...the damage is not extensive, but there is some bent metal on the lip above the front bumper. (I do not have pictures yet) I have all his information + a witness. He is quite well insured (Framers Ins.) My worries now are what his insurance will cover in terms of re-painting the the car or just the front clip. It would really suck to have a miss-match. Even if the color is correct, you will still see a difference between the new paint and the 30 year old slightly worn original paint...the car is/was in a very good, original condition... Any of you guys have experience dealing with insurance companies about that kind of stuff? Jan
That is a bummer for sure. Insurance companies don't care about you, unfortunately, and brace yourself, because they are not going to pay to repaint the whole car! Best you can do is get references for a Bay area shop that can age the paint to blend it. Some time ago someone posted 4-5 really good paint shops in the area. I remember that one was in the Burlingame area and one was in Oakland. Maybe your posting will revive the responses or do a search for paint shops. Hope it works well for you.
Sorry to hear that...it sucks. At least there were witnesses, etc. and he is insured. You should be able to find someone who will be able to blend the paint to match.
Not to burst your bubble, but I can tell you that Farmers Insurance is one of the top five WORST companies to deal with... I own a Mercedes-Benz service shop and not too long ago, somebody backed into a customer's SL600 while it was sitting outside of my shop. I received a phone call from the local PD who had a witness and a report was filed. I called the owner and suggested that the car go to the local MB dealer's body shop for the repairs. We took the car over there and they came back with a $4,500 estimate. I know the bodyshop manager very well and explained that we had the guilty party's insurance information and that he was insured with Farmers.. Well, the bodyshop manager pulls out a list of the top five worst companies to deal with, companies whom he's had to sue to get the total payouts. They are as follows: -Liberty Mutual -Progressive -Nationwide -Farmers -USAA Good luck my friend. I hear they don't give up without one helluva fight. At least, be prepared to take this one to court. Cheers, Aaron '82 GTSi '83 400iA
Remember, if the insurance does not pay, you can sue the owner of the car. Then the owner of the car can sue his insurance company to get back what he lost. You don't have to deal with his insurance company if you don't want to. If the woman has a court order against her for your damages, then all she needs to do is show that to her insurance company to get money. It is an easy way to avoid having the insurance company want to examine your car or to try and rip you off with an in-house estimate that is much lower than it will cost to paint your car.
That sucks I lot of shops do paint scannig now to color match to the existing paint instead of using a paint code. Beware of the blending of colors in which they lightly spray into the adjioning panels to hide the color difference and then overspray the clear over that. You have to make sure they block sand that all out and buff the car down. I had a repair done and it stayed at the shop 2 extra days until they got it right. I use a different shop now. Good luck
Yes I agree that you don't have to worry about paint matching. I had most of my car repainted and the shop had a scanner and the computer mixed the paint. You can not tell. Make sure your shop has that technology. Farmers should allow you to take it to the shop of your choice. I've had very good success with threatening to take insurance companies to court. A freind who was an Insurance company exec once told me that "they won't go to court with you because judges look at insurance companies like faucets that money comes out of". Stand your ground and don't let them push you around and don't accept any offers your not 100% in agreement with.
Hey Jan, not to worry, I don't know how big or small the damage is but my 308 use to have those little dents, dings, and a couple of major scratches. Then one day I had one of those mobile guy that does touch-up came over to my place and fix all the problem and guess what I was very impress of the quality he put into my car, man you can't tell anything at all he matched that color pefectly and came out looking brand new. So if your car end up in a body shop that has good reputation or does quality work, they will match the color and you won't be able to tell it got hit. But make sure you tell them that if you are not satisfied, they have to redo it untill you are satisfied. P.S. I'm sorry this happened, I'm sad and upset for you
the repair should be no problem for any high shop. getting the insurance company to pay up won't be a pleasant experience. i would get a lawyer immediately. insurance companies treat regular folks like fools. don't waste your time and your mental health dealing with them. that's why we have lawyers. GET A LAWYER. good luck.
Very sound advice. You end up paying his commission, but it's worth it as he/she most often will get you more money than you would get on your own.
I do not have Farmers but 2 years ago a guy rear-ended me in my wife's 2 week old MB and they were very professional, took care of everything and 5 months later I got my wife's car back. Maybe I was one of the lucky one's.
