[wit2pz]

I got sideswiped by a young driver a couple weeks ago. He hit the driver's side rear door and slid up to the front door. I scheduled a visit with the insurance estimator this past Friday. He said he will have the front door replaced, the back door repaired, and the rocker trim repaired. He wrote a check for about $2500 and told me I could have the repairs done at a shop of my choice.

I am undecided on whether to have a MB Dealership do the work or to take it to a shop I used near home who did great work on the roof of my Corvette.

The dealership draw is that (in my mind) they are certified MB mechanics and will do the best work with quality parts. My fear is that the dealership I went to before seemed to be more focused on how fast they could get the product out the door instead of the quality of the work.

As well, I want to get the rear bumper and hood repainted while they have it. The paint on the top surface of the bumper is fading, and the hood paint is in need of attention. I don't want to get raped, but I do want to get these issues addressed.

I feel like the shop near my house may give me the better price overall, but I don't want parts that are not OEM used in the repairs.

What would you guys do/ recommend?

 

[isstay]

As part of the repair they should paint your front and rear fender – process called paint blending because even if they use same exact paint used on your vehicle there will be color mismatch(your paint is been exposed to weather elements). If you want your hood painted you can talk to them, but you probably will have to pay extra. I am not sure why they give you a check before someone from collision shop look at the car (where I live if you are not in fault you can take your car to couple of shops get estimates, claim the highest and after you get the check go to the cheapest, if you want). For about 1500$ you can buy both doors that are painted same color like your car and replace them, thus having to repair the rocker trim only.

 

[Tommyin Cbille]

Sounds like a low estimate.

Unless the paint has faded a lot a good shop will blend into the other panels without the need to paint the entire hood, trunk, C pillar and rear panel. It's done with most panel repairs.

I'd call your dealership and see who they recommend, get their estimate and then work with the Ins. Co.

 

[eatcake]

I posted this on the other forum but I'll post here too for others:
--------------------------------------------------
You want an indy body shop that specializes in foreign cars. They'll use MB parts and will haggle with the insurance company if the $2500 is not enough to get the repair done properly.

The body shop's job is to repair the car to the condition it was before the accident so that it can sustain a similar accident the way the manufacturer has designed the car to.

The dealer most likely does NOT do the body work in-house but they send it out.

You can also ask the dealer what shop they recommend you take the car to because that's where they're just going to send it anyway.

How do I know all this? I have a friend who does work on Japanese and German cars. Most of the time the customers bring the car directly to him as recommended by the dealers, but sometimes they decide to just drop it off at the dealer and my friend will go get the car from there then deliver it back there.

--------------------------------------------------

 

[aeubank]

You know a picture of the damage to the car would be REAL helpful here..
You could go with a MB recommended shop that can paint the ceramic based clear coat that comes on MB.

Good luck.

 

[haris12]

$2500 seems to low to replace one door fix other and paint. Paint will have to br blend in so most likely they will have to paint about 50 % of car. If your insurance is paying then you need to call dealer and find out which shop is certified to work on mb and go there and get your estimate. Don't fall for insurance bs and low ball offers

Sent from my DROID RAZR using AutoGuide.Com Free App

 

[wit2pz]

Thanks for the responses guys. I'll try to post up a couple shots of the damage this evening, as well as the fading bumper and hood.

Mike