ChazThePhoenix

Lets play a game. I have a 6 inch crack on my windshield and a hole in my lower grill. I called State Farm and put in a claim. Then I called the dealership because I wanted to get it fixed right.

Lets just say the two were miles apart

Leave a reply on the you think the cost to replace the lower grill and windshield on a 2014 C250 coupe is... and also what you think State Fair said they will give me.

Alfadude

My guess is the cost from the dealer is higher than you expected and the amount the insurance company said they would pay was less than that. I would guess what the insurance company would give you is based on your policy, which could vary wildly?

How were they damaged?

ChazThePhoenix

Yes that’s exactly what happened. But what do you guess the cost is for the items and labor.

i guess they were rock damage. They weren’t there when I washed the car Friday. Saturday I ran errand and had to use the 5 here in Southern California. Sunday afternoon the wife saw the crack. I found the grill damage Monday while reporting windshield

I have zero deductible full coverage. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to want the car fixed at my dealership instead of someone State Farm says is a good repair shop. I know it’s trivial but I want to protect my investment so to speak.

The grill has a hole punched in it from a rock. I found all the pieces inside behind the grill. I may try to glue it in the meantime. But the windshield has a 6 inch crack. That’s concerning esp with potholes

What’s you price guess? If you want to break it down, tell me what you guess for grill or windshield. .

What else you have to do in a Tuesday besides eat tacos? 🌮

Alfadude

I don't want to guess. How about just telling us?

Actually, for a windshield, I think I would be more comfortable going to a place that specializes in that sort of thing. Wouldn't surprise me if dealerships would farm that type of thing out anyway. Is the insurance company MAKING you go to one of their recommended places or SUGGESTING it? I know they usually have a list of businesses that they approve the quality of their work/you will be satifies, etc.

Hard to believe you could have a rock or something fly up and cause that kind of damage without knowing it/hearing it when it happened. I have had little pebbles/stones fly up and hit the windshield and it almost sounds like a gunshot. Glad nothing else happened.

ChazThePhoenix

LOL fair enough

State Farm Quote:
Front Grille $69
Windshield $640
Sealant $81
_______
Parts $790
Labor $306
______
Total $1,158



Mercedes Dealership
Windshield $914
Lower Grille $160
_______
Parts $1,074
Labor $1,015
______
Total $2,173


this is with zero deductible
smh

Yuille36

Depending on your deductible, you might be better off paying out of pocket, and go to Safelite Autoglass.
I have a $500 deductible, and a new windshield costs as much, so when you run the numbers it;s a no brainer.

Alfadude

What is the State Farm quote based on? And is that what they say they will pay from one of their recommended places and that is all they will pay? Do you have the option to take it wherever you want and they will pay the amount that place charges? I have a feeling they have some kind of list for parts pricing and book labor rates that they go by based on the terms of your policy and if you want to deviate from that you are on your own for the difference. Hopefully you can negotiate this with them and figure it all out.

Good luck. Glad it wasn't worse.

ChazThePhoenix

Thanks. Yeah I have a zero deductible but when the insurance is being cheap cheap... Its not your average windshield as you guys know. Its got the sensors behind the read view mirror. I am 100% sure SF didn't take that into account. Also, SF is giving labor based on body shop prices...that are EXTREMELY low. Labor 5.9 hours at $52 per hour... who charges $52 per hour these days? On a Mercedes?!?!?

VERY disappointed in SF. I've been with them since I was 16.

Thats ...well many years!


yes I can take it where I want. This is for their "authorized repair facilities"...which I do not trust fully.

Alfadude

You can take it where you want and they will pay whatever the bill is or you can take it where you want, but they will only pay what they quoted? If it is the former, they why sweat it, take it to your dealer. If it is the latter, up to you to decide what is most imrtant to you.

Is that $52 what their authorized repair facilities charge per hour of labor? Maybe get a quote from one or more of them and see what they quote you. If it is more than what your insurance company quoted you have the ammunition to tell them their quote isn't what it will cost.

Why don't you trust the repair facilities on their list? They have to do a good job or they will quickly be taken off it and lose some good business. I , remember a few years ago when I was in an accident some of the approved companies on my insurance's list were dealers.

Just because the windshield has a sensor in it doesn't necessarily mean it is special. That is pretty common in all sorts of cars. I wouldn't be that concerned about something like that. Auto glass places deal with that sort of thing every day. Same with replacing a grill. Not sure what is all involved with doing that in our cars, but even if the bumper cover would have to be taken off, that isn't exactly rocket science. Fairly straightforward for someone that is competent.

