I remember the day 9 years ago when my baby came home from the Body Shop that fixed her as good as new! Big Congrats! Gave me a special connection to my car and when the time came to return the lease I bought her and I'm so happy I did!

Good Luck!

Tom

 

Congratulations!!

OT but this really captures the beauty of the wide body.
I always feel like I cannot tell the difference between NB and WB but this pic. really brings out the beauty of a wide body.

ENJOY!!

 

@Christian Stark Congratulations on getting her put back together, well done.

 

Similar to my GTS rear end story which came to $16,000 including engine removal. No frame damage but a 2" or 3" scratch on a body panel inside the engine compartment that the shop owner said he couldn't fix to his standards without taking the engine out. Overkill in my opinion since I could barely see the scratch he was pointing to. A shop less concerned about perfection and undetectable repairs would just have taken a spray bottle to it and left the engine in place. Probably without even letting me know and I wouldn't have been the wiser.

But the driver at fault's insurer was Geico and they approved the engine removal. Never any discussion about hourly rate or anything else for that matter including diminished value compensation which I received in full as to what I requested. So credit where it's due. Geico like most insurers often get a bad rap but I have no complaints on how they handled my case.

Congratulations on getting the car back in what looks like nothing ever happened. Have you pursued diminished value?

 

Would you be agreeable to discussing the diminished value process? I am not sure how to research this for my car, and I was considering going with a third party company that does it for me.

 

I’m glad everything was taking care of after a bumpy start

Since you have an 09, you may be SOL per below but a lawyer familiar with your state’s laws would know best.

 

As southbay says, Georgia apparently has different criteria than Florida on diminished value claims. I would contact a certified auto appraiser and get an opinion based on your car and your situation. If he/she thinks you have a shot at it they shouldn't charge more than around $300 for making the case for a legitimate claim. That's the route I took and it was $300 well spent. A lot of research went into it and I think their final package was about 10 pages long and hard to argue against.

Can't remember how much I received from Geico but somewhere in $4,000 to $6,000 range comes to mind. PM me your cell # if Georgia would allow a claim on your car and I'll be glad to walk you through the process.

If you qualify under Georgia law I would recommend against trying to do it on your own. You'll get a lot of relentless push back from the insurer of the driver at fault so like any other legal battle, the more credible arguments you present to them the weaker their case for refusal to make you whole.