Anyone have a suggestion for a decent body shop on the north end of town? I got rear ended in the Subaru this evening and need to go get an estimate.

What kind of damage, body/trim-only? We're on 144th and Colorado and might be able to help you out. Our shop rate is obviously lower than a standard body shop, too.

Just a word to the wise on the insurance part of it. The other guy's insurance will try to undercut you, doesn't matter what the estimate comes in at. So if you get 3-4 estimates, throw out the lowest bid because that is wat they will pay off of. Make sure to go with a good shop....i.e. Flatliner as he is one of us....that will walk you through the process and let you know everything & don't let them talk you into going to one of their "preferred vendor" body shops, you'll get what they are willing to pay for.

Flatliner, I may take you up on doing some body work and definitely appreciate the offer, but will probably get a quote from a traditional body shop so that the insurance can't dicker about it being a specialty vendor. I've got some rust repair that may be beyond my limited bodywork skills-can you do that?

Sbolt, appreciate the advice. At the moment I'm just looking to get a quote. As far as I can tell without it going up on an alignment rack the only thing that is messed up is the bumper skin. The car isn't perfect already, so I may not bother to fix it, or might just get a JY skin in the same color and install myself.

Justin, doesn't matter who does your estimate, just get one from someone you can rely on. Specialty shop or not. The other thing is that the insurance company cannot tell you that you can only use shop X....it's against the law, but if you do the work yourself, they don't have to pay full amounts, just a loophole that the insurance industry has to be able to clip a coupon. If you plan on having it fixed, have a shop do it and make sure the insurance pays for the whole thing. One of my work trucks got t-boned a year or so ago and the other insurance company tried skimming about 15% right off the top, tried to get me to pay for it, don't let them do that. The other thing to remember is to just be cordial towards them and they will typically work with you, but if they start getting chippy about it all, tell them that you will get a lawyer and they will tend to change their tune and work with you rather than against you.

For a traditional Body shop, contact one of the Mahnke Autobody shops. I know the family who owns them and have done right by me.

J.D.

Thanks guys, unfortunately I've got a fair amount of experience dealing with this stuff. For some reason I've been in a bunch of wrecks, none of which were my fault. Mostly fender benders, but one bad one that wound up with attorneys involved after the other person's insurance tried to play hardball after I'd had some surgeries related to the crash. Sbolt, I wouldn't touch a shop recommended by my insurance company. I'd rather have someone that is working for me, not them, especially when it comes down to the estimate.

There is some good advice in this thread. Insurance companies tend to do their best to get away with the smallest payout. Sill-Terhar Motors would be another good place to get an estimate. As a matter of fact, my dad is the painter there and the managers, Ted and Eric, are really nice. And no, I'm not offended if you get estimates from other body shops.

We can do rust repair. Just make sure you point out everything you can to the bodyshops. Once you start getting into non-accident-related repairs, the insurance companies might say, "no way."

Hadn't thought of Sil-Terhar. I used to have them take care of my Mazda and had good experiences. Thanks!

Just an FYI, I was just talking to an insurance a$$hole, I mean adjuster, when they recommend a shop, its because the shop "scores" the best on their ranking system. They score based on post repair inspections, time repairs take, and the accuracy of the paperwork. State Farm has to recommend the shop that has the best ranking in the area. We are currently the shop SF recommends in Gunni, because we produce the best work, etc. Not because we cut corners & save the insurance company money.

Anytime your insurance is paying the bill, the shop is working for the insurance company, not you. Honestly, if there is the chance that the car will be inspected after the repair, MORE attention to detail is given to the car. I know most customers won't notice if I do bad work, or skip steps, but most adjusters will. Since insurance companies account for much of our business, keeping them satisfied & keeping our scores up, is high priority.

Chad