Call Me The Deer Slayer!

[Dave]

A deer last night made the unfortunate decision to try and attack my van last night on the way home... didn't work out so good for the deer. Instead of just standing in the road and waiting for someone to hit it, this deer ran into the side of my van.. needless to say I was a bit surprised when that happened. I had just gotten off the freeway and was cruising along toward town and all of a sudden there was a **WHAM** on the side of the van. I pulled over expecting there to be plenty of damage but was relievd to discover that what damage there was, wasn't all that bad. Aside from a few dents, the rear view mirror broken off and hanging and a few bits of deer fur stuck in the door handle, the van survived the incident pretty well.

[AQUAMAN]

Dave, let's see how much you like the body shop estimate for damages, less your deductible, then tell us how little damages there are.....lol. Got any venison meat to show for your driving skills....for the summer bbq....the torchers want a 4th bbq picnic....lol?

[Dave]

The good news in that department is I have $0 deductible so thankfully that shouldn't be an issue. Probably going to use a body shop in Ludington that works directly with my insurance company which should make things go nice and smooth.

[Sweater Cows!]

Just in case you forgot I am in the body business as well. We have free loaner cars, pickup and delivery of vehicle and write estimate at your location(work or home).

And we Choose NOT to participate with those insurer programs for a very good reason as do many other shops. We look out for *your* and your vehicles best interest as our customer. Those programs are designed to save the insurer money, not look out for you. The shops that participate in those are contracted to give all sorts of discounts, kickbacks etc.. to the insurance company and they have to make up that loss of money somewhere, that somewhere is in possible(can't legally say definite) corner cutting on the customers vehicle!

The process is barely different and takes no longer to get a claim handled by choosing us than by going to the "preferred, Select, etc.." shop.

The claim works one of two ways. Choose the insurer shop, go there get estimate, get parts ordered and get on schedule.

Choose us is actually less work for you. Tell them you want us to do it , The adjuster comes to your home or work, writes estimate, emails it to me, I order parts and get you on schedule. WE pick your car up at your work/home and drop off loaner to you and return vehicle on completion.

Even if you already picked  another shop you can change your mind and tell the insurer you want us.

[Sweater Cows!]

The insurer uses "word tracks" when you call the claim in to try to get you to go to "their shop"

They will say things that are blatant *lies*, also called "Deceptive Refferals" like:

"they may charge different prices and you may have to pay the difference",

"It will take longer to process your claim",

"we wont' warranty the work"(the insurer does not warranty the work the *SHOP* does the warranty).

It is highly illegal for the insurer to tell you that you 'have' to use their shop as well. You have the Right to choose your shop and be compensated for your loss. It is called steering and is illegal.

This is a big problem in our industry as the insurers are trying to take over the repair choices instead of having professional technicians at the body shop make those decisions with the customers approval.

I think I posted a blog about this at the beginning of this site but have been meaning to post an article on this for a long time and never manage to but now I am motivated! Here is a link to information about insurer *steering* http://www.stopsteering.org/Steering is illegal

[Sweater Cows!]

Is that a Dodge Caravan? the mirror and door handle lead me to believe such. Needs  Door, Lt quarter Panel, Mirror all replaced and Blend adjacent panels for paint match. Hard to tell in the pics but depending on year and miles on vehicle it may total loss considering that quarter(rear side) panel needs replaced and they will do everything they can to lower vehicle value for other dings dents and rust. estimate probably be $2500 as quarter panels alone run 600 and up and 15+ hours body labor. doors run 250-450+ and body labor plus paint labor and materials.

[Dave]

Good eye Atlas... it is a Dodge Caravan. It's a '98 with, well, a lot of miles. How many miles I can't actually say due to a issue with the gauges, don't know if its a sensor or what but most of the time none of the gauges work but then there are times, usually when its either cold are hot out when they will.. never quite figured out what made them work/not work at times. If I was take a guess though, probably well over 200,000 pretty easy. Gonna take it in Wed it looks like to get the estimate.

[AQUAMAN]

Good reply Sheila, one thing for certain, you know your business, and have educated me in new facts concerning body shops. Dave, methinks you need a new vehicle from the sounds of it. Driving around with no gauges is no way to operate a vehicle if you care about oil pressure, overheating, fuel availability, and speed down the road....lol. Neither is playing dodge ball with a deer vs. a minivan. I do hope this deer encounter doesn't break your budget for continued safe driving, and fair insurance premiums into the future.

[Sweater Cows!]

I am a Michigan Licensed Unibody Repair Mechanic, so if it has to do with collision or deer I know my stuff but not tranny's or engines as we don't do that repair.

[Sweater Cows!]

It will be a total I am sure. Of course with out running it in the computer estimating system to find out the numbers nothing is for sure but I would start shopping around this week or decide if you want to buy a new/used vehicle or take the pay off and "buy back" the one you have. Usually if you buy back the pay off is for example 3000 and you buy back for 5-800 and keep car. So end up with car and 2500. But if the gauges are not working then I may be shopping. I will send you a link to our sight for used cars, not sure off your price range but we have some really nice stuff in the $7K range but can't seem to keep anything around for the 4-5k range very long and have a few (older higher miles) in the  2500-3500 range. And one for 1700.

[Sweater Cows!]

You can buy the instrument cluster(gauges) used pretty reasonable, range from $25-100 for one. Need to know if it is 3spd or 4spd and whether has Tach or not. That would probably fix the problem. They would show the mileage for the vehicle they come off from but there is a way to have them sent out and matched to your vehicle if you have the proper documentation.

[Dave]

Well, I should make note that the oil, temperature and brake lights above the dash do still work all the time, its just the main gauges.. speed, tach, gas... that don't always work. I use a GPS to keep track of my speed and just try to keep in mind how far I've went between gas fill ups. Mileage on the other hand, well that's only speculation as anytime the gauges are off, it of course doesn't add any miles.. last time I had gauges I was around 166,000 I think... I'm sure you could add a good 30,000 or 40,000 miles on that at least.

[Sweater Cows!]

I am doing a 15 day trial of a new software estimating system that a company is trying to sell us, and since I don't have any actual estimates to write today it just clicked in my head I could write an estimate on ours with it so am doing that just for trial on the new software(of course without your name or VIN or anything). But I have enough info to make a pretty good estimate so I will let you know how much it comes out.