LS got smacked

[KD00LS]

AbsoDamnlutely.... I had a Pontiac Trans Am and when i wrecked it i sent it to a Pontiac dealer, it was totaled. Before that accident someone hit the rear/side of the T/A, i had it repaired by Progressive who sent it to one of "their" repair facilities. The car came back and had a fuel vapor smell that never went away, i think some kind of evaporation connection was never done properly. After that i will never go that route again, the insurance companies have "their" facilities which are used to purposely keep the costs down. When my wife got into an accident a few years ago i had her car (Dodge Intrepid) towed to a Chrysler/Dodge dealer and the repair was pretty damn expensive. The good thing is they used brand new replacement parts which are oem. I know alot of independents will acquire used parts and use them, thats something i wouldnt want done to an LS. Its your car and you have every right to determine where the car goes and how it gets repaired.

I'll probably have to do that. Yea they "recommended" a great place that they always guarantee their work out of. The guy at the body shop it's at now said its probably totaled. How much of a difference do you think in price there is between the dealership and a regular place? Do they base if it's totaled on the price to fix it at different locations or their assessment?

 

[97stscaddy]

If the repair is more than 75%, I think, of the assessed value of the car they'll total it usually.

Your estimate will almost always differ from one shop to the next due to different labor rates, different parts suppliers, and different opinions of what work needs to be done to repair the vehicle. But the point at which the insurance company will declare it total loss will remain the same no matter what shop you take it to. If it's really close, you can bitch and they'll just total it anyway.