Got rear ended yesterday :(

[Legitskip]

I'll start looking into it. So far I think I'm fine but I should probably get myself checked out to be safe.

Is anyone familiar with the process for pursuing a diminished value claim in CA?

i did when my Tacoma was totaled. I literally did nothing at all and my representatives did all the work.. took 3-4 months but got me a nice check. The person hit me going 55 when I was at a dead stop. No injury’s to myself besides a headache and very stiff. I got a check and 19 rounds of chiropractic work all covered. If you have soft tissue damage you will get more on that check. Also if there is frame damage then that car should be totaled. Don’t let them bend the frame back. It will never drive the same

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[BriteBlue]

i did when my Tacoma was totaled. I literally did nothing at all and my representatives did all the work.. took 3-4 months but got me a nice check. The person hit me going 55 when I was at a dead stop. No injury’s to myself besides a headache and very stiff. I got a check and 19 rounds of chiropractic work all covered. If you have soft tissue damage you will get more on that check. Also if there is frame damage then that car should be totaled. Don’t let them bend the frame back. It will never drive the same

There is no frame, Civic is unibody.

 

[FC3L15B7]

There is no frame, Civic is unibody.

Technically true, but even unibodies have frame rails in certain areas that are far stronger than the rest of the body - it's just built in.

When someone refers to "frame damage" with unibodies, they're referring to frame rails (or unirails). The rails in a unibody consist of crumple zones or crush zones, which absorb energy to protect the occupants. If these zones (rails) are damaged, that is considered "the frame" and the costs of repair go way up, in addition to the concern that they will never be able to be made straight again. When you attach replacement suspension to a unibody with rail damage, the geometry will never be the same. This most definitely what people don't want back when it's been in an accident.

 

[BriteBlue]

Technically true, but even unibodies have frame rails in certain areas that are far stronger than the rest of the body - it's just built in.

When someone refers to "frame damage" with unibodies, they're referring to frame rails (or unirails). The rails in a unibody consist of crumple zones or crush zones, which absorb energy to protect the occupants. If these zones (rails) are damaged, that is considered "the frame" and the costs of repair go way up, in addition to the concern that they will never be able to be made straight again. When you attach replacement suspension to a unibody with rail damage, the geometry will never be the same. This most definitely what people don't want back when it's been in an accident.

I worked in a body shop for many years & am familiar with unibody construction. There's a right way & wrong way to repair a car, just like there is with any item. The crappy shops give a bad name to vehicle repair. To say "the geometry will never be the same" is false. A competent shop will do it properly. The same goes for taking a simple dent or crease out of a quarter panel. There's a right way & a wrong way. Slapping on a 1/2" of bondo is not the right way.

 

[FC3L15B7]

I worked in a body shop for many years & am familiar with unibody construction. There's a right way & wrong way to repair a car, just like there is with any item. The crappy shops give a bad name to vehicle repair. To say "the geometry will never be the same" is false. A competent shop will do it properly. The same goes for taking a simple dent or crease out of a quarter panel. There's a right way & a wrong way. Slapping on a 1/2" of bondo is not the right way.

Sure. Good luck finding a body shop that actually repairs it properly. If you worked in a body shop, you will also be familiar with underestimating the repair costs to get the work and cutting corners to get it done within budget. lol. You've hit it on the head for sure - any reputable - which is 10% of them.

Okay, I'm being facetious if it's not obvious.. 20% of them. haha. As I said, if they don't repair it properly, the geometry will never be the same. Anything can be fixed - it's all about how much money you want to spend and insurance companies want to spend as little as possible.

 

[BriteBlue]

Sure. Good luck finding a body shop that actually repairs it properly. If you worked in a body shop, you will also be familiar with underestimating the repair costs to get the work and cutting corners to get it done within budget. lol. You've hit it on the head for sure - any reputable - which is 10% of them.

Okay, I'm being facetious if it's not obvious.. 20% of them. haha. As I said, if they don't repair it properly, the geometry will never be the same. Anything can be fixed - it's all about how much money you want to spend and insurance companies want to spend as little as possible.

There are good shops & there are bad shops & couldn't tell you the percentages of each. We worked with insurance companies & never cut corners. If it cost too much to repair then it was a total loss. Sometime the states have guidelines & sometime it's the insurance companies.

