Vandalized. Did your insurance pay the dealer's quote? Advice greatly appreciated.

psychik · 11-25-2008, 11:45 AM

Hello folks,
so my darling 335 sedan was vandalized about 2 weeks ago. At night... in my garage. Looks like the perps got in through a fence between my and a neighboring building and were trying to part it out but were spooked by a neighbor, so nothing that serious was stolen, other than the mirrors and rear headrests. They did cause me a major headache by smashing the windshield and a read window, and scratching the hell out of the hood.
I towed it to a local Brooklyn dealer, Life Quality BMW, and it's been sitting there for 2 weeks because Allstate were super slow about setting the apt for the adjuster to come look at the car. The adjuster tells me the dealer's quote is unreasonable (which I believe is true - rough estimate was 8-9 k without the hood painting) and Allstate does not pay $135/hr labor rate that the dealer wants, because there's no mechanical work required and windows can be replaced by a non-dealer shop. The bottom line is he wants me to either move the car to a "recommended" body shop or any other bodyshop of my choice where they can negotiate a labor price of about $45/hr that the adjuster is "authorized to pay". He offered me a check for $2,300 which I could wipe my u know what with...

Did any of you have a similar experience? Ideally I'd like to fix the car at the dealer, which is also an option, but I'd have to pay the difference... Am I being screwed by Allstate, or other ins. companies are just as bad? Any word of advice on how to handle this would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks,
Oleg

david @ eas · 11-25-2008, 12:09 PM

Just got into a situation like that just Saturday night. Parked on the street in Venice because there were no other spots. Went back to my car at 11PM and my passenger side window was smashed in by a rock or a elbow (glass wasn't broken and all over the place. Still intact but just severely cracked) and glass started to trickle off.

Called Mercury and got a rental car, taking it to Crevier BMW tomorrow to get repaired, only have to pay $100 for a $400 job and that's basically it. Haven't had an issue with Mercury so far

RambleJ · 11-25-2008, 12:29 PM

I had the same experience with Mercury, They are actually really easy to work with. I was t-boned in my 07 335i, they gave me a rental for 2 weeks while they checked out the car and after researching the damage they considered it totaled. They worked with BMW financial and came to an agreement and paid it off in full. Now im sittin in an 08 335 with lower payments than what I was payin in my 07!

nicknaz · 11-25-2008, 12:37 PM

OP sorry to hear about your car. Yes all insurance companies have an 'approved' shop rate but $45/hr seems unreasonably low, especially for the NYC area. I would definitely try to escalate this with their management.

Also, if I was in your shoes I would try to find a body shop that BMW dealers outsource work to, and take the car there. This is your best bet, since it is quite a bit cheaper to go direct to the shop, and you still get the same workmanship. Personally if the car is a keeper I would go to a shop with E9X specific experience (such as that dealer outsource shop) and fix the car with OEM parts, and pay out of pocket if needed. I would only go to the cheaper insurance recommended shop if you plan to sell the car soon and just need it looking good again for the sale

psychik · 11-25-2008, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick Nazareno

OP sorry to hear about your car. Yes all insurance companies have an 'approved' shop rate but $45/hr seems unreasonably low, especially for the NYC area. I would definitely try to escalate this with their management.

Also, if I was in your shoes I would try to find a body shop that BMW dealers outsource work to, and take the car there. This is your best bet, since it is quite a bit cheaper to go direct to the shop, and you still get the same workmanship. Personally if the car is a keeper I would go to a shop with E9X specific experience (such as that dealer outsource shop) and fix the car with OEM parts, and pay out of pocket if needed. I would only go to the cheaper insurance recommended shop if you plan to sell the car soon and just need it looking good again for the sale

Thanks for the advice, Nick. They're sticking to their $45/ Hr. Plus I'll have to pay the dealer for keeping my car for 2 weeks. Insane!

I'm thinking about putting the car into Dan's Collision. http://danscollision.com/contact.htm (NYC)
I did some paintwork on my old 330 there about 5 years ago and was happy with the results. Has anyone dealt with them recently? Are they still good?

