[Slammillionaire]

Originally Posted by extrashaky

You have more than those two options. You can also take it to a shop of your choice and get your own estimate, then add any other costs you incur to the total and submit it to State Farm as the amount it will take for you to settle. If they try to tell you they don't do it that way, you can also remind them that you also have the option of taking your estimate into court and suing them for it, in which case they'll also pay your court costs and attorney's fees. Make sure you include your other expenses, like the cost of a rental car while the car is out of service being repaired.

The up side of having State Farm's contracted shop do it is that they'll likely do a decent job of it, and if they don't, you don't have to accept their work until it's made right. Usually those big insurance shops also have a Hertz or Enterprise desk right in the same building, so you can pick up a rental right there when you drop the car off. The down side is that the repair process is somewhat out of your control, and you'll be at the mercy of State Farm when it comes to what parts they'll pay for (factory or aftermarket). Since we have a relatively low production niche vehicle, I would expect most of the parts to be OEM.

I can see no upside at all to their quick claim scheme with the photo upload. The insurance companies sell quick claims as a "feature" of their service, when in reality it's designed entirely to reduce the amounts paid out and shift some of the burden of the cost back to the claimant. A lot of people will jump on this because they need to get their cars back in service as quickly as possible. The only reason to do this is if you're just desperate for money and plan to just use the payout to pay rent or power bills while continuing to drive the car damaged.



If you take it to your own shop and use their estimate to negotiate the claim, you can still do the work yourself. You don't actually have to have the work done there. I would still get a pro to look at it, however, because the ding that fender took could have pushed some things around that you don't immediately notice.

One other thing: When dealing with the claims adjuster, always take the attitude that you're in no hurry whatsoever and are willing to drag this out for months to get your loss made whole. Adjusters are evaluated in part on the number of claims they settle and how quickly they settle them, so most adjusters are going to want this to go away quickly. If you pay attention, you'll catch them subtly and not-so-subtly trying to sell you on a quick settlement. Make it clear you're willing to wait as long as it takes for your vehicle to be done correctly. Last one I had, I said to the lady, "I'm not sure this first offer is going to work. I have at least a year to settle this or take it to court, correct?" Their attitude changes considerably when they realize their quick claim sales pressure isn't working.

Great info, thanks! Think I am going to do what you recommend and take it to a shop and try to settle with them for the cost. Much appreciated!