Och

iTrader: (3)

A friend of mine got himself a brand new G37 just a little less than a year ago, and a week ago he was involved in an accident. He was standing at a red light, and another driver was pulling out of a parking spot and hit his drivers door and front fender. It was a low speed accident, so not major damage - but enough to leave dents that were about an inch or two deep, and prevent the drivers door from closing properly. The door had to be slammed really hard to latch, and there was a huge gap at the top when the door was closed. We rolled the window down, and bent the top portion of the door so it would close tight, so he could drive until insurance would arrange repair.

Today he picked up the car repaired from the body shop, and I don't think it was repaired properly. I was expecting them to replace the door, but they just repaired it. They made it open and close properly, but the dent was fixed with bondo and painted, and I can see a tiny crack in the metal from where we bent the top portion.

Is this normal to get this type of repair, on a pretty much brand new car? I understand body shops do what insurance companies pay for, but shouldn't insurance company in this case pay for a new door?

doge

No, seems like a half assed job. Everything is supposed look like its new, there is supposed to be no gaps, everything should line up, if the steel is pierced you replace it not repair it. Looks like the body shop took the max insurance money while putting in the minimum work. If the your friends insurance company referred the shop have him complain directly to the insurance company. Tell him that it looks bad and they need to make it right

tex2670

He might want to call the insurance company, and see if use of bondo is even something they authorize. I've been to the body shop a few times, and I use one approved by my insurance company. Each time, they have told me that there is a lifetime guaranty on the work they did by being USAA approved---I can't imagine that there's any insurance company standing behind a lifetime guaranty for bondo work. They might be pocketing $$ insurance paid for replacement parts.

mmarshall

Can't say for sure on the bondo without seeing a photo of the previous damage from the accident. But, in many cases, yes, I agree that bond-fillings are just Mickey-Mouse substitutes for proper repairs/replacements.

Och

iTrader: (3)

That is pretty much what I suspect - they probably got paid by insurance to replace the door and instead pocketed the money and did a bondo work. I'll bee seeing the guy tomorrow sometime, and i'll take some pictures.

Don't get me wrong, the car looks fine from the outsides, with no signs of damage - but once you open the door you can see signs of repair. If it was my car, I would be extremely pissed off.

IS350jet

Although this is possible, it's highly unlikely. Many insurance companies are increasing pressure on body shops to repair cars as quickly and as cheaply as possible. In fact, some cut rate insurance companies will only pay miniscule amounts to repair a car and it's never enough to do it correctly. Geico comes to mind. However, if your friend was the claimant (didn't use his own insurance) he pretty much holds all the cards and can demand that the other insurance company replace (not repair) the parts with new, genuine OEM parts. However, if he was the insured (used his own insurance) he's out of luck and he'll need to use the companies' guaranteed repair policy, if one is offered. I wouldn't blame the body shop, just yet. It's hard enough for them survive on the pittance that some insurance companies pay.