Thanks.

bily · 11-25-2008, 08:46 PM

I had a broken windshield on my 06 E90. They wanted a sub to do the work. I basically told the sub and the insurance company that they would have to warranty the auto wipers and the mirror since it would void my warranty. They eventually agreed they did not want to do the work and recommended to my adjustor that BMW should do the work.

aznshrek88 · 11-25-2008, 08:56 PM

My car got vandalized too, keyed in 4 different panels, etc. you know the drill... I have state farm with a 0 deductible. They recommended me to a local body shop and got the work done there; in hindsight I wish it had been a dealer but it turned out okay. The paint matched perfectly and its lifetime guarantee.

beto_L.A. · 11-25-2008, 10:41 PM

I had my E46 keyed in, I called Allstate and everything was covered...took it to the body shop used by my local BMW dealer car looks like new.......

e90fanatic · 11-25-2008, 10:50 PM

stay away from allstate. scammers

psychik · 11-26-2008, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by e90fanatic

stay away from allstate. scammers

Who do you recommend?

darkphantom · 11-26-2008, 10:04 AM

I have nationwide, and they're ok. Statefarm did a good job when I had them a year ago...

Orient330iNYC · 11-26-2008, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by psychik

Hello folks,
so my darling 335 sedan was vandalized about 2 weeks ago. At night... in my garage. Looks like the perps got in through a fence between my and a neighboring building and were trying to part it out but were spooked by a neighbor, so nothing that serious was stolen, other than the mirrors and rear headrests. They did cause me a major headache by smashing the windshield and a read window, and scratching the hell out of the hood.
I towed it to a local Brooklyn dealer, Life Quality BMW, and it's been sitting there for 2 weeks because Allstate were super slow about setting the apt for the adjuster to come look at the car. The adjuster tells me the dealer's quote is unreasonable (which I believe is true - rough estimate was 8-9 k without the hood painting) and Allstate does not pay $135/hr labor rate that the dealer wants, because there's no mechanical work required and windows can be replaced by a non-dealer shop. The bottom line is he wants me to either move the car to a "recommended" body shop or any other bodyshop of my choice where they can negotiate a labor price of about $45/hr that the adjuster is "authorized to pay". He offered me a check for $2,300 which I could wipe my u know what with...

Did any of you have a similar experience? Ideally I'd like to fix the car at the dealer, which is also an option, but I'd have to pay the difference... Am I being screwed by Allstate, or other ins. companies are just as bad? Any word of advice on how to handle this would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks,
Oleg

it doesnt surprise me life quality is quoting you an obscene amount for the repairs... they are at the bottom of my list of tristate dealers....

i would give a call around to other dealers in the area and find out what body shop they outsource to, the reality is, life quality is very likely just subbing the work out to a body shop and marking up the price. last time i checked, they didnt have on site paint facilities.

there used to be an awesome bmw body shop in queens, small car collision, but they left the market after the equipment prices to fix cars like the E60 shot through the roof. they used to do all of bmw of manhattan's body work, and handle VPC overflow from the VPC in NJ.

try the NY forum to see if anyone knows a good body shop.

Robmaster · 11-26-2008, 11:11 AM

did you like Luzern?

1cleanm6 · 11-26-2008, 11:43 AM

I remember my 330ci was parked in front of my house when an idiot side swiped it. I had mercury insurance and they were only giving me 1,300 dollars for a frecking 3,500 job. It was until i got upper management involved tooks pictures went and got 10 invoices until they paid up. I still cant believe they were giving only 1300 dollars.

CyberGypsy · 11-26-2008, 11:49 AM

I love statefarm they save me lots on insurance.

TT3 iN NyC · 11-26-2008, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by psychik

Thanks for the advice, Nick. They're sticking to their $45/ Hr. Plus I'll have to pay the dealer for keeping my car for 2 weeks. Insane!

I'm thinking about putting the car into Dan's Collision. http://danscollision.com/contact.htm (NYC)
I did some paintwork on my old 330 there about 5 years ago and was happy with the results. Has anyone dealt with them recently? Are they still good?

Thanks.

