GeneralTutor
New Member
- Jurisdiction
- Georgia
Good evening,
Please tell me if I have a case, here are the details. My question is at the end. If anyone has any questions, let me know.
Incident: My car was scratched after debris (dirt, small objects) became loose from the back of a landscaping trailer. The landscaping company saw the dash cam video of the incident and referred me to their insurance. I got an estimate from a collision repair shop (associated with the local dealership) for a paint job and the insurance approved the estimate for the paint job.
The dealer, once getting the approval of the initial estimate, took my car apart for the paint job. Then noted that there was a small amount of damage to the front bumper when they took it off. They sent an additional estimate to the insurance without my approval. All of this happened without my knowledge (the bumper issue was not brought to my attention and the estimate was sent without my knowledge). The new estimate (which they sent behind my back) was way over the value of the car. This seemed to effectively seal the fate of my car. The insurance declared it to be a total loss.
I asked for my car back but the dealership said "no can do" unless I paid 600 dollars for them to put the car back together. At first they said they could not do so because of the damaged part, since it was a safety issue, I would need to have it replaced but later on they changed their minds and said that it could actually be put back together. They wanted 600 dollars to take the car apart and put it back together. Rather than pay 600 dollars to take my car apart, possibly damaging it and putting it back together, I opted to change the front bumper.
Result:
Customer requirement was completely denied. I did not get a paint job. Instead I'm scheduled to walk out of the dealership after paying thousands of dollars for a bumper that I did not want.
Question: Is the dealership at fault for sending the second estimate without my approval, which was almost three times the initially agreed upon estimate and which forced me into a total loss situation? Shouldn't they have asked for my approval on the repairs before sending it to the insurance company? There was nothing wrong with my car except for the scratches from the incident.
Please tell me if I have a case, here are the details. My question is at the end. If anyone has any questions, let me know.
Incident: My car was scratched after debris (dirt, small objects) became loose from the back of a landscaping trailer. The landscaping company saw the dash cam video of the incident and referred me to their insurance. I got an estimate from a collision repair shop (associated with the local dealership) for a paint job and the insurance approved the estimate for the paint job.
The dealer, once getting the approval of the initial estimate, took my car apart for the paint job. Then noted that there was a small amount of damage to the front bumper when they took it off. They sent an additional estimate to the insurance without my approval. All of this happened without my knowledge (the bumper issue was not brought to my attention and the estimate was sent without my knowledge). The new estimate (which they sent behind my back) was way over the value of the car. This seemed to effectively seal the fate of my car. The insurance declared it to be a total loss.
I asked for my car back but the dealership said "no can do" unless I paid 600 dollars for them to put the car back together. At first they said they could not do so because of the damaged part, since it was a safety issue, I would need to have it replaced but later on they changed their minds and said that it could actually be put back together. They wanted 600 dollars to take the car apart and put it back together. Rather than pay 600 dollars to take my car apart, possibly damaging it and putting it back together, I opted to change the front bumper.
Result:
Customer requirement was completely denied. I did not get a paint job. Instead I'm scheduled to walk out of the dealership after paying thousands of dollars for a bumper that I did not want.
Question: Is the dealership at fault for sending the second estimate without my approval, which was almost three times the initially agreed upon estimate and which forced me into a total loss situation? Shouldn't they have asked for my approval on the repairs before sending it to the insurance company? There was nothing wrong with my car except for the scratches from the incident.
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