Anyone knows a bit about auto body reparing? Please give me some advices.

[feng]

Hello folks, I need some advices from people who know a bit about auto body reparing. I just had an accident last Friday after dropping off some packages in the USPS. When I started the car and tried to make a U turn to the left, it just happened. I didn't see there's a car coming because my left view was covered by a truck who's waiting to park in my spot. My insurance only covers liability and they won't pay for my loss.

It was my first time getting into this, so I had no idea what to do. Auto reparing in America seems much more expensive than that in China. Right now I'm just looking for a place to fix my car with reasonable charges. I asked a mechanic to come check my car and he said it would cost at least five to six thousands dollors. I have no clue if this estimate is reasonable. I attached a few pictures so you can see the damages. Could anyone tell me how much it might cost to fix these damages? I know I can't get an accurate quote by providing pictures, I just need a brief quote.

Also anyone has any recommendations on auto body shops in St. Louis area? A friend of mine recommended Old Style Body Shop to me, and I also picked Shur-Way Auto Body after searching around online. I guess I'll at least have my car towed to these two places to get a good estimate.

Much appreciated guys.

[JPG]

I don't know much about car repairs other that it usually cost a lot...

Sry for you man...

[Michael]

Just put some duct tape on it.

[CPTBadAss]

feng you should talk to mkawa. He was really helpful with my questions when I got into an accident before.

[C5Allroad]

If you still have the parts.... Sand them, respray it.... Or pay $1,500 to have it fixed.

[demik]

that is beyond just sanding and respraying.

[Wildcard]

The 5-6k estimate doesn't seem that high considering labor costs can sometimes end up being more then the cost of parts. If there is frame damage your repair costs go up significantly.

Your best bet is to look at reviews in your area for reputable auto-body shops first, and chose one with a good reputation.

[SpAmRaY]

If you still have the parts.... Sand them, respray it.... Or pay $1,500 to have it fixed.

Just looking at the pics I'd say there is way more than $1500 in parts alone not counting labor, painting etc.

[IPT]

i had similar damage to my car and my body shop claimed my insurance 7 grand.

[demik]

one question, your car looks fairly new..

why on earth is it not under full coverage?

[IPT]

one question, your car looks fairly new..

why on earth is it not under full coverage?

yeah i have to ask about this too
unless your car's value is below 4 grand you really should be under full coverage.

[Pacifist]

Do you have a car for china and the USA?

[Photoelectric]

I hope you'll find some reasonable auto shop to fix this.  Best of luck!

[HoffmanMyster]

Do you have a car for china and the USA?

Somehow I feel like this isn't the most important question at the moment.

[Input Nirvana]

I owned a collision claims management service in the 90's-early 2000's.

The damage appears to be $5-8,000 depending on the vehicle. Frame damage is an added dimension. If it's damaged it may be able to be straightened with a laser alignment machine. It's pricey.

Contact your insurance company (the claims rep) and ask them to refer the auto repair network they use so you can get a qualified estimate and price. The price for you will be less than what your insurance company pays, tell the shop you are paying for it out of pocket.

[katushkin]

Seems to me from the pictures that you are looking at some internal parts as well as external and frame, depending on how fast the guy hit you.

$6k to me doesn't seem too much, I mean it's a lot, but not for what you need doing. If all else fails, do the internal, the frame and the light you are missing and leave the front bodywork until you have the money. Provided the law allows, IDK anything about US vehicle laws so that's up to someone else to tell you.

[Oobly]

That's not going to be a cheap fix. Looks like a fair amount of parts will need replacing along with possible front subframe straightening, some panel work (wings and bonnet), etc.

I think you're on the right track, you should be able to compare the quotes from both of those places. It may be worth also getting a quote from Carstar just to see how it compares (although I suspect they won't give the same level of service).

[Wildcard]

Contact your insurance company (the claims rep) and ask them to refer the auto repair network they use so you can get a qualified estimate and price. The price for you will be less than what your insurance company pays, tell the shop you are paying for it out of pocket.

I've always had full coverage but this is very good information.

[C5Allroad]

that is beyond just sanding and respraying.

Fine! Grab a hammer. Sort out any dents and have it as fine dents and the auto shop will take of ya. My dad's car would have costed $1000 if he didn't bend the hood back to somewhat normal shape(someone cut him off). It was $400 in the end.

[Input Nirvana]

Contact your insurance company (the claims rep) and ask them to refer the auto repair network they use so you can get a qualified estimate and price. The price for you will be less than what your insurance company pays, tell the shop you are paying for it out of pocket.