Hey man, sorry to hear about your troubles and the vandalism. There's a really good body shop in Queens called Cross Island Collision. I had my previous car repaired from them and they do top notch work. It's located right off the Cross Island Parkway, Jamaica Avenue exit. Here's the link to their website...

http://crossislandcollision.com/

Hope this helps and good luck

psychik · 11-26-2008, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TT3 iN NyC

Hey man, sorry to hear about your troubles and the vandalism. There's a really good body shop in Queens called Cross Island Collision. I had my previous car repaired from them and they do top notch work. It's located right off the Cross Island Parkway, Jamaica Avenue exit. Here's the link to their website...

http://crossislandcollision.com/

Hope this helps and good luck

Thanks, all!
I just put the car into Dan's Collision. I had dealt with them 4 years ago - they used to be very good. Hope they still are. I will keep your recommendation for the next time

It's my second vandalism incident in 6 months and I have a feeling it's not the last one. The first on was minor, but hurt nonetheless. Next car will be an '87 Buick. De-tuned.

Oleg

psychik · 11-26-2008, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robmaster

did you like Luzern?

RE: Robmaster - YES! Luzern was beautiful. We also went up the Pilatus mountain, which was simply breathtaking. Here's my ED report with a lot of pics from back in April:
Link

e90fanatic · 11-26-2008, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by psychik

Who do you recommend?

i like liberty mutual (but expensive). but so far Geico is great. Had really bad experience with Allstate.

