[bavarianboar]

My E90 was in for repair under insurance claim and is now ready to be picked up.

Work performed: (from what I have been told)

Rear Bumper replaced, painted
Seat Belt Replacement (Driver seat)
Head Restraint Replacement (Driver seat)
Clearing/Resetting of codes


The guy at bodyshop says paper work will not be ready while picking up the car.

Should I just drive off the lot, in the sense of goodwill without carefully going through what all work was performed on the car and if it all looks good also on record.

According to the bodyshop, paper work will arrive in my mail. I am pretty local to both the shop and the dealership where the repairs were done, and I find this a little absurd.

I am having a feeling its not a great idea to just drive off the car without looking at the list of tasks performed and everything on record. I am liable for $500 deductible, but I think when I drive the car off, nobody has incentive left as long as the body shop gets their full money either through me or the insurance company.

Bill is definitely going to be different than initially made by the GEICO adjuster, the head restraint deployment was discovered later. Also, bodyshop was insistent on charging higher hourly rate for labor, than they usually work on with GEICO.

Good idea to bring GEICO back into the loop and settle all payments before picking up the car?

Any advice?

[jaguar36]

Seems fishy, how is the paperwork not finished? Is there something holding it up?

I'd defiantly at least give Geico a call before picking it up.

[be1ieve1111]

No paperwork? That's utter bullshit. They're probably trying to tag on extra things. Make sure GEICO knows. If the accident was your fault it could mean higher premiums if they keep "discovering" things even after the car has left their possession.

[Potty_Pants]

dont trust anybody...

being friendly you'll pay for it later

ppp

[krypt0]

I wouldn't touch the car until you get all the paperwork.

[bavarianboar]

Thanks guys!

The Geico adjuster is out this week for training, just tried calling him and he has a long message setup. Will try and contact another guy he mentioned.

And will give the bodyshop a strict NO, until everything is taken care of.

Really appreciate your advice.

[ChipB]

It's definitely a good idea to talk to someone at Geico to make sure all is OK. But first - how is the shop being paid? If Geico is paying the shop directly then that's less risk to you - they can argue with each other over what repairs were done and how much they cost. But if you have to pay the shop yourself and then your insurance company reimburses you (less the deductible) you do need to be absolutely sure that Geico and the shop are in full agreement on the cost. In either case be sure to give the car a good going over before you drive it away - now is the time to speak up if you see paint blemishes or things look misaligned. But there is no way that you can personally inspect every nut and bolt to verify that everything listed on the repair receipt was actually done.

[techlogik]

Dude...my good friend is an adjuster. You better believe they need to provide you with a complete document itemizing every part replaced, labor etc....

What do you think the insurance company gets from them? Yes...all of that info and then some.

You are the customer and owner of the car...not them....make sure they know that.

[bavarianboar]

Originally Posted by techlogik

Dude...my good friend is an adjuster. You better believe they need to provide you with a complete document itemizing every part replaced, labor etc....

What do you think the insurance company gets from them? Yes...all of that info and then some.

You are the customer and owner of the car...not them....make sure they know that.

Yeah I hear that one. I am vary of just going there and picking up the car myself without the insurance company's adjuster's approval or at least a GO ON signal.

The body shop is insistent, you just have to pay $500, which is my deductible. And it looks like they will deal with insurance on remaining balance.

But I see it as more between me (the owner of the car) and the insurance company. The body shop would be pissed that they are losing a parking spot in their garage/shop, and I am not sure if they will end up charging this on repair bill or so.

I find it too dicey to go pick up the car when I cannot speak to anyone in GEICO and THEY are the ones paying for a chunk of repair. Body shop guy was pissed and said you are not the only customer, but I honestly don't want to be the only one screwed either when some unforeseen bill comes in my mail.

What do you guys think? I am going the right way or I am being too particular about paper work?

[jaguar36]

What excuse does the shop give for why the paperwork isn't done? Its not like its something that should take awhile or something.

[bavarianboar]

Originally Posted by jaguar36

What excuse does the shop give for why the paperwork isn't done? Its not like its something that should take awhile or something.

Apparently, the dealership where replacement of head restraint, seat belt and code reset took place, has not send the paper work out to them after repairs were performed.

Once they receive this, they need to send it to insurance company.

I would not expect any delays once the repairs are complete. I am stumped. It's like the dealership doesn't want their money back for the next few days or so.

[SteveMD]

OP, I assume that you are 'at fault' for this work being performed?

[bavarianboar]

Originally Posted by SteveMD

OP, I assume that you are 'at fault' for this work being performed?

That is correct.

Would it be different in another case?

[bavarianboar]

I picked up the car yesterday. It looks like in new condition. Well almost, psychologically, its not the same

I rang up the insurance company's adjuster, and left a long detailed voicemail about how the body shop wanted me to pick the car with no paperwork. Although he was in training, he apparently sent some emails to the body shop, and after 6 hours since my phone call in the morning at 10AM, the body shop had all paper work ready and said I could come pick the car. I called up insurance claim adjuster again at 5PM, and he said all this had happened in lunch time and he wondered why the body shop took so long to give a call back to me.

This was Tuesday. So I went on Wednesday to take the delivery, everything went smoothly, and I believe all expenses were taken care of other than my deductible. So far so good, hopefully nothing else comes in the mail.

The guy who was responsible for the repairs in the body shop seemed cross, but I simply said, thanks and sorry for being anal about the paper work.

Thanks for all your help guys. I would not have been so pushy otherwise with the body shop, had I not felt stronger about my decision knowing all your suggestions.

[John 070]

The GEICO guy was in training? No wonder the shop used all OEM parts! LOL They are synonymous with specifying used and knock-off parts right in the estimate. My friend showed it to me on his 335. Used hood? WTF!

[bavarianboar]

Originally Posted by John 070

The GEICO guy was in training? No wonder the shop used all OEM parts! LOL They are synonymous with specifying used and knock-off parts right in the estimate. My friend showed it to me on his 335. Used hood? WTF!

Apparently he was in some sort of training.

I believe they used the OEM parts, the bill came out to be $2550 or something. Initial estimate was $1700 from GEICO, $1850 or so from the preferred body shop.

The only thing that changed in the estimate was driver seat head restraint system, which was not too expensive from what I can see in the list.

I am glad I decided to stick with the body shop or choice, I would have to have re-manufactured parts put on the car as part of repairs.

Thanks John!