Quote:
Originally Posted by GNALUZU
Back in '05 I was in an accident in my E46 M3. Final repair bill came in over $23k and I was pissed that it didn't get totaled at the beginning. I did a lot of research and basically, the body shop gives an initial estimate. They probably don't even open the hood for the initial quote. They want the quote to be low. If the car is totaled then they don't make a dime.
After they start repairs then the body shop starts sending in supplemental requests.
My E46 M3 had a first repair quote of $8k.... by the end of the day it was triple that number.
the accident was not my fault, so I did pursue diminished value (and successfully got it), but it was a total pain in the ass and took nearly a year.
$45k doesn't seem like it will cover enough. I'd ask for a copy of the estimate and also ask the actually opened the hood to do the quote.
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Everything you say here is 100%, they are keeping the initial repair estimate low to retain the repairs and not total out the vehicle or else they don't get the job.
Then they'll only request supplements when it's too late to total the vehicle.
It should be totaled; something simple as the control arm for this vehicle is on 6 month back order, I bet most of the other parts are also very limited and would severely delay the repair. An insurance company would pay off for it simply on principle because any unforeseen delays equal more cost to them.
The shop is trying to retain the job, plain and simple.