Sister just hit my new Audi A4!!!!

[porterror]

Well the car is in the body shop under going the surgery now. I took it to my dealerships recommended audi body repair shop. They were very familiar with the vehicle and estimated 4 days for the repair at their shop. The insurance company quoted $1000 for the damages and actually found MORE spots to repair (wheel scuff mark, rear passenger door sractch, etc). The body shop wants $1500 for the repair.



Both insurance company, body shop and dealership have all said DO NOT replace that quarter panel. So, right now it's in their shop for the whole process.



I'm still not sure if i'm going to file a deminished value claim, i'll have to see how it looks when it comes out of the shop and if the insurance company covers it all.

 

[David Fermani]

You are correct David, a quarter is not actually structural, it is cosmetic. But depending on the location of the cuts, a repair will compromise the integrity of the car. If there is a TOTAL quarter replacement, there should be no structural compromise. Why I say this is that some insurance companies will only pay for a part out of the junk yard or some after market part. Some guys will cut the dogleg on the quarter in half and weld it there. In a side impact, how do you think that is going to respond? This isn’t always a straight replacement. The grinding and welding on the mounting these areas either will reinforce or weaken the strength for factory original. I know the plan is to weld only where the factory welds are, but that is not always possible depending on damage. This is where the insurance companies, bodyshops, and car owners all disagree. Insurance companied want to pay X, the bodyshop needs Y to do the job right, and the vehicle owners want to pay zero and are expecting Z. It’s always a joy.



I have never seen a dimished value claim go smoothly. I once repaired a Volvo Wagon, which was a lease, to the tune of $27,000. The car was $39,000 new! I'd say that car was a total turd and should have been proclaimed a total loss.

When I write to replace a 1/4, I always make a line remark "section panel per I-Car guidelines" to cover our end of the repair. Alot of tiimes shops do cut corners without our or the owner's knowledge. I write alot of LKQ 1/4's as long as it's cost effective and when I do, I always give the shop plenty of cut and trim time for all the extra work. Where the yard does the cut is always directed by the repair shop too. We (Travelers) only apply LKQ to vehicles that are more than current calender year that have more than 15,000 miles. Another thing that sucks here in Florida is that we are allowed to write damage on a vehicle up to 100% of the vehicle's value!! I wrote $45,000 in damages on a 05 Mercedes S-500 that had water(not flood) damage. Total mess!! The head honchos in corporate think as long as it's cost effective and safe to repair a vehicle they go all the way. On the other hand back in Michigan, we totalled vehicles whenever they got anywhere close to 70% damage to value. If a repair went over 70% the state will automatically brand them salvage titled. Even after the repair is completed. We didn't take any chances there.

 

[David Fermani]

David -

When the cars are returned on lease to the banks, the banks inspect them for any body repairs. Every dealer at the auction where this vehicle is being resold is looking for that edge to buy a car cheap. They all know how to spot the repaired quarter and they will scream like hell if a car isn’t announced as "frame damaged" while running through the auction. These cars are typically sold, depending on the damage for $2,000-5,000 below Galves. (I am not sure if you guys use Galves maybe Black Book?) They also just won’t bid high enough if the bank won’t acknowledge the damage. The car usually goes to arbitration and the price is adjusted.

While I owned my detail shop back in Michigan, I also had a dealer license and frequently bought and sold cars at the auction (Manheim). I also detailed 1000's of vehicles that went to the auction and vehicles that came from the auction. I never witnessed any disclosure for prior damage in any cases. There were tons of vehicles that had bad noticeable repairs that stuck out like a sore thumb and those were the ones that (if noticed) no one bid on or brought less money. I saw vehicles that had "good" repairs and the bidding wasn't any different that the ones that didn't have repairs. We used NADA and Black Book. I'm a firm believer that if a vehicle has had a repair and that repair was completed properly, the vehicle's value shouldn't be affected. That's not because I'm now in the insurance business. It's not like the claim is coming out of my pocket. :chuckle: I've seen and had vehicles that have had minor to medium impacts, that even some of the best body men couldn't detect. I guess I'm lucky to have an awesome body shop do my repairs.

 

[David Fermani]

If you Google picture of a unibody, you will see the "egg" that is the car prior to assembly.





My opinion is that you should watch the "C" pillar when polishing. There is a blend of clear on it, I am sure the shop wont paint the entire roof and opposite quarter. Most shops blend the clear on a "C" pillar by dusting a little reducer on the area. This makes the edge "melt" onto the rest of the factory paint. It can be opened up with a buffer; I have done it many times, unfortunately. I actually have seen pictures on this site of guys opening up a blend, Ill look for them as an example.

Just for further explanation, the "egg" or "body in white" of the vehicle gets assembled/stamped together during the assembly process. It's doesn't get made from 1 piece of metal. Each piece is either bonded with adhesive(new technology) or spot welded together.



When refinishing a quarter that is attached to the upper/outer pillar without a clean breakpoint, I alway write and expect a shop to fully refinish the complete panel without burning the clear )so it lasts. When someone burns or dusts a panel, it doesn't last. There's not a paint manufaturer out there(I think) that authorizes this. They usually require a clear cut break point to warranty their product. Most Audi's as well as alot of vehicles, have a roof molding that divides the 1/4 and the roof. That's probably the best break there is. When a vehicle's 1/4's and roof are all one and don't have any breaks, I always write to fully refinish(clear) all sections. That sucks:down . If there's a tiny scratch on the quarter that needs repainting, I'll write to blend both 1/4's and the complete roof.