Question
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I have only $500 deductible. Two questions please. 1. Do I have to pay more than my deductible to get the car repaired? 2. Can the ins. co deduct for depreciation on mechanical parts like the strut and the trailing arm? Thank you.
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I stopped at a Stop sign. Saw another car coming from the other direction about 7 to 8 car lengths. I proceeded. There was a loud bang. The other car had been coming at an excessive speed. There was extensive damage to the front of the other car. I walked around my car but could not see any damage to my vehicle. There were no injuries to either party. Police came and I told them that I do not see any damage to my vehicle. They put on search lights and informed me that the point of impact is my rear wheel and that my rear wheel is at an angle and told me that they cannot let me drive my car. The time was approx. 11:30 at night. I got my car towed.
I reported the claim to my insurance. I also took the car to my dealer. The dealer told me that all my suspension parts are bent and gave me an estimate of $ 3800 (3000 for parts and 800 for labor.) Two days later an ins. adjuster came and told me that the only thing bent is my suspension arm and it would not cost much to get it repaired. I asked the adjuster whether he is a certified mechanic because the damage was also mechanical. He told me that he is an adjuster. He refused to provide me any state licenses he holds. I told him that my life as well as the lives of any passengers that would travel in my car depends on the suspension and I would like to get the parts replaced as recommended by my dealer. The adjuster refused to even look at the estimate provided by my dealers body and service shops.
What do I do? Just accept the ins co's adjuster's version, their low settlement and replace only the suspension arm or get my car repaired according to the dealer. Shouldn't the ins co. pay the dealer's estimate? Thank you for your answer. This is causing me sleepless nights.
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I run across this scenario every week. Many mechanics, especially at dealerships will automatically write the entire suspension system in the area of the damage. This is not because every part is bent but because any of the parts "could" be bent. It is a win/win for the shop as they are guaranteed that they will only have to put the car on the lift one time and also manage to put 3-4 times as much money in their pockets. Don't forget that we are talking about the auto repair industry which only generates for consumer fraud complaints than all other industries combined.
The truth is that a suspension system is dynamic. Nearly every component is designed to move at either end. When the wheel is struck, one or two parts may bend, but the attached parts will usually just follow on their own pivots as they are designed to; just as if veh vehicle had hit a bump in the road. Suspension parts are very strong and if they are not physically damaged, are not likely to have hidden damage.
The correct way to address suspension damage is to first replace the part(s) with visual damage. Then the vehicle alignment is checked and adjusted to spec. If it will not adjust, the alignment specs will most often identify what else could be damaged. Then the part is replaced and the alignment is checked again. A shop can often do 4 alignment checks for the price of one additional suspension component. This requires effort and thinking and unfortunately, many techs are not happy about either.
I'm sure that the claims adjuster explained that there is a supplement process for the shop to follow with any repair. This also requires effort on the part of the shop and again, they'd much rather just collect $3,000 for less effort.
In my 20 years as an automotive tech and a claims adjuster, I've never had a suspension component crop back up later down the road with hidden damage. These are the most durable components on the car and take much more punishment during your daily commute than they do when a related component is bent. The most fragile suspension component is the strut, which is not designed for significant side impact. It is a hollow tube and is nearly always the first part to bend. Some cars also have small trailing arms in the rear that bend easily. Again in both cases, the other suspension parts just pivot as designed. Now there is one other part that is technically a drivetrain component but may be damaged after a wheel impact. It is the wheel bearing. If the impact only bends a strut or trailing arm, then the bearing is most likely ok. If multiple parts are damaged then it is best to replace the bearing at the same time. Bearings are about the only part that may hide damage until further down the road but even then, they will start making noise within a few hundred miles and won't simply just "fall off".
To answer your question, the insurance company only owes for what is damaged and it is the responsibility of the shop to show the damage. If insurance companies simply paid every shop estimate as requested, claims payouts would triple overnight and so will the premiums that you and I pay.
Good luck!
AnswerThe insurance company can generally deduct depreciation/betterment for any "wear" item. The principle being that you should owe something for the use that you recieved from the item. If not for the accident, you would have had to replace the item anyway due to normal wear. Items that normally wear out and have to be replaced during the life of a car include tires, batteries, radiators, struts, shocks, belts, hoses, brake pads, etc. It is reasonable to take betterment on a strut, but generally only if the betterment is being taken on an OEM part. If they are only paying for an aftermarket strut, then they should not take betterment. By the way, there is nothing wrong with installing an aftermarket strut given that 95% of factory installed struts are actually manufactured by companies such as Gabrial and Monroe. In fact, the quality of an aftermarket/replacement strut/shock is usually greater than the OEM.
A trailing arm is not a wear item. Without physical damage, they usually last the life of the vehicle. The only suspension part that I'd ever consider taking betterment on would be shocks, struts or brake parts.
Betterment/depreciation are above and beyond your deductible.
Good luck!
