Originally Posted by Tcoat (Post 3175275)

That is not "extensive" damage. It is minor cosmetic damage (still sucks).
Paint jobs, done properly, can and often do exceed modern factory paint quality by a huge margin. Don't sweat that part.
It will not take a "huge" hit in resale value. Huge hits come from real extensive damage. There will be virtually no difference in value from that repair.
Get it repaired properly. A slapped on touch up job will indeed drop the value more than a proper repair. If you plan on keeping it 8 to 10 years the damage won't mean a thing for resale anyway.
It is a car that is on the streets with other cars. Shit happens.

Originally Posted by rennlistuser3 (Post 3175251)

My insurance will ultimately end up charging me 1100 USD and they'll cover the rest, even if it's not my fault at all (yes insurance companies suck).

Originally Posted by rennlistuser3 (Post 3175251)

I know my car will most definitely take a large hit now in resale value regardless of how I choose to fix it.

Originally Posted by extrashaky (Post 3175296)

Why does it suck that they're going to pay for most of the repair? Would you rather not have insurance and pay all of it yourself?



LOL no it won't.

Originally Posted by rennlistuser3 (Post 3175323)

you pose a good question. I am asking that question myself. I pay more than 200 USD/month on car insurance. You do have to ask yourself, in the long run is it better not to have insurance at all? and in all cases liability is compulsory. I hate insurance companies.

I hope you're right about me not losing much in resale value. That would be nice.

Originally Posted by Brink (Post 3175330)

$200+ per month and you have an $1100 deductible? Wow, sucks IMO (though I don't know what's normal for your area).

Originally Posted by rennlistuser3 (Post 3175333)

500 deductible and than this incident will show on my record for 3 years increasing my insurance to total 600 over 3 years to a grand total of 1100 out of my pocket.

Originally Posted by e30kawi (Post 3175355)

Shouldn't this be a no fault kind of thing, so not being on your record?

If it will be counted against you, I'd wait until you see if the city or county to pay. I'm cheap, I'd either replace the door myself.

Have you got any paintless dent repair quotes? Will the scuff buff out? I accidentally backed into my truck with my brz, the PDR was way less than my deductible, can't really even tell aside from the small scratch in the bumper cover. Didn't go against my insurance that way.

Originally Posted by rennlistuser3 (Post 3175390)

That's what I thought but no they count it as a collision or something hence why I'm very angry at them.


I honestly never heard of this paintless dent repair before reading your post. I googled it a bit now. They gave me the option of repaint or just touch up paint which will not hide the damage. I never got a quote for paintless dent repair. I might call them up and ask about it.

Originally Posted by Brink (Post 3175391)

What sort of scam of an insurance company do you have that they jack up your rates for something like that?

Originally Posted by Tcoat (Post 3175393)

That damage is not a candidate for paintless dent repair. The paint is too damaged and the metal is creased not dented. The only ways are to replace the whole door as suggested or do a proper repair and paint blend. If keeping the car for years there is also the option of just touching it up and living with it.

Originally Posted by rennlistuser3 (Post 3175323)

you pose a good question. I am asking that question myself. I pay more than 200 USD/month on car insurance. You do have to ask yourself, in the long run is it better not to have insurance at all? and in all cases liability is compulsory. I hate insurance companies.

Originally Posted by rennlistuser3 (Post 3175323)

I hope you're right about me not losing much in resale value. That would be nice.

Originally Posted by extrashaky (Post 3175398)

I would look for a door to swap onto it. This is how a body shop would find it:

http://www.car-part.com/

I don't know where you are, but I saw three potential donors within an afternoon's drive of where I live for less than $500. You'll want to search using your zip code to see what's near you.



Most people who hate insurance companies don't understand what they're buying. Insurance isn't an arbiter of "fairness." It's a hedge against financial risk. That's all. You pay it now hoping you won't ever need to use it, but it allows you to drive knowing that your risk is limited (not eliminated) when you do need it.

In your situation it probably makes more sense to fix it yourself and not file a claim. Sometimes that's what happens. The insurance company isn't to blame for that. The hedge will still be there when you total your car and do actually need it.

As for compulsory liability, anybody who complains about that is a fool. The alternative is litigation on practically every accident that happens. Not only would attorney's fees for suing or defending yourself be a lot more expensive than insurance, your taxes would also go up as well to pay for the additional government bureaucracy and court system to handle all the extra litigation. We've already been there, and that's why we have compulsory liability insurance in the first place.

I have several dings on my BRZ. I haven't filed a claim for any of them, because they would be below my deductible. I just keep driving with them. Eventually this car will need a repaint anyway, so I'll just have them all smoothed out at once. They don't prompt me to boohoo about wasting my insurance premiums every six months, because I understand from the outset that that's not why I pay for comprehensive coverage on the car.



