I was rear ended the other day. Looks like I only need a new bumper cover and paint. I called Geico (the other guys insurance) and they have a process where you drop it off and they fix it at their recommended body shop that offers a lifetime warranty. Part of me wants to bring it to the Mercedes dealer but the other part of me says its only a bumper cover and the lifetime warranty on paint match and fitment sounds good and I am sure the lifetime warranty wouldn't be available at the Mercedes dealer. Anyone ever use Geico insurance for repair? The body shop is a small 20+ chain called Signature Collision Center. They have been in my area for about a year.

 

All repairs should be coordinated through YOUR insurance carrier not the other party. Your carrier will pay you or the shop and settle with the responsible party's carrier via subrogation. You should not be dealing with the other party's insurance carrier at all. Refer them to your claims adjuster and cut off contact. Seriously, they are not representing your interest at all. Quite the contrary. Anything you say to them will be used to lowball your claim and to diminish their responsibility. You need to let your claims adjuster know that the other party's carrier has been contacting you directly. They will get them to stop.

Call you local dealerships and ask what body shops they recommend then cross reference the reviews for each shop. Most dealerships do not perform body work, they subcontract it to body shops.
In most states you have the right to choose the shop you want. The benefit of using a shop that's affiliated with you insurance carrier is that you will not have to pay and then wait for reimbursement. The insurance carrier will directly pay the shop and you'll only have to pay the deductible. If you use a non-affiliated shop, you may have to pay out of pocket and wait for the insurance company to reimburse you.

Last time this happened to me I called both local dealerships and got the list of companies they farm out their bodywork to. Then I ran those by my insurance carrier and found a shop that worked with both the dealership and the carrier. This made for the easiest experience because the car is definitely going to need dealership attention in addition to the body work. You want a body shop that communicates well with the dealership service center because the car will likely make at least one trip between them for sensor calibration and troubleshooting. A major impact will require this for any modern MB vehicle even if you don't have all the extra tech options.

 

BTW, when I was rear ended last, bumper and paint turned into nearly $6000 once trunk panels and sensors were added into the mix.

 

Another thing you want to consider is finding a Mercedes Benz Certified body shop. These shops will display a certificate showing the MB logo, etc. For a shop to be MB Certified, they must agree to use only MB approved materials and techniques. Their personnel are trained by Mercedes Benz in the approved repair methods and techniques. They are probably the only shops that will bring your car back to factory standards. Others might. MB Certified will.

I am not affiliated with any shops or insurance carriers. I just have a bit too much experience with auto body shops in the repair of my Lexus and MB cars. I have used one single shop (certified for MB, BMW, Lexus) for many years, and they do top grade work. They have told me numerous times that insurance companies would push for after-market parts or used parts, but if the manufacturer does not approve, they won't do it. Some years ago, I had a Lexus LS430 that was caught in a hailstorm. We stopped counting at 150 dents to repair. At that time, Lexus did not certify paintless dent repair. They completely dismantled the car, removing all trim and interior. They then fixed all dents from the inside of the panels, refinished and repainted all, replaced all trim and re-assembled the car. It looked like new then, and for the next 10 years I owned it. Looked great until I sold it to buy the E400.

So, call your local MB dealer and ask them which local shops are MB CERTIFIED, not who they could send your car to. You may be quoted a higher price, but the other driver's insurance company will have to pay it.

 

Thanks for the replies, I am going to call the Mercedes Dealer on Monday and see who/what they suggest.

 

Our GSL 450 has been rear ended twice. We only bring it to our preferred body shop. The last time my insurer sent us to as shop that estimated it at $1063. I then took it to State Farm’s shop (they insured the party at fault) and estimated it at $2213. Interestingly both shops were owned by Collison which has acquired many shops in the area. I then went to my preferred shop and the final bill was close to $4k after all the parts were replaced and the bumper electronics were recalibrated by my local dealer. This was for a very small,ding but basically had to replace the entire cover, repaint plus a few other small parts. I am firing my insurer Liberty Mutual as this is not the first time we have received poor claims handling and low ball estimates.

The bottom line line is that you need to find a shop you trust and then they will go to bat with the insurer to get the necessary repairs approved. Never trust the shops picked by the insurance company.

 

Your dealer likely has a body shop they use exclusively. This was the case when I had body work done. Took forever for them to fix it but that's mostly because they HAVE to use MB OEM parts and follow MB repair guidelines.