11-25-2008, 11:45 AM	#1
psychik Private 9 Rep 67 Posts Drives: '16 GLE AMG / '12 X6 50i Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: NYC iTrader: (2)	Vandalized. Did your insurance pay the dealer's quote? Advice greatly appreciated. Hello folks, so my darling 335 sedan was vandalized about 2 weeks ago. At night... in my garage. Looks like the perps got in through a fence between my and a neighboring building and were trying to part it out but were spooked by a neighbor, so nothing that serious was stolen, other than the mirrors and rear headrests. They did cause me a major headache by smashing the windshield and a read window, and scratching the hell out of the hood. I towed it to a local Brooklyn dealer, Life Quality BMW, and it's been sitting there for 2 weeks because Allstate were super slow about setting the apt for the adjuster to come look at the car. The adjuster tells me the dealer's quote is unreasonable (which I believe is true - rough estimate was 8-9 k without the hood painting) and Allstate does not pay $135/hr labor rate that the dealer wants, because there's no mechanical work required and windows can be replaced by a non-dealer shop. The bottom line is he wants me to either move the car to a "recommended" body shop or any other bodyshop of my choice where they can negotiate a labor price of about $45/hr that the adjuster is "authorized to pay". He offered me a check for $2,300 which I could wipe my u know what with... Did any of you have a similar experience? Ideally I'd like to fix the car at the dealer, which is also an option, but I'd have to pay the difference... Am I being screwed by Allstate, or other ins. companies are just as bad? Any word of advice on how to handle this would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks, Oleg __________________ . 2008 E90 335i //Montego Blue ///Terra///Poplar * Euro-Delivered in April '08 6SP///ZSP///ZPP///Navi///HD Radio///iPod///OEM Rear Spoiler//M Short Shifter//M Pedals ///19" VMR CSL Reps & A/S Toyos**
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11-25-2008, 12:09 PM	#2
david @ eas 257 Rep 4,048 Posts Drives: BMW Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Anaheim iTrader: (5)	Just got into a situation like that just Saturday night. Parked on the street in Venice because there were no other spots. Went back to my car at 11PM and my passenger side window was smashed in by a rock or a elbow (glass wasn't broken and all over the place. Still intact but just severely cracked) and glass started to trickle off. Called Mercury and got a rental car, taking it to Crevier BMW tomorrow to get repaired, only have to pay $100 for a $400 job and that's basically it. Haven't had an issue with Mercury so far
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11-25-2008, 12:29 PM	#3
RambleJ Colonel 60 Rep 2,014 Posts Drives: F10 535i M-sport Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Back in teh so cal iTrader: (2)	I had the same experience with Mercury, They are actually really easy to work with. I was t-boned in my 07 335i, they gave me a rental for 2 weeks while they checked out the car and after researching the damage they considered it totaled. They worked with BMW financial and came to an agreement and paid it off in full. Now im sittin in an 08 335 with lower payments than what I was payin in my 07!
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11-25-2008, 12:37 PM	#4
nicknaz Lieutenant General 3187 Rep 10,509 Posts Drives: C6Z Join Date: May 2008 Location: NorCal iTrader: (0)	OP sorry to hear about your car. Yes all insurance companies have an 'approved' shop rate but $45/hr seems unreasonably low, especially for the NYC area. I would definitely try to escalate this with their management. Also, if I was in your shoes I would try to find a body shop that BMW dealers outsource work to, and take the car there. This is your best bet, since it is quite a bit cheaper to go direct to the shop, and you still get the same workmanship. Personally if the car is a keeper I would go to a shop with E9X specific experience (such as that dealer outsource shop) and fix the car with OEM parts, and pay out of pocket if needed. I would only go to the cheaper insurance recommended shop if you plan to sell the car soon and just need it looking good again for the sale
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11-25-2008, 08:46 PM	#6
bily Lieutenant 84 Rep 540 Posts Drives: 22 G05, 22 G26 Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Atlanta, GA iTrader: (0) Garage List 2022 i4 [0.00] 2022 BMW X5 [0.00] 2015 BMW 428 Cabriolet [0.00]	Windshield I had a broken windshield on my 06 E90. They wanted a sub to do the work. I basically told the sub and the insurance company that they would have to warranty the auto wipers and the mirror since it would void my warranty. They eventually agreed they did not want to do the work and recommended to my adjustor that BMW should do the work.
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11-25-2008, 08:56 PM	#7
aznshrek88 Lieutenant 70 Rep 511 Posts Drives: 2007 328i SG Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Los Angeles, CA iTrader: (1)	My car got vandalized too, keyed in 4 different panels, etc. you know the drill... I have state farm with a 0 deductible. They recommended me to a local body shop and got the work done there; in hindsight I wish it had been a dealer but it turned out okay. The paint matched perfectly and its lifetime guarantee.
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11-25-2008, 10:41 PM	#8
beto_L.A. Major 343 Rep 1,029 Posts Drives: 2020 G20 330i Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: north hollywood, CA iTrader: (0)	I had my E46 keyed in, I called Allstate and everything was covered...took it to the body shop used by my local BMW dealer car looks like new....... __________________ Current: 2023 G26 430i GC San Remo Green / Red Sensatec M Sport. Previous:2020 G20 330i M Sport (MG/BLK), 2018 F36 4GC LCI (SRB/NB), 2015 F36 4GC (MG/CR), 2012 F25 X328i (JB/CB), 2009 E90 328I sedan (SG/SB), 2004 E46 325I sedan (SG/BLK).
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11-25-2008, 10:50 PM	#9
e90fanatic Absolute0 168 Rep 5,078 Posts Drives: Has a Roundel Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: TO/HK/NJ iTrader: (6)	stay away from allstate. scammers __________________ To procede or not to procede......
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11-26-2008, 10:04 AM	#11
darkphantom Banned 595 Rep 5,946 Posts Drives: E93 335i Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: The place for Bimmers iTrader: (4)	I have nationwide, and they're ok. Statefarm did a good job when I had them a year ago...
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11-26-2008, 11:11 AM	#13
Robmaster Colonel 151 Rep 2,757 Posts Drives: 2010 E82 135, 2005 E87 130i Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Switzerland iTrader: (3)	did you like Luzern?
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11-26-2008, 11:43 AM	#14
1cleanm6 Brigadier General 441 Rep 3,668 Posts Drives: M5 comp/Range/i3S Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Earth iTrader: (7)	I remember my 330ci was parked in front of my house when an idiot side swiped it. I had mercury insurance and they were only giving me 1,300 dollars for a frecking 3,500 job. It was until i got upper management involved tooks pictures went and got 10 invoices until they paid up. I still cant believe they were giving only 1300 dollars.
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11-26-2008, 11:49 AM	#15
CyberGypsy Lieutenant 15 Rep 443 Posts Drives: 2006 325i Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Key West iTrader: (0)	I love statefarm they save me lots on insurance.
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