Not only are our cars holding their value pretty well, they're also uncommon enough that someone who wants one will not pass up a chance to buy one over a few minor repairs. Diminished value is an issue when you have a vehicle with a rebuilt title that was totaled and rehabbed, or when you have a vehicle that sold for $70K new. After a few years our cars are in a value range where there's no point haggling over a door ding. A buyer isn't going to walk away over that.

Originally Posted by rennlistuser3 (Post 3175480)

The thing about insurance is that I have my doubts about them really being a safety net as opposed to being an all out profit organization that tries to make as much money as they possibly can get away with. I have no numbers to back up my doubts and I'm not about to go dig them up.
.
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Originally Posted by rennlistuser3 (Post 3175397)

Ahh thanks! you saved me the trip to one I located near my area.

but there goes my wishful thinking though

Originally Posted by Tcoat (Post 3175486)

But that is just it they are a business so they want to make all the profit they can just like any other business. Should their business plan be to just break even? People say the same things about car dealership and seem to think that for some reason they should just give everything away. I don't know where you work but I know that everyplace I ever have all wanted to make as much profit as possible.

Originally Posted by rennlistuser3 (Post 3175509)

yeah true, it's just that I have a feeling the numbers are higher than they need be. I mean I believe it was tirerack that gave free road hazard insurance on any tires you purchase from them. So they make their profit off selling the tires and don't need to resort to making money off natural hazards.

This is a philosophical topic and it will go way off topic but for me personally (and I might as well be wrong about this) I feel it is wrong to profit from other people's misfortune. Car accidents are a misfortune and it should be seen as an opportunity to make money. Same goes for medicine. There is something morally wrong to try and turn a fat profit from a human dying from a disease and has no other option but to pay up the asking price. Buying a car from a dealer or a phone from an electronics shop is a different matter. You buy it by choice and not necessarily need. But anyway, this is a very long topic...

I did a rough estimate for the cost of my car's ownership for say around 8 years not including gas or car insurance. It rounds up to around 200$/month. This is a rough estimate and I might be off by say 100$/month but it does generally give an idea of how expensive insurance can be relative to a car's worth. Maybe I should get a more expensive car to offset this lose.

Originally Posted by rennlistuser3 (Post 3175480)

The thing about insurance is that I have my doubts about them really being a safety net as opposed to being an all out profit organization that tries to make as much money as they possibly can get away with.

Originally Posted by rennlistuser3 (Post 3175480)

I totally understand what you're saying about the insurance being a safety net in case something really bad happens but but my question is does it really have to be that high?

Originally Posted by extrashaky (Post 3175573)

That's a false dichotomy. Those two things are not mutually exclusive.

Businesses are not started to not make money. If you take the profit out of it, there's no incentive for anybody to provide private commercial auto insurance, and nobody will. So you're basically either arguing against having insurance at all, or you want the government to provide it for you.

The profit motive is also an incentive to cut costs. Government doesn't have that incentive. As a result, government insurance would cost more to provide than private insurance. Therefore, either you would pay higher premiums than you pay now for private insurance, or you would pay more in taxes to subsidize the government insurance.

Any way you try to get rid of private insurance, you pay more. Instead, we have a for-profit system that also works well to provide a hedge against financial loss. Hence the falseness of your dichotomy. It doesn't always work perfectly or come out "fair," but it's better than the alternative. Insurance companies are neither good nor evil. They just provide a service in exchange for consideration.



Yes. Because if it didn't have to be that high, profit-minded people would realize it, and they would come into the market and provide insurance for less than what you're paying to undercut your insurer and force them to reduce their prices as well or leave the market. That's how competition works in free markets.

If you don't like it, don't buy it. Nobody's forcing you. That's the freedom buyers have in a free market. Even "compulsory" liability insurance is optional deep down. Nobody forces you to drive. Ride a bike. Walk. Take the bus. In fact, nobody's really forcing you to carry compulsory insurance even if you do drive. Just don't buy it and drive without registration.

Go ahead. Accept the risk.

Or learn why and how insurance works and stop complaining.

Originally Posted by e30kawi (Post 3175500)

I wouldn't rule out the paintless dent repair. Couldn't hurt to look into it. I watched some videos of the guy that repaired mine. He takes out some gnarly dents around body lines and creases.

But you do what you think is right for situation. Getting a professionals take on it couldn't hurt.

Originally Posted by rennlistuser3 (Post 3175628)

Maybe I'll stop by just out of sheer curiosity :D

prior to this thread I never heard of this paintless dent repair. Learn something new every day.