Auto Insurance Claims: Unhappy with collision estimate, kia sportage, thanksgiving weekend

Question
My family and I were in Ohio traveling back to Michigan when we were involved in an accident Thanksgiving weekend. I was not at fault. The tow truck towed my SUV to a local "mom and pop" body shop saturday night, I then filed a claim with State Farm the same night. The following monday, State Farm called and instructed me to tow the vehicle to their "authorized" repair dealership down the road. Unaware of what was to come about, I agreed and the vehile was towed to the dealership. After the dealership gave me the estimate, I was very dissapointed. The impact was severe and major front end and some front clip damage. The dealership estimate reached $5500. The the 06 Kia sportage with 47k miles I thought would be totaled, the estimate seems like the labor amount is under quoted, and being a foriegn vehile, the availabilty of the parts are not available. They however said they would replace with OEM parts and not used or aftermarket, but I think it is just to cover up the real facts. After research, I feel the dealership is influenced by State Farm to keep thier bill low and dealership gets the repairs. Preliminary inspection from the dealership, she said the front clip may need to be replaced, turns out they want to "repair" the front clip to keep cost down. State Farm says the front clip only needed a few parts so it wasn't cost effective. I want to get a second estimate, however the vehilcle is still in Ohio 3 hours away. State Farm wont pay for another tow. Should I pickup vehilce out of Ohio and find my own repair shop close to home?

Answer
Mike,

It would seem your Kia is in what State Farm calls their Select Service shops, which is a direct repair program designed to control the costs of claims. If you are not comfortable with the shop and the direction they are taking, you can deny them authorization for the repair and have the vehicle towed to a local shop near you. State Farm will have to pay the cost to repair your vehicle to its pre-loss function and appearance, as well as the towing charges. If State Farm stands firm on their refusal to pay the towing charge, tell them you will seek it from their policyholder who caused the accident and will take legal steps toward that end. Work in written communications by fax to their claims offices to save time and demand written responses.

As for parts availability for the Kia, I would not be that concerned as it is a popular model. You can also call your own insurance company and file a claim with them, which they will subrogate with State Farm and return your deductible. Explain to your company the circumstances as you have to me and ask them about the towing charges.

Charlie