My 2003 MCS was rear-ended two weeks ago by a neighbor who was texting instead of stopping at a red light. Grumble grumble. Fortunately I'm mostly ok (will be in physical therapy for a few months) and my 3-year-old wasn't with me.

My car went off to the shop with about $3k in damage. It's had a tire replaced, a wheel refinished, a new bumper, new tail lamp assembly, quarter panel repaired, and some paint work and should be ready for me this week. (I've included a couple of photos from the insurance adjuster).

I'm a little concerned about what to look for when I pick it up from the body shop. I assume that I should bring it to my mechanic to have it double-checked for function and safety, and obviously I won't take it back if the repair doesn't look good. What else should I be looking for?

I am considering pursuing a diminished value claim. Insurance valued the car at approximately $7000 before the accident. I was getting ready to sell the car and I doubt I'd be able to sell it for as much as it would have been worth before the accident. How can I determine how much less it will be worth, and is such a claim worth pursuing?

 

Diminished value is a grey area in Mass, so I cant help you there as its technically not recognized here.

By the looks of it they didn't blend the gate so you may have a color discrepancy there.
Be sure to look at it form EVERY angle in the day, in the night, in the dusk and the dawn. make sure it matches! MAKE SURE the qtr panel matches the gate and the lt door.

Check around the gas filler for tape lines/ overspray.
Check the jambs @ the door jamb and the gate jamb.
There should be no hard lines masked off there.
Check the glass for overspray.
Make sure the flares are secure as is the bumper.
Muke sure the bumper fits as it's supposed to.

Check for dirt bumps or dust in the paint finish.
Check for consistancy in the paint finish (orange peel, sags etc), make sure its the same all across the panel. Its normal to have some "texture" in the paint
Make sure your light fits properly with even flushness and spacing all around
Make sure the all the bulbs in the lamp work
They are gonna blend that color forward into the qtr panel and clear coat the whole panel. MAKE SURE YOU CANT SEE THE TRANSITION of the color going forward especially around the fuel filler as they will most likely use that to help aid disguising the blend.

They're choice in primer color confuses me but whatever, I dont know what paint line they are using. Should be fine.

These are all items (plus more) on our qc sheet + like 100 more items.. lol

Our shop has a QC process that lasts upto an hour at the end of every job we do.

Hit me up with any questions you have about it. I've been in the collision business for over 15 years on both the shop and insurance side.

Good luck!

 

So I picked the car up today (yay!!!).

I was meant to pick it up on Thursday, but I got there and the wheel and tire had not been repaired. It was sent out to the subcontractor to be completed, and in the process, they discovered the wheel bearing and hub were damaged and needed replacing. (I think the bearing was on its way out but it was completely destroyed in the accident.) The repair was, or will be, paid by insurance, and the car was ready yesterday.

It LOOKS awesome and drives better than before the accident.

I did discover, though, that the valve stem on the replaced tire is leaky, and during the drive home, the TPMS, ABS, and ASC lamps came on. The car still stops which is nice, but I'm not sure what to do next. I've emailed my adjuster. But, do I bring it to the collision shop first thing Tuesday morning, or do I bring it to the dealer to confirm that the damage was related to the repair, or do I just bring it to my trusty local tire guy to have the stem fixed and give the bill to the insurance for reimbursement?

 

Give the shop a chance the check it out first before calling the adjuster. If its beyond their capabilities they will arrange to have it checked by the dealer.

Glad things worked out well for you

 

Thank you! I meant to thank you for your advice or give you e-props but that doesn't seem to be a feature of this forum.

I'm sure it's just a disconnected sensor, or a sensor that was damaged in the accident, and I doubt it was intentional. Do you think it's safe to drive? (I would like to return the rental and stop paying out of pocket for the insult of driving a Beetle)

 

Haha no problem at all.

Just check the tire pressure and see if it's good. Actually check all of em. Its been sitting a lil. So one ore more may be low.

 

my TPMS has always been a little finicky anyway so maybe when I head out I'll top off the tires and see what's up.


My goal is to get rid of the damn Beetle today. Even my kid hated it. "I don't want to ride in the red Beetle, Mummy, the other kids might see me."

 

Hahahah lol nice

 

So, the new tire is completely flat and will not take any air (valve stem is probably toast), the exhaust is ridiculously loud, and I think there's no fluid in the transmission-- it's very difficult to shift, even when it's not under load, and I can't get under there to check it out. From what I can see just poking my head under the car, there's a lot of shine under the engine and what might be a broken heat shield.

Should I A: have it towed back to the body shop, B: Have it towed to the dealer, or C: have it towed somewhere else?

 

Still say bring it back to shop. Can't see ur tranny being related to the accident though... the exhaust maybe but it doesn't look like it was hit from ur pix. Was the car towed? Maybe tow truck damage

 

It was towed at least three times after the accident, so it's possible that it was a towing-related problem.