NickCats

Lady made a left turn in front of me on my way to work Monday morning.

Luckily everybody was ok. Benz was drivable, her Expedition was not.

Car is at the dealer / body shop and I am in a rental. Any idea how long it wil be until I get my car back ( insurance covers a rental for 30 days ) ?

Searching the forum it seems 30-40 days for a repair seems about average.

Thoughts ?

Thanks,

Nick

Sportstick

Glad no human harm was done. I can't address the paperwork, but from that photo, it looks like the bodyshop should be no more than one week once they start with parts on hand and the paint booth scheduled.

boschk

Looks like a fleshwound. But, I can't see the underlaying structure either. I'd say less than 2 weeks guessing.

NickCats

Heard back from the body shop and insurance today. $5000 in damage, should be fixed in 2 weeks...

What really ticks me off is the body shop told me that Geico is insisting on using an aftermarket hood and AC condenser ( cheaper ). I called to complain and they pretty much told me too bad, if you want OEM you can pay the difference ( which I am, $300 extra for the hood and $165 extra for the OEM condenser ).

Be sure to read your insurance polices carefully to see if there is any verbiage regarding the carrier's right to use non-OEM parts.

Nick

RLE

The other driver's insurance is paying, right? This is typical Geico policy, for those who buy insurance on price alone.

Sportstick

I would think not, as I believe Illinois is a no-fault state, so each pays their own. If the other driver was cited, or found at fault, OP should be able to recover his deductible, as well as not have it be a chargeable accident on his policy.

Chubb has never questioned OE parts for us.

boschk

I could be mistaken, but I'm not sure that's legal. It's YOUR car, the parts that were damaged are OEM. I'd read your state law carefully before agreeing. Many companies depend upon the ignorant. Not calling you ignorant, but they may be assuming you area. Knowledge is power.

wnunez89

my car was in an almost similar accident instead I hit a wild boar, about $6k in damages. MB took about 2 weeks to finish repairs.

boschk

There you go:
http://insurance.illinois.gov/AutoIn..._own_claim.pdf

You're on your own!

"However, if your company wants to use non-OEM parts, and you request more expensive OEM
parts, you may have to pay the difference."

Bullchit, but the law is the law.

Open-Road

Sorry about the car. Looks depressing. Glad you are okay.

NickCats

RLE - lesson learned. When all is said and done with this claim I will be looking for a new insurance carrier.

Sportstick - I believe you are correct. Geico said they will try and recover my deductable.

boschk - I did some research last night. You are right, it varies by state. If I was in Indiana they would have to use OEM parts ( thanks for investigating, though ) :

http://www.iii.org/media/hottopics/i..._sort_722000=4

wnunez - yep, sounds right. Estimate shows 10 working days, which should be around 10/12

Open Road - thanks...

Nick

Sportstick

Once again, a recommendation for Chubb. Recently, I've noticed they advertise in the national club's Star magazine.

NickCats

29 days and $10k later my car is finally fixed ( just picked it up today ).

If you want your c350 to feel like a rocket ship try driving a Ford Escape for a month !

Nick

RLE

That's right.

Whenever I drive something else it makes me appreciate my own car. Such as those dealer service loaners equipped like Beirut taxicabs. Without the diesel engines.