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I towed my car to a body shop after an accident since they were my insurance company's preferred body shop. I gave them the go-ahead for repairs and they said it would take about 2.5 weeks. It's now three weeks and they said it will take at least 3-4 more working days before it's done.
I'm not going to get upset, because these things happen. I got broadsided and both doors need to be replaced along with both quarter panels and the rear bumper. They said the dashboard had some problems too. I'm new at this and I didn't realize they have to paint the exterior parts when they get them.
Some people might just assume that any car-related business is crooked. But they are the preferred shop by my insurance which must mean something. I'm sure every job takes a different amount of time.
There is a lot of work that goes into major collision. Also, keep in mind, the often dont start any work until the get all the parts. Then they schedule cars to be worked by employees. They have lots of cars, and time needs to be spread out.
It's no fun waiting. Sucks to drive by and see a car not getting worked on when you think it should but its how shops work.
My insurance company did not send an adjustor to look at my car. The manager of the body shop looked at the car and evaluated it, and sent photos to the insurance company. They said the adjustor only comes out if there is a dispute about the damage.
I asked him why the car was stuck in drive gear, but he didn't know. It took longer than estimated but the car is fine.
Unfortunately, estimating isn't an exact science because it's hard to know with 100% certainty, that everything is going to go exactly as planned. Things can be uncovered during the repair process, which require additional parts or labor. Occasionally that can mean that the car is totaled at some point well into the repair process. Also, in any repair, it's possible that a part shows up damaged or doesn't make it on the truck, or other little things that can interrupt repairs. If a part is needed before other repairs continue, then the car might be sitting for a few days with no work being done to it, while other work that can be completed, is. Obviously body shops attempt to factor in these issues when estimating, but it works in both directions. Some they get done ahead of time and make more money on one job, but get done late and make less on another.
You'll sometimes see parts that are on backorder, but (GM for example) only stocks uni-sides in Lansing, and if you're in TX it's a solid week. The uni-side is of course an inner structural component that the shop must install before any other outer components can be installed; same goes for something like frame rails, etc.
It all boils down to communication in our business - each party must communicate with the next, and hope that the insurance company follows through with you, the customer. If the insurance company is paying for a rental, things seem to get done faster for some reason.
Our sales guy wrecked a 2012 Chevy 2500 crew cab...shop had it for 150 days. Longest job that body shop ever had. Insurance company dragged their feet every time something else needed to be approved. Then the shop made a mistake, and used a panel from an earlier year truck that the "system" claims was the same. The truck was painted and final trim was being put on before anyone noticed the difference. Insurance company made them start over.
40k truck with less than 10k should have been totalled when it was all said and done.
Most times it's trying to get oem parts, they can be on back order and it also depends in what part of the country you live. Most parts for the big 3 are in warehouses in Michigan.
Most times it's trying to get oem parts, they can be on back order and it also depends in what part of the country you live. Most parts for the big 3 are in warehouses in Michigan.
I *nearly* totaled an '80 Subaru when it was about a month old. It was a new model for the year, and parts had to come from Japan, or so I was told. It took 6+ months to get the parts in and installed! Meanwhile, the insurance company was paying for me to rent a car all that time, so in the end it would have been cheaper for them to replace the car and push my wrecked one into a crusher. I'd tried to talk the adjuster into totaling it, but he said the damage was just under the threshold. (That was BEFORE they paid for 6 months of rentals at $3,600!) I'd paid $8,000 for it (list price), and iirc the repair estimate came in at $6500.
I *nearly* totaled an '80 Subaru when it was about a month old. It was a new model for the year, and parts had to come from Japan, or so I was told. It took 6+ months to get the parts in and installed! Meanwhile, the insurance company was paying for me to rent a car all that time, so in the end it would have been cheaper for them to replace the car and push my wrecked one into a crusher. I'd tried to talk the adjuster into totaling it, but he said the damage was just under the threshold. (That was BEFORE they paid for 6 months of rentals at $3,600!) I'd paid $8,000 for it (list price), and iirc the repair estimate came in at $6500.
That's ok they will get some of that money back when they raise your rates because of the accident be it your fault or not.
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