brucereddy

Body shop or a Lexus dealership/Lexus Certified Collision center??

Hello Folks,

Unfortunately my 2015 IS 350, was involved in a fender-bender accident in San Ramon, California. <See pics attached>
The damage is only to the front bumper on the driver side. None to DRL (swoosh shaped light) or Headlight assembly.

I have started a claim with Progressive. I am thinking its better to find a good place by myself, instead of blindly trusting the Insurance Company and going to a body shop that the Claim Adjuster would suggest.

Hence, would you please advise whether it is better to get my car fixed in a good Auto Body shop or in a Lexus dealership/Lexus Certified Collision center in the area?

Thanks in advance.

JustBaze1

Not sure where you are in new york but I've been going to AFC Auto Body in Tarrytown. Small shop but excellent work, I've taken a lot of cars there (unfortunately).

brucereddy

Thanks JustBaze1 for the response. How much do you think it would cost approximately? Please suggest if possible.

Also my car is in San Ramon, California and needs to be fixed here itself. I will look up few good shops over here, who would do good job at a reasonable price.

tff

I feel your pain. Was recently involved in an accident (guy turned in front of me, tore my grill & bumper, minor fender damage, hit & run). The adjuster for Allstate gave me shops that they have agreements with and stated that if I went to dealer body shops the wait could be 4 to 6 weeks. Turns out I went to my Lexus dealer's body shop and they took me the same day. Think the adjuster was just blowing smoke. Having said that the dealer's shop (which is shared with Toyota) did a very good (not perfect) job in my opinion. And the dealer added quite a bit more work than was on the original adjuster's list (which one of their shops may have just taken at face value). Good luck!

jhardy

Have whoever you bring your car to check out everything behind the bumper even though some things appear to be fine. I had someone backup into my car in a parking lot and their hitch put a dent in my hood right above the grill near the passenger headlight. Based on the looks of it, the price was around $2k to repair/repaint the bumper & replace/repaint the hood. Final price ended up being over $4k because of the headlight and other components behind the bumper being broken. Had I taken it to the shop the person's insurance wanted me to, they would have only repaired the dent and repainted the bumper just so the insurance wouldn't have to pay for everything that was broken.

To answer your question - if you can't find a reputable body shop, definitely take it to a LCCC. Make sure the job is done right. Having to replace the hood on mine is what cost the most. I'm not an expert on body repair, but, compared to mine, I'd say around $3000 or maybe lower.

jhardy

The adjusters will try anything to get you to use the shops they have agreements with. Go where you are most comfortable.

brucereddy

Thanks tff. Oh man! sorry to see your car in that condition. Hope they fixed it back to its original condition. It's always difficult to trust the adjusters, as they are required to reduce cost to their insurance company. In that process, use substandard parts, or may not fix all the issues that are not seen from the outside.

brucereddy

Thanks you all very much for those kind responses.

I got the estimates <attached with this post> from Progressive's Collision Center and also from D&S autobody shop. The quotes are similar in price, but vary in parts. I think they have added few things which doesn't need replacement.

Anyhoo, Would you please review the estimates and advise, whom should I choose.