It is pretty rare these days to have a zero deuctible policy. Any idea how much more expensive that would be than havong like a $500 deductible? I bet quite a bit and unless you put in a lot of claims, you could save yourselfa nice bit of change. Yeah, I know, in these kinds of situations you would then be on the hook for $500, which does suck, but how often is that?

ChazThePhoenix

SURPRISINGLY it was $5 more per month to go from $500 to $0 deductible. With a MB that’s just smart money.

State Farm is giving allowance for the cheaper Chinese glass. I want OEM and expect that.

One dealership is telling me that they always have to submit a supplemental estimate to get State Farm to cough up. The other dealership says that they will not submit supplemental and that the price has to be firm before work starts


grrr

Tom in Austin

Curious to see what you are able to work out ... I would think almost all replacement windshields are made in China or somewhere and true OEM are hard to find. If it were me I would probably spend $300 of my own money to get the genuine article, right down to the "Daimler" signature decal at the lower right.

meazz1

Local dealer here once quoted $825.00 for my C250 windshield.

ChazThePhoenix

I am insisting on OEM glass, even if we have to wait an extra day or two. Cheap Chinese glass gets pits too quickly. OEM with the star in the corner is much more durable (I guess except that one day on the 5 here in SoCal)

Its at the dealership. I know its going to take some hard nose pushing to get SF to cough up, but we are willing to pull all our accounts if they dont come to the table.


best part about going to the dealership, besides getting it done right, is getting a GLC as a rental. Love it.

Moto_Guzzi

I had windshields replaced twice, the last one was say equivalant of $500 around. It is surprisingly thin and looks good but inferiorly made, don't need much to brake. The previous one I broke myself by lifting the far side wiper witout walking around the car, the wiper slipped out of the fitting and arm crashed on screen, it cracked right through straight away, my old vehicle has original screen, this happened on it a few times, nothing happened.
A bird flew through the parking light grill, but that was cheap from mercedes aroung $25.

Alfadude

What does your policy state as to what kind of replacement parts they are obligated to pay for? OEM or just simply equivalent replacements? Maybe that is why they are balking.

CJG

I don't think any insurance companies will replace with OEM. Unless you have Lloyd's of London type coverage. I've had my windshield replaced with non-oem and it's just fine. In fact, it's less prone to pitting than my oem.
Just get it fixed and move on.

CJG

$52 per hour is all ANY insurance company is going to pay. I have Geico and it's the same rate. Everything is built in a computer system. The body shop enters the part that needs to be replaced and the system automatically populates the fields for labor hours, paint materials, the actual part, etc. Bascially, whatever insurance carrier you have, and whatever body shop you go to, the cost is going to be the same. I've seen very small variances, but the body shop then conforms to what the insurance company dictates.
There's no real "estimating" anymore.
And if you want OEM, you pay for it out-of-pocket. The certified MB body shop near me clearly states this on the website:

Statement of Customer Responsibility and use of OEM parts. Paramount Centre will use OEM collision repair parts during the repairs of your vehicle. In the event that the responsible insurance company is unwilling to pay for the use of OEM parts, you, as the vehicle owner will be responsible for the cost difference in the Aftermarket Parts, Reconditioned Parts, and/or Used Parts verses the OEM parts used during the repair. The cost difference may be minimal or substantial depending on the parts specified. Each collision repair and vehicle type differ and the cost of these parts are based on the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP). Paramount Centre will provide, at your request, an estimate of the difference in OEM part pricing on your estimate. This estimate is not binding by Paramount Centre as the OEM supplier may have part price increases from time of the estimate verses receipt of product and additional repairs/parts required after initial disassembly and during repairs. Furthermore, you, the customer will be responsible to reimburse Paramount Centre for the parts price differences prior to receiving your repaired vehicle. I hereby authorize the use of OEM parts in the repairs of this vehicle and acknowledge that that there may be additional charges, to which I will be personally responsible, for the difference in parts cost verses what is specified in the approved insurance estimate. ______________________

CJG

The sensor(s) have nothing to do with the windshield. They are part of the car, not attached to the glass in any way. Now that I think about it I've had the windshield replaced twice in my W204 and never had an issue. I had your same mindset going into it, but to me it wasn't worth the extra $800 (or whatever it was).