I've always had full coverage but this is very good information.

Yea, I've been around.

If he does this….here are results I've seen:
1) You know they're qualified and have ins. co track record and they say "Here's what it costs to fix". You've lost nothing.
2) Since you are referred by one of their major accounts, they give you the best service on the planet. You gain.
3) Since you're paying out of pocket, you are a referral, they have everything to lose and something to gain, so they put you in at the "end of the day/on the side" on a newer mechanics "free time" and pass some of the savings to you. You gain massively.

[demik]

that is beyond just sanding and respraying.

Fine! Grab a hammer. Sort out any dents and have it as fine dents and the auto shop will take of ya. My dad's car would have costed $1000 if he didn't bend the hood back to somewhat normal shape(someone cut him off). It was $400 in the end.

just.. shut up.

[Novus]

that is beyond just sanding and respraying.

Fine! Grab a hammer. Sort out any dents and have it as fine dents and the auto shop will take of ya. My dad's car would have costed $1000 if he didn't bend the hood back to somewhat normal shape(someone cut him off). It was $400 in the end.

just.. shut up.

lol  )

[feng]

Thank you so much for the info guys. You're really helpful. I just went to two auto body shops for an estimate today. One quoted me $17,334.35. (I bought this car for 18,600 excluding tax in 2012)  The other one will send me the estimate through email tomorrow. A friend of mine told me that he has a friend who's a mature mechanic and just started his own audo business, maybe he can help me get a reasonable estimate.

one question, your car looks fairly new..

why on earth is it not under full coverage?

yeah i have to ask about this too
unless your car's value is below 4 grand you really should be under full coverage.

Well, I'm not familiar with how the insurance works. The full coverage would cost me about $2000 half an year. The liability only costs $800 half an year. So I believed in my driving and picked the liability instead of full coverage. :/ Would most Americans choose full coverage? I thought most people would just go with liability.

[Trent]

Depends on your insurance.  I only pay $500 per 6 months of full coverage insurance from USAA, but being a government/military program its got perks no insurance company have.  And that $500 doesn't really fluctuate since my car is 2005, asked what a 2013 car would cost, only $40 additional a year.

My friend would pay $1000 per 6 months for his car, allstate.

That damage looks pretty severe for what I've seen, only scrapes and bumps on my car before.  If no full coverage I wouldn't know what to do in that situation sorry 

[demik]

Thank you so much for the info guys. You're really helpful. I just went to two auto body shops for an estimate today. One quoted me $17,334.35. (I bought this car for 18,600 excluding tax in 2012)  The other one will send me the estimate through email tomorrow. A friend of mine told me that he has a friend who's a mature mechanic and just started his own audo business, maybe he can help me get a reasonable estimate.

one question, your car looks fairly new..

why on earth is it not under full coverage?

yeah i have to ask about this too
unless your car's value is below 4 grand you really should be under full coverage.

Well, I'm not familiar with how the insurance works. The full coverage would cost me about $2000 half an year. The liability only costs $800 half an year. So I believed in my driving and picked the liability instead of full coverage. :/ Would most Americans choose full coverage? I thought most people would just go with liability.

sometimes it's not about YOUR driving, but the idiots around you.

like projectD stated, 4k and under, liability. anything over, full coverage. btw, did you pay cash for the car? most loans require you to have full coverage from my understanding, as they need to cover their asses in case of an accident and they get their money.

i take it you're under 25? that's probably why your insurance was so high.

[Trent]

well okay then.

[demik]

yeah and you're a special case which you've already stated.

[Trent]

yeah and you're a special case which you've already stated.

Yeesh.

[SpAmRaY]

I'm a big fan of full coverage including both comprehensive and collision coverages. I think I'm paying ~$1600/yr for our two vehicles together, one new.....one old.....

[IPT]

Yeah I got into my accident in 2012 and now pay about $1900 a year for full coverage. That's after Allstate paid 8 grand to fix my car, dunno how much they paid to fix the person I rear ended but I'd estimate prob 4 grand. B4 my accident I had my insurance down to like $1200 a year. Granted I live in NYC which has some of the highest insurance costs. The problem with liability only coverage is now when you need to repair its gonna cost an arm/leg. Frankly with my full coverage my car was fixed in 2 weeks without me worrying about anything besides having Allstate survey the initial damage with my body shop

[cherpalla]

Sorry to hear about your accident Feng, glad to hear you're okay.

Cher