When a guy backed out of a parking space and hit our car, we thought it would be covered, cut and dry, by his insurance. Our bottom front bumper seemed to just get separated from what it was attached to in front of the wheel well. It didn't look bad at all. BUT the guy made up a bold-face lie and somehow twisted the story to his insurance company and said WE hit HIM. So it was my word against his. (I learned to ALWAYS call the police or find a witness no matter HOW small the damage may seem!)
So, our insurance agent said we could go through our company and they could possibly go after him. He sent us to Gerber Auto Body for an estimate. I told them the situation and that I wasn't sure I wanted to go through our insurance because if they couldn't prove it was his fault, we might have our rates increased.
So Gerber came up with two estimates. The first one was if we wanted to go through the insurance, make stuff good as new, and was around $1000. The second estimate was "minimal" work... Just what "needed" to be done to prevent any further damage. That included "body labor - 6 hours @ $44/hour, paint labor-3 hours @ $44/hour, paint supplies-$72 ("to prevent rusting that will occur" they said) Total with tax: $480.
So, I went to a small local body shop for another estimate. The guy looked at it and said, "Well, the bumper just got knocked loose and looks like the bolts broke through the holes... Just need to put something bigger back there for the bolts to grab onto... It'll be about $30." THIRTY BUCKS!
So I said, what about rusting? He said no, it's all plastic in there.
I don't think it was any coincidence that their "low" estimate was just shy of my $500 deductible. I'm sure they figured I'd just go for the "full fix" through the insurance if I had to pay $480 anyway to do it on my own.
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