wthrman2

^^ I agree with macmaster on this one - While it is annoying to have to pay more, it is not uncommon. Even me, I have dental coverage and when the dentist submits the claim, there is often a difference from what the plan covers versus what the dentist charges. Bottom line, it is not worth to fight this too much and create a bad situation with the bodyshop, especially if the work is good. At this point, pay up, get the car back and enjoy it and then drive to another Insurance office and cancel Geico and get another provider.

I am not trying to say it is not annoying or acceptable, but in the whole scheme of things, sometime we just have to cut our loss

arentz07

Yeah it feels like it'd be best to just try and get my money back from Geico at this point. All signs are pointing to them being the weak link. My wife is of the opposite opinion - she thinks the shop should have told me up front if Geico is known to do this. Alas. Both are partially to blame here.

macmaster

What is the $259 charge for btw? I dont recall you explaining that part.

arentz07

It's due to the labor and paint rates that the shop is charging. Geico is not covering the full rate. So, for example, suppose I have 5 hours of labor at $55/hr, and Geico only covers $50/hr, that leaves me with a difference of $25.

wthrman2

I think I have a solution - Ask your wife to pay for the difference (LMAO)

macmaster

Ok, thanks for clarifying. If GEICO didnt "approve" this shop beforehand they are technically allowed to do that. I still think it's a good deal. What would've been the out-of-pocket cost from this shop with no insurance?

arentz07

I believe it would be somewhere around $2800. Geico's estimate + the difference is roughly there.

I guess quarter panels are sucky to work on. lol

macmaster

You really cant complain then. Insurance is doing its job. If your annual insurance premium + 259 + 1000 (which you didnt have to even pay), is less than 2800, you already came out on top this year. Better than most people!

ICEforever

I'm really sorry you have to go through all this but if $259 makes it go away there's nothing to discuss. Pay the man and move on.

arentz07

I'd like to think I am well off, but $259 is still enough to make me question things. I am not a fan of lighting money on fire even if it is not a lot.

I am most likely getting a diminished value check, which will cover this anyways, but I reserve the right to feel like I was lied to/misled about how this would go down.

ICEforever

You are 100% correct in everything you're saying. But in the big picture $259 is not a lot of money and sometimes you gotta just say wtf.

You're not lighting this money on fire. You're buying yourself peace of mind and the knowledge that you aren't going to be bothered by life's injustices.

TipsyTonio

It should be, it was recommended by Mikey Mike. Remember?
Having been in a similar situation where a body shop held a car hostage and started charging storage fees because Allstate and them did not get along, I feel as though the majority of the blame is on the shop. As you said, you are def not the first Geico customer at that shop, so they should know what dealing with Geico is like and they should've disclosed this initially. Instead they did the work (which is the first mistake since it seems that Geico did not approve the amount the shop had submitted) and then expected to get paid. And to make matters worst they aren't even remotely trying to fight Geico. Instead they have put you in a position where either YOU can fight Geico, or you can pay them the difference. At the end, the shop is being greedy and wants their money regardless of who it comes from. A shop that won't fight for a customer isn't worth a dime.
Legally you are allowed to take your vehicle to any location of your choosing. If it isn't one of their recommended shops, the process is typically slower because there might be disparities in billing rates, and the insurance company needs to approve all estimates and supplements before the shop can carry out the job. Clearly this shop did not do that and they've put Arentz in a position where they don't care where the money comes from, but they want the money.
With my mother working for an accident attorney, all I can say is be careful. Yes, they may cut you a diminished value check, but they will 100% make it up in rate increases especially since there is no other insurance for Geico to bill. Geico is eating this cost, and while realistically you have paid more than the $2800 they are paying, business is business and they're in the business of making profits, not breaking even. They will make it up. Not to mention that this claim will be on your CLUE and MVR for 5 years, so even if you switch companies, insurers will factor this in when writing a policy. The $2800 will already annoy Geico, so imagine what a diminished value claim will do? This is why I personally feel that your initial claim should've been against the Chateau's insurance, even if you opted to do it through Geico and have them fight the Chateau's insurance.

arentz07

Thanks. This part: is my main issue

I didn't appreciate being told after they had already started work on the car that there would be additional charges. It's true that I signed an authorization to do the work which included a vague statement about "additional monies" needing to be remitted to the shop for "additional work". However, I believe this is the first time I've had body work done that was not fully covered by insurance, so excuse me for not expecting this to actually happen. Also, I would reiterate that it was a vague statement... it does not say who should remit the funds nor how.

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TipsyTonio

I’ll be honest, the only time I’ve ever heard of anyone having to pay for work done at a body shop is when the person has a very low policy limit and the damage exceeds that limit. But this isn’t the case.

arentz07

So I just got an updated ETA from the shop as well as a better explanation of the further work from my insurance adjuster.

First of all, the reason for the added repair is due to, you guessed it, supply chain issues. A specific set of toners was needed to perfectly match Infrared, and it turns out that one of those toners is on back-order. So, the shop has elected to use something else and blend appropriately. However, when the metal panels that have been blended are right next to the plastic bumper, the refraction of light between the metal panels and plastic bumper does not play nice, evidently. So, they decided it would be worth it to also blend the bumper to mask this issue. My adjuster assured me that the paint on the metal panels would look indistinguishable from the factory paint (or at least, that's the goal), but the bumper would not, due to the way the different toners interact with the refracted light. Long story short - they ain't get the paint for my car, so they're trying to make that as unnoticeable as possible.

Seems legit.

So as for the updated ETA, it's now next Friday. One more week.