Well Shit.
 

I don't post here much, I mostly just lurk in the background but I could use some help.

Got in my first crash today. It was stupid, going east on I-80 merging onto 395, girl in front of me slams on her brakes. I almost got out of it, but clipped the back of her car. Funny thing is, she apologized to me when she got out of her car.

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I've never really had to deal with insurance before. So I'm just looking for some advice and a good body shop to take my car to.

Thanks for the help.

Are you paying for your car out of pocket or letting the insurance?

Think I'm going to go through insurance. I've heard of some people getting aftermarket parts instead of going with the stock parts as well. Is there a good way to go about doing that? I'd like to get some v5/6 parts if its not too tricky...

If you have a clear title in your name, just ask the insurance company for a check instead of payign a shop directly. Then you take it to your shop of choice and discuss which parts you want them to get from a dealer and which parts you will get yourself (i.e. STi grille, morettes, etc.).

Also, is that a 2000 or 2001, and how many miles are on it? Anything that would knock it down from "excellent" condition? There's a good chance that you car could be totalled... trust me, I know a thing or two about totalled Imprezas. :( You're looking at $4k to get the radiator support fixed, and maybe another $1500 for the driver's side inner fenders. If your car is worth less than $8500 or so... you're probably looking at a salavage title. :(

Don't say that! Thats what I'm terrified of. Its a 2001 with about 72,000 miles and besides quite a few door dings everything else was perfect. I really hope they don't decide to total it, you have me worried now. :~:

You're *probably* okay. Retail KBB is $12k+ and private party is $10.5k+. So it would take about $6400 in repairs minimum to total it out. You might be close, but there's a good chance you won't get salvaged. If you do.... dibs on the drivetrain! :twisted:

Haha, we'll see... So you guys think its best to get the check directly from the insurance company? What if the body shop finds something else that the appraiser didn't see? Would I be able to get the extra money from the insurance company still? I'm new to this whole thing and want to do my best to not get screwed over...

oh yeah, and anybody have any recommendations for body shops? My dad wants me to go to the lithia subaru body shop, but for whatever reason I can see them being overpriced?

Sorry to hear this happened to you. Glad you are ok, though.

I think some of the answers to your questions depends on your insurance.

I had my wrx towed to lithia body shop, but the car ended up being totalled (which I wanted to happen).

I like Concours Autobody, they have consistently done a great job on body work and paint, and worked with me on what I asked to be included in the quote.
Good luck.

Do NOT go to Lithia... they're fucking retarded in the body shop last I heard. concours has done great work for Debbie, and Shaber Ave. Auto Body has done great work for sperry. Basically, pick your shop before you get appraised and tell them that you want go get the car repaired, but you want to get the check direct because you want to substitute parts. If you're upfront about that they will be okay with it. They'll give you an estimate, and when you put the car in for repairs they will tear it down before you have to close the claim with your insurance company. Do NOT let the insurance company close the claim before the body shop says that they know the extent of the damage. Some companies will give you the amount of the initial appraisal without closing it, because they know it will only go up if new damage is found, not down.

I had a good experience at Steve's Collision Center.

Weird name though. I want to go there to get damage fixed, not involve my car in further collisions.

Another option is to just ask the body shop of your choice if they're okay with substitutions. That's what I've done with both of my accidents. That way if more damage is discovered during repairs, it's covered and you end up making money instead of paying a deductible and you get to mod your car at the same time. The reason I say you make money is because all of the aftermarket parts I've added cost less than the OEM parts they're replacing. Plus, the insurance company will pay for parts to be replaced but you can opt to not replace the "damaged" (scratched) part and pocket the cost of the OEM replacement and labor. :)

I made over $2K cash last time I crashed my car plus I ended up:

