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Question for anyone with collision repair requirements.
Someone pull out in front of me a few weeks ago. Their insurance is taking care of the damages caused by the collision. I lined up a body shop and they have dived into the estimate. They found damage to the passenger side upper rail (2nd and 3rd pics) that is unrelated to the accident. (apparently it happened when it belonged to the previous owner but wasn't on the Carfax.
They are now saying that they have to replace the upper rail in order to certify the truck as repaired and safe. I can see their point but at the same time is sounds like a guaranteed add on sale for them, an easy way to pad the repair.
So, does this sound right? Would the body shop have to also complete these other repairs? Thanks for any input.
One way to check is to get a second opinion, just don't tell the second shop about what the first one said.
Or, get your insurance involved, get their adjuster to look it over.
Its about liability and they can not legally sign off on their repair while ignoring present but unrelated damage to the specific incident.
Simply ask them if they will just perform the repairs related to your collision. If they say yes then they are dishonest. Turning down the work completely and not putting their name on your repair when asked to ignore the previous damage is the right response from an honest shop.
I lived the body shop life for 6 years after leaving the Army and before getting my current job. Anyone that’s been a body guy knows what I mean.
I specifically remember repairs on a Ram 2500 and an F350 very similar to this where they both hit a deer at local highway speeds. Both trucks needed the respective side upper “apron” replaced due to the forces being pushed up rather than dead on during the impact.
While every body shop is guilty of padding their pockets(in my experience), I would recommend having them perform the repairs on whatever estimate they write.
