Getting in an accident is enough to ruin just about anyone’s day. Damage estimates are going to be necessary to get the ball rolling on your repairs.
A vehicle damage estimate is always related to the cost to repair the damage in a way that restores the vehicle to its pre-accident condition. There are two different reasons why you would want a damage estimate done. First, you need to know how much it is going to cost to get your car fixed after it incurs damage. Second, the insurance company is going to have to know how much it is going to cost, too.
If you do not have collision insurance, you will only be concerned with an estimate from the auto body shop. This estimate should include the cost of parts and labor needed to repair the damage and bring the car to a condition acceptable to you. This end result will differ if an insurance issue is involved. Otherwise, you can have the car brought to a standard that you set. This might mean taking care of some conditions on the auto not related to the damage caused by the collision. It might mean making some upgrades. The important thing to remember is that you must make it clear to the auto body shop what you expect the end result to be before they do the damage estimate.
If an insurance company is involved, they generally have an appraiser who will do the damage estimate. Insurance appraisers are generally trained and experienced, but they also work for the insurance company. There will be times when the auto shop estimate and the appraiser’s damage estimate will be different. This is not a cause for undue concern, as it is possible to arrange for the insurance appraiser and the body shop to compare notes and reconcile the difference. A second or even a third body shop damage estimate would come in handy in case of a dispute.
The damage estimate should address structural, body, mechanical, electrical, and even interior damage. The cost of glass replacement, and repainting would also be included. When an insurance appraiser is involved, pre-existing conditions must be considered. The insurance company will only estimate the cost to bring the car to the condition it was in at the exact moment of the collision. They will not be impressed by the fact that you think the auto could use a new paint job anyway.
There will be times when the appraiser will declare the auto a total loss. They will do this when the damage estimate exceeds the fair market value of the car. In most cases, the insurance company will settle the claim on the totaled auto, and will recoup any salvage value for themselves. In some cases, they might just leave this to you. The salvage value will depend on the condition of the auto, of course, but it is not unheard of to have a good auto body shop restore a car that has been declared a total loss. An understanding of how the appraiser arrived at the damage estimate, and how his damage estimate might differ from the actual cost of restoring the auto to running condition, could be some helpful information for the auto’s owner.
Ernie Yetis is with AutoBodyShopStop.com - a directory of
auto body shops and information.