ramblux

Long story short, some "lady" (I'm being nice) decided to try to occupy the space my car was already in, so both driver's side doors were dented up and the rear bumper was broken. The other driver's insurance company may or may not pay for the damage (I should find out by the weekend, and I only had liability and uninsured motorist coverage on the car), but I have a feeling that I'm going to get screwed so I'm trying to plan ahead.

I've already located a set of door shells, but they're the wrong color and will need a repaint. Basically what I need is to have the "new" doors repainted/installed (in white) and to have the old doors' mechanicals and door panels swapped over to the new doors. Can anyone recommend any shops, preferably in Los Angeles County? Thanks a bunch.

YNVDIZW124

Well, I know where you can get some doors but the first thing you need to do is to get two or three estimates from different body shops and take the person to court. The worst thing that can happen is that it takes 30 days and you get 50% of the value of your car which can still pay for the damages. The insurance company will d!ck you around for about a month anyways. Make sure you tell them that you are taking their insured to court by certified mail. Best place to find parts and body shops is wilmington. I never trusted any shops in the valley...


BTW - You sold those speedline wheels on ebay right?

ramblux

Yeah, sold them to a fellow forum member, although I don't know his screen name. He's putting them on his E500.

As far as the doors, I'm picking up a pair for $200 tomorrow. I got one estimate today for $4200, and I'm going to get another tomorrow. I get the feeling that they're going to want to total the car, but I'd rather just get as much as I can to go toward fixing the car since it was pretty much flawless before the accident. I'll tell the insurance company about suing the lady tomorrow afternoon if I don't hear any good news.

Thanks for the help!

YNVDIZW124

Well don't just say you are suing her, it's not that easy. But yeah, you can go to pick your parts and get the doors for much less. I got my first claim denied and i sent them a letter just as a notice that im taking their driver to court. The judge said I was 50% at fault (should have had more pictures) so they gave me half the value of the car. I sent the judgment to the insurance and they sent a check two days later. They didn't total my car and i fixed it over the weekend so i had a check and my car was still running. I should have painted my car but i spent it on other dumb stuff...

So yeah take A LOT of pictures so the judge can see how you describe the accident and put him in your shoes so it can match your story. I can't stress enough how many pictures you need.

ramblux

Damn, I'm getting antsy. I thought I would have heard something today. I have lots of pics of the car too. I drew diagrams of what happened using Google Earth images too.

Anyway, went to pick up those doors today, but the guy never showed up at his business. I guess it's just as well since I just now realized that the rear sedan doors are different than my wagon doors, but it would have been nice to at least get the front door.

neanderthal

get more than 3 quotes. get 10 or more and submit the 3 highest.

ramblux

But wouldn't they want to total the car if the quotes are too high?

neanderthal

that only matters if youre planning to sell the car, or get in another wreck.