Girlfriend rearended someone with the SHO..
 

Headlight was smashed out, bumper was pretty scraped up, radiator had a leak, and the hood was folded under just a bit.....you'd have to walk up to it to notice. The rest of the car is mint...I took very good care of it. Well, I went to the Ford dealership that is going to do the work on the car and they are estimating over $3,500 to have it fixed. The insurance company said if the estimate goes any higher, that they will rule it as totaled. I was pretty pissed. Does that seem kind of high for a little front end damage? Should I tell them I want an estimate somewhere else to see if the dealerships estimate will suddenly go down? I cant really drive it to another place with the condition its in.

dude that sucks. but if you can't drive it in the condition that is in than that might be the reason that the write up is so high. but it probably wouldn't hurt to have someone else look at it, i may just lower the dealerships price (they usually are a bit pricey anyways). if its just a little exterior and rad damage i can't see them writing it off that would be a waste of a car. but hey good luck i hope you get that fixed up.

Sorry to hear about the SHO.
Yeh to ride it off just for that seems pretty crazy, can't you get it towed somewhere else and get them to look at it and see what they quote you.

I rear ended someone at 5mph and the damage to the front of the jeep was over 2k so its probably about right.

Parts for the SHO are going to be very expensive. I don't expect much of a repair job under 2k.

Body shop blues
 

bobtodd:

Get another estimate and have it towed, if necessary The body shop will often include the tow in the repair price, anyway.

$3,500. seems high. Get the parts/labor breakdown from the Ford dealer to see what kind of prices they're getting for parts and what's actually being replaced. Then, you have a basis for comparison with another shop.

I think you can do better. Dealer prices are always high because the shop is where most of the real dealer profit comes from. An independent body shop doesn't have the same overhead and may give you a better deal but be sure you go to a reputable body shop. Some are real hackers. This is why a lot of folks get nervous and just 'go with the dealer' - who can also have hacks working for him.

The insurance company will 'total' a car when it costs more to repair it than it's current retail value. Makes sense but if the car is otherwise mint it's a bad deal for you as they'll only pay you retail and deduct for higher than normal mileage. Condition isn't a big part of their estimate but that can be fought (I have - and won).

Bottom line: Get another repair estimate.

Thanks for the info. guys. I am going to call the guy dealing with the insurance side of this operation and see what he has to say. I'll let you know what happens:)

my friend got rear-ended by some one in a jeep and it only scratched his bumper some, but the jeep had a stupid amound of damage to it. its from all the plastic they use in the front end it just breaks up. then your stuck forking out some hard earned money to fix it. that is one of the only things i don't like about the newer jeeps.