Okay, I was in a wreck tonight. I know there is a special link for that, but, I checked it, and it doesn't address the question I have.

I basically was involved in a hit-and-run (long story), and the only damage was to the front of my car. From what little I could see, the main damaged areas were the hood, grill, bumper, and driver's fender. I didn't get to look under the hood, but, I could tell by the smell that the radiator was destroyed, and from the side, I know my intake is trashed, along with my fuse box, etc. The problem here is that the "running" vehicle involved was a 18 wheeler, which the driver may not have realized he was involved in a chain reaction wreck. Anyway, to my question:

As some of you have been in wrecks, and have had to make insurance claims, you have been able to acquire CF hoods, body kits, etc. instead of stock body components due to the fact that they are cheaper (i.e. CF not requiring paint, no dealer mark-up) than factory replacements. My question is how do I go about seeing that this happens in my case? I mean, how do I turn a "tragedy" into some benefits for my car, provided that it is not a total loss? I appreciate any help. Thanks.

Jonathan

 

Sorry to hear about your stuff getting messed up! Sorry I can't answer any of your questions. I have no idea, hope someone else here can help you out.

 

well to be honest...you need to know people that will do a good job fixinf it tell yout insurance company that you have a shop that you go to ...they should cut you a check and go from there...also get a few estimates before your insurance sompany cuts you a check to see if what they are giving you is fair

 

sucks this happened, but i have almost been hopign soemthing liek this will happen to me lol

 

Damn, that blows goats bro... hope everything works out for you... maybe i should start parking my car on the street and praying, lol i could use a CF hood and some other items

 

damn that sucks *****.... i hope everything works out for you.. damn why didnt i think of that when i got into a wreck

 

Hell, I wouldn't have thought of it unless I had seen some other folks do it on here... probably not going to happen though because I have to release it directly to a Subey dealership down the road who is willing to pick it up from the DPD pound as part of my claim. So, in other words, most likely no CF hood. On the plus side, maybe a new engine will be needed... Kidding.

Seriously, thanks for the condolences. And trust me, you don't wish this would happen to you, given that I love my car. *sigh* I called this on myself because I've been talking my wife into getting a WRX when I get done paying off this car. Called down the wrath of the car gods. LOL

 

generally the insurance company doesnt like to pay a shop to put custom stuff on the car....they will most liekly restore it to stock. Now if you happened to know the people....there is a way to figure out how much the insurance claim would have boned there insurance up and you can jsut ask them for the cash....(i did that)....but it doesnt loook like u know who hit you....if you are submitting this to your insurance and u have as much damage as you say you have you may have a totalled car if it is the OZ. You gotta get your damage estimated...get a super expensive shop, and the cheapest you can find....because if its insurance you want to take it to the expensive place to have the work done. Either way you are going to screw your insurance. Are your mods submitted to your insurance? If not you will not get ANYTHING for them. Thats why getting a turbo is soooo expensive these days...they know nobody gets a turbo for the heck of it...they get one to drive a bit harder......so the insurance goes up (assumign you submit it to insurance i ncase you blow the engine). If you dont submit it you dont get it when something blows up. hope that helps.

 

or you can ask the insurance to jsut get you the parts..u can sell em, take the money and buy the upgrades? ive seen that done.

 

i wrecked the front of one of my lancers. and the insurance company wouldnt pay for aftermarket stuff. they told me they had to replace the stock items. i asked one of my teachers who owned a body shop, and he said the insurance wont, but if the body shop is cool, not like a BYTHEBOOKS business, they would do it..

in my case, before i got to the shops, i flipped it and tore that shiot apart. haha.
NEw Car!

 

lol, you rolled it? what the hell??

it definately won't hurt to ask them. make it sound like you're saving them lots of money which might get their attention. also, try to get a female to take your claim. i hear they are statistically more likely to help you if you're nice to them. i don't know this personally but just what i hear from lots of people. in alaska there's alot of accidents due to sh*tty drivers in sh*tty conditions. so lots of people deal with insurance companies here. it's about a 50/50 chance of a hook up tho, just remember to be nice and stress the fact that it WILL save them money to get aftermarket stuff good luck!

 

Thanks for the advice... however, a dealership collison repair center is handling it, so, unfortunately, looks like I'm out a cold air intake and a custom painted grill. However, I got a call from my insurance saying that there is the possiblity that "due to the extensive damage" it may be totalled out. Good news is that my pay off may be less than the car is worth (according to Blue Book), so, maybe I'll get that WRX after all...

Either way, I'm none too happy.

 

*sigh* I rear-ended an SUV that cut me off... Insurance would only pay ~$825 bucks before they would total it out. soooo i totaled my car about 2x over. It would have cost 14000+ to repair my lancer. man... the stuff up front is hellza expensive. IT adds up really quick.

SO i got money and bought a Z. yay.

 

I have heard of people getting aftermarket parts. The insurance company is just going to cut a check to the Shop that they feel is good for them to work with. You DON'T have to have that shop do the work. see if you can find a shop that will do the custom work you look for, they will talley up the parts and put it on an estimate. Most of the time the Insurcance company doesn't know the difference between the part number and a customer part number, especially if it's from a shop they don't know too well, and especially if that shop normally goes for the fake OEM stuff. Like the cheaper brands, tell them what you want to get put on and see if they'll do it and get an estimate together, I've heard that if you get what you want on your car estimated to be less than what the insurance company is going to want to go for the lesser amount. AND if it happens again, they have to replace what was put back on the car. (My mom was an insurance saleswoman)

Iif a subie dealer is See if you can cut them a deal, rather than repair the car. You want the WRX instead. who knows, good prices my come out of it. The car may be totalled, but it doesn't mean it's not worth money, people part those things all the time after the insurance company sells the car off to a junk yard.

 

my car is in wrecked form rite now... i have a body kit on the way... u really think imma let a collision repair center put my new kit on? hell no, i want them to fix it to a stock appearence. that way i wont have to **** with the structure damage!!!