Hello everybody, A couple of days ago a guy plowed into me while I was waiting at a red light. I go tomorrow to a body shop recommended by the insurer for an estimate. Any advice anyone might give. My concern is that a shop that works on "normal" cars might underestimate the costs involved (e.g., the cost of replacing that bumper). More of a concern will be that they use filler on the repair, thus providing an opportunity for corrosion to begin on that delicate Italian steel. (When I bought the car four years ago I actually did some extensive work on that area behind the bumper cutting out corroded metal and butt-welding new steel in its place. So I know how tempting it might be for someone to take short cuts. This is my first accident, so this is all new to me. What a hassle! Thanks advance! Image Unavailable, Please Login
Luckily the damage is not much and can be repaired perfectly. That panel has lots of natural cut lines and it is easy to re-paint so that it is invisible. What you absolutely need to remember is that for an insurance company a claim is a claim regardless of how much it is. It is up to you to DEMAND that the car be repaired as it was before the accident. If that means extensive metal work that costs a lot then it is not your problem. That is why you have insurance in the first place. One thing I learned a long time ago is trying to be friendly with your insurance company only benefits them. Go ahead and take it to the place the insurance company recommends. Tell them that you want all the metal work to be done with no filler (except for the last tiny bit to prep for paint). If they do not have the people to do that kind of repair then take it somewhere else. I am not sure what the rules are like where you live but where I live I can choose the body shop and get to sign off before the insurance company pays out. It is essential to lay down your expectations in the beginning and not deviate from them no matter how much it inconveniences the body shop or the insurance company. Also be sure to well document the whole repair with pictures. This will follow the car come sale time and you need to clearly show a buyer what the ding on the CarFax is
Thanks, that's really helpful. The thing is, I'm dealing with the other guy's insurance company. The place they referred me to do the estimate is part of their network, I believe. As I understand it, I'm not obligated to go there. When I bring it in, I just want to impress upon them what I expect, how much that bumper piece is if they have replace it, so that they come up with an accurate estimate.
The bumper I believe should be fiberglass and can be repaired perfectly. You can push for a new one but it is not a hill I would die on. Regardless of who's insurance is paying for it, as the customer your car has to be fixed correctly. Expect road blocks but stand your ground and make it understood that it is much less trouble for everyone to fix it correctly then try to get away with anything sub-standard. Most people want to be accommodating but remember that you are the one being put out here and that no insurance company is your friend.
That bumper can be repaired easily. Metal work is no problem for a good body work shop. Make sure you remove all your belongings !! I see your tool kit...make sure you remove all those things of value for not having discussion afterwards.
Yes, I agree on the bumper -- I don't care as long as it ends up being straight and pretty. My concern, rather, is with the metal work. I'm hoping they can straighten it out and treat it, and not have to cut stuff out of it. Thanks again for the comment.
The bumper can be repaired without much issue, its just a fiberglass shell and does not look badly damaged, more just cracked in the middle. Have to make sure the brackets that retain it are not bent, but should be fairly easy to deal with. fyi Eurospares show the bumper available new to order, part 24...https://www.eurospares.com/Ferrari/Mondial/Mondial_3.2_QV_(1987)/PartDiagrams/115/Bumpers,_Mouldings_&_Lights?ref=024 It may well be your repaired bumper would be the better fit than a new reproduction. But it does give you an idea of the cost, you could provide to your insurer for such an indication. (plus the ship costs for a big item coming from overseas would not be trivial). Keep in mind some of the Euro bumpers have rear fog lamps designed in (my Swiss car does), so if you did get a new bumper make sure you get the one for your US model. Eurospares also has some used parts as well, here is the rear panel stamping, number 40 in the diagram...https://www.eurospares.com/Ferrari/Mondial/Mondial_3.2_QV_(1987)/PartDiagrams/101/Body_Shell_-_Outer_Elements?ref=044 The shop may be able to "pull" that damaged metal panel back out, and use some filler to deal with the dented part. Hard to tell from the picture if that is the better approach verses replacing the whole rear panel. By the time they made the 3.2, the steel used was decent quality and thickness, it should be fine if repaired without worries about corrosion. Your red paint is likely faded, so you will need a bodyshop that can colour match, they can use a computer to do this but even then it still takes a good eye and experience to get the match, just using the correct paint code may not be a perfect match. They will also likely use a base/clear paint, the OEM solvent based single pack paints would not likely commonly be available anymore. Hopefully your shop is used to dealing with luxury cars if not exotics, and care enough about their reputation to have a good outcome. This will be expensive, but then a minor hit on eg. a new Mercedes or other luxury brand can cost an incredible amount of money to make right. This could be a comparatively simple repair.
If there is an official Ferrari dealership with workshop, you should get your first quote right there. That will be the most expensive bill of all, but it is THEN up to the counterparty's insurance company to tell you where to go for less costs. For the same quality of work ! If you're lucky, they will not know of any Ferrari specialized workshop and grant you the dealer's quote. After that it's your choice where to go.
The metal damage doesn't look too severe. The factory wasn't terribly sophisticated when they put that area together, so a competent body shop should have no issue meeting the hand assembled factory quality. Image Unavailable, Please Login Looks like vice grips were key to the original build. Good luck with the insurance co.
Thanks for this! The appraiser also thought that it might be better to replace that rear panel. We'll see. And you're right, tapping a new Mercedes, or any car with carbon fiber bits, can be crazy expensive. I don't know about Ferrari using steel of decent quality and thickness by the time they made the 3.2. Having repaired some corrosion in precisely that area a couple of years ago, I was amazed at how delicate all that metal work was. It's all relative I suppose.