 

[FC3L15B7]

There are good shops & there are bad shops & couldn't tell you the percentages of each. We worked with insurance companies & never cut corners. If it cost too much to repair then it was a total loss. Sometime the states have guidelines & sometime it's the insurance companies.

I'm totally being a facetious little fucker. lol. It's a crap shoot and you may never really know if that particular shop that gets approval from the insurance company will fix it properly or not. The owner of the car may never know there's a problem until they get maintenance done or go to resell it and the buyer either knows what to look for or has their own mechanic look at it to find out it wasn't fixed correctly. It's always good to know who is going to be doing the repair and if they have poor reviews, I would suggest to the insurance company that they pay attention.

This body shop near me did me a favour by fixing it fast and cheap, but I did ask for it to be fixed properly. Needless to say, they're no longer in business.

It's great if you make it look nice, but if you notice the bumper beam or support wasn't right, they should have said hey, if you want this to be straight, we need a little more cashola. The corner of the hood was fine - I agreed just to leave it straightened because the whole hood would have cost quite a bit to paint. If you see in the second picture, there is quite the gap between the hood and headlight on the driver's side (right in picture). I asked for it to be straight and when I got it back, it was like.. well, too late now 'cause I have to take pictures for insurance. lol.

 

[BriteBlue]

You have to have good insurance & be able to take the car to a shop of your choice. Most body shops have about the same labor rate in a given area. But if you take your car to a custom shop that charges $100/hour and most of the other shops charge $25/hour then you'll end up paying the difference.

 

[DETHRONE]

You have to have good insurance & be able to take the car to a shop of your choice. Most body shops have about the same labor rate in a given area. But if you take your car to a custom shop that charges $100/hour and most of the other shops charge $25/hour then you'll end up paying the difference.

In California we have the right to take our vehicle to any repair shop, regardless of hourly rate. There are "preferred" repair shops that insurance companies work with but there is no obligation to have your vehicle repaired there.

 

[BriteBlue]

In California we have the right to take our vehicle to any repair shop, regardless of hourly rate. There are "preferred" repair shops that insurance companies work with but there is no obligation to have your vehicle repaired there.

There are "preferred" shops in IL and you don't have to take your car there. But if you do some (maybe all) guarantee the work for as long as you own the vehicle. Insurance companies have their body & mechanical labor rates and are not going to pay exorbitant rates just because you chose some shop that charges more than the usual & customary rates.

 

[DETHRONE]

There are "preferred" shops in IL and you don't have to take your car there. But if you do some (maybe all) guarantee the work for as long as you own the vehicle. Insurance companies have their body & mechanical labor rates and are not going to pay exorbitant rates just because you chose some shop that charges more than the usual & customary rates.

That may be the case in IL but in CA it doesn't matter. You have the right to take it to "ANY" repair shop of your choice.

 

[Mrtned]

Technically true, but even unibodies have frame rails in certain areas that are far stronger than the rest of the body - it's just built in.

When someone refers to "frame damage" with unibodies, they're referring to frame rails (or unirails). The rails in a unibody consist of crumple zones or crush zones, which absorb energy to protect the occupants. If these zones (rails) are damaged, that is considered "the frame" and the costs of repair go way up, in addition to the concern that they will never be able to be made straight again. When you attach replacement suspension to a unibody with rail damage, the geometry will never be the same. This most definitely what people don't want back when it's been in an accident.

Saying the geometry wont ever be the same is just not true. Actually, the when the factory welds the body parts together there is a specification RANGE that the frame rails have to be within. So, in reality if the frame rails were just barely in spec at the factory, a good frame tech could actually pull the frame rails back better than they were originally. I work at a car manufacturing plant and also deal with hit cars on the side. You just have to take the car to someone who knows what they are doing and will take the time to get everything back into spec.

 

[GreaseCrow]

Hey man, just wanted to say sorry this happened to you and I'm glad your safe

 

[TheHorse13]

Preferred body shops are a neat gimmick. I've had the unfortunate experience of dealing with preferred shops that work directly with my insurance carrier. Don't let your guard down when seeing body shop prefixed with the word, "preferred". Your best bet is to do your homework before selecting your body shop. Your repair experience is going to rely on you making the right choice.

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