed and a Hard Notch Customs Bumper!
As mentioned above, here in the states the insurance assumes you are fixing it. They push you to their preferred shop as they get a break and in instances where the vehicle is inoperable until repaired the shop doesn't charge the insurance storage costs.
At least IN Oregon almost every time the insurance Co will send you the check for repairs. If you are getting it repaired at a shop, it takes them out of the middle if warranty work needs done in the future or if the work was subpar.
They paid you to make you whole.
The caveat to this is if you owe money on the vehicle the check will sometimes be written to you and your lender.
I wouldn't let the warranty on the labor muddy up the waters, you've already done enough work on that Trk under your own warranty! And if you need help I bet there's a boat load of people here that will help you fix it if needed!
I would look for a used hood and have it painted, maybe even find one the same color!
And by all means put another grill guard on that thing, I think it saved your a$$!
01-05-2016, 08:17 PM
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