For those who've had front-end collision/damage to their sedans, how long did it take for your local shop/insurance to get it back in shape?

My car has been out of commish for 7 days now. I checked on it yesterday and they still haven't begun the tear-down. Supposedly they're tied up trying to find all the parts needed.

I understand the latter, but wouldn't they need to do the tear-down first?

Visible damage is to both headlamps, bumper, grille, hood, possibly both fenders (they're misaligned but no visible dents). I never saw the engine bay but could peek through the grille, the radiator looked fine but i think the SRI is either dislocated or damaged. There were no visible leaks. I still managed to drive the car for about 100 miles without issue prior to dropping it off.

Thoughts anyone? I haven't worked with shops that much so i don't know what the standard procedures are and/or how long these fixes typically take.

Thank you.

 

It really depends on the shop. I had a front end damage on my Eclispe Spyder and it took the shop over 1 month to fix it. I kept pushing them and they did a crappy job fixing it. So my advise is not to push them to fix the car quick but periodically check on their work.
Good luck.

 

A month? Darn. How bad was the damage?

Insurance estimated 5 days, that was 3 days ago (the shop is closed on Sunday, understandable). The shop is estimating 2 weeks maximum. We'll see, given where we're at now.

I haven't really pushed, all i've done was call every other day asking about how badly damaged the car is (It is my baby after all). And to that extent, i initiate the call only because i get the "i'll call you back in a couple of hours" or "i'll call you tomorrow" but never do get them.

The shop mentioned they had until today to turn in some kind of report, so hopefully things kick in high gear soon. I'll let them be for a while.

On the upside, i did bring them a bunch of treats last week. Force of habit.

 

if your insurance is paying for it
and you feel like the shop wont be doing it for a while you can always bitch at your insurance and they might send you to another shop with less load

 

My Eclipse Spyder got frame damage, broken headlight, front axle damage, replaced hood, repaired fender. The shop was very busy with a lot of cars in the lot. That is why it took so long to fix my car. Anyways, make sure you check your car point to point when you get it back. Remember, do NOT sign any paper until you are satisfied with their work. I am telling from my hard experience.

 

I had a minor fender bender about a year ago. I needed a new bumper, passenger light, windshield washer fluid bottle and straightening of the passenger fender. It was all done over a weekend. So it really depends on a shop.

 

two to three weeks max..... IF they cant do that then take it somewhere else!

 

From my ample experience of dealing with body shops, most good ones tear down within the first couple of days after getting confirmation from you to do the work and tehn order everything needed altogether which allows for you to get you car back quickly.

On the other hand some would just order the common parts they can see are damaged and the tear down once the new parts come in, only to find out more damage underneath which means more wait time as the order those additional parts and install.

As long as you have a rental just hang in there and expect about 2 weeks recovery time

 

Thank you, folks. I finally heard back from the shop. So far we're looking at $7k in damages and they had already ordered the parts, even after i suggested wanting to go with the 2010 updates

In any case, i'm looking at another two weeks for the repairs/waiting for parts to get in.

 

in these cases, i would say that you wouldnt want a body shop to rush the repair work and do a "smash and grab" job on it. these things take a bit of time to get it done right. it sucks to hear that your baby suffered that amount of damage. i hope you get the G back within < 2 weeks good as new

 

Did you tell em you were interested in the '10 conversion before they ordered the parts?

If so i fail to understand how they could order without your consent, things like these really frustrate me, anyways if you want you can still have em return it, thats what my friend did for his G and they didnt utter a word since they knew it was their fault. However, if you are ok with it then thats your choice

 

I understand. I'm not rushing the repair process, it was the idea that a week has gone by (and 8 days of paying for a rental for no reason) before they did anything just irked me.

Twice, actually. I even explained everything 2010 vs 2007. Somewhere, i think they misunderstood that as they would somewhat cut me off while explaining, saying things like "we look for compatible parts up to a few model years after, don't worry".

I have no answer about if they can re-use the aero lip either, which was not damaged. They won't cancel anything either, i offered some parts i had they could use, to no avail.

At this point, i just hope they fix it right and i get the car back again in tip-top shape.

 

Man, that REALLY suck!

If a shop did that to me, I will tell them let me get my car back. I will go to the next body shop in town who is willing to do as the customer request. Did the insurance company suggested you to have your car fixed at that body shop? Most shops that have business with the insurance company will try to get the car fixed at the lowest cost. That is why they will not bother to "customized" the parts to put on the car. If I were you, I will definitely fight for this because I love the 10-11 conversion too . First, call the shop and make it clear that you want to put the 10-11 headlights and bumper on your G35. If they don't want to return the parts they already ordered, tell them to stop at once and return the car to the condition when they first got it in their shop. Second, call your insurance company and tell them you want your car fixed at another body shop.

I like a small body shop that does what I want on the list not the way that the insurance company or the shop themselves wants on my car. My G35 once got hit on the rear bumper, I got the body shop to repair both of my wheels that have curb scratches even though they were not damaged in the accident. On the other car, I had the shop to paint my tail lights and calibers to match the body color paint at no additional cost. You need some persuasion and negotiation here.

Good luck!

 

I gotta say Mike! Be more firm!! Ask for a actual date when the vehicle is gonna be finish!! And that you want them to order 2010+ parts! And that you would pay the different from your pocket! That's what I would do! I would actually ask the insurance for a check and do it myself!! I woul love love a 2010 front end!!

 

^ the point is that had they ordered '10 instead of 07 the cost would had been virtually the same meaning no noticeable out of pocket expenditure, anyways i wont say more since it seems mike has already been frustrated enough and ready to just get his car back as is so as long as youre happy in the end man.