*buying 4 barely used wheels and tires (to replace 2 that were damaged in the accident, ended up with 6 total, [all Enkei RP02/RT-615]). I paid $750 for the used set and was paid close to $2k for the price of 2 OEM wheels, 4 OEM tires (prorated for tread wear. I made them RTFM about replacing all 4 tires at once, only 2 were damaged), plus the cost of mounting and balancing.
*adding Kartboy front endlinks
*Free labor and (OEM coolant/OEM additive) to install new OEM radiator that I ordered online (old one had been seeping for a while but was not damaged in accident). They had to remove the stocker for front end repairs anyway...
*Free paint and installation of JDM knockoff grill
*Paid $100 to have modded headlight repaired but was paid over $300 for what an OEM would have cost
*Several parts were scratched but I opted to not replace them and take the cash (Crucial DP, Mr. Josh's rear solid endlink, etc.)
*Free labor for them to install Group N motor mounts (added the tranny mount myself later)
*Free loaner "car" (scariest car I've ever been in though)
*Other stuff I'm forgetting

And this is just from my most recent crash. I also have used accidents as an excuse to install KYB AGX struts and Eibach Springs (labor was free) and to repair minor pre-existing damage.

Funny thing is, I've always been 100% honest with the body shop and the insurance company...none of this was illegal and if it was, I wasn't breaking the law AFAIK.

I suggest you show an extreme interest in the repairs. Try to make friends with the tech working on your car. Let him know your an enthusiast. Tell him you race your car at the track and it needs to be 100% straight and the alignment needs to be perfect. Check on your car a few times a week.

I won't recommend any of the local shops I've been to. I'm not happy with the paint job or the professionalism I experienced at any of them. I had to push and push and push the shops and the insurance company to have the job done right and even then, my car is like 3 shades of yellow now. Nobody seems to notice but me though and the insurance company gave me another $1700 because if it.

Oh yah, +1 for fuck Lithia! I hate those fuckers (except Jeremy, he's a good guy). Justin can die in a fire though.

Steve told me and my insurance agent that they'd paint my entire car for "wholesale" (ballpark $2k) but then they told me to wait until Summer because they were too busy and now they tell me they don't paint entire cars any more. Whatever, I'll pocket the $1700 and live with the paint.

Do Not go to Lithias body shop unless you want to be completely raped over and let down. They were a nightmare for me when I had my STi repainted.

steve's collision center took forever with my car... Like 2 weeks for a replacement rear QP and paint, when they already had the parts. I wouldnt go back.

My friends were the old owners of Coach Craft which did awesome work. But you will probably pay through the ass. I have not been in there since the ownership change.

To be fair, any body shop that doesn't suck will have a long lead time.

Cito Auto Body. On Lewis street, off Keitzke between Mill and Glendale. I won't let anybody else touch my car. There's only one guy who does body work, the owner Greg, he speaks the worst english ever, but he's a really nice guy, and does AMAZING work. Usually takes a while since it's just him, but it's worth the wait.

My gf used to live by you. Like 5 houses away. I always wondered if you were on the boards. I have a blue RS too.

Good luck with everything. I hope we don't see another RS bite the dust.

I took my blue RX8 to them initially, late 2004 - and they would NOT work with me on the work I asked for (make sure it is aligned, asking them how they do the alignment, etc). I don't know what their quality of work is, but the service aspect was important to me, and that's when I ended up going to Concours. Which reminds me, an autocrosser in GS, I think his name is Jerry, works at Concours.

+1 for Cody's advice, do show Extreme interest in what they do for you, keep in contact, and know about the parts they are planning to repair or replace. This helped me quite a bit.

Really? In southern reno, underneath galena forest? I wonder if I know her.

I'm getting it appraised today, lets hope for the best, I'll let you guys know how it goes.

Well... no she lives close to where ever you took those pictures. I can't remember the street name but I remember you parking on that side of the road all the time.

Have you ever thought about owning a wagon?:)

Its funny that we were talking about this. Some clown smashed into the back of my wifes car yesterday and now I need to go to the body shop. People kill me, the first thing the woman said to the cop was "well I was just getting off my cell phone and setting it down when traffic came to a stop." cop said "Yeah, it does that sometimes." *citation

Oh and the best part. My wifes car was pushed into the car in front of her and so that woman had to get her insurance info out... which happened to be out dated which entitled her to an $800 citation. haha pwned.

+1 for going to see Greg he does excellent work and wont take any SHIT from insurance companies..