like the title says, i was rear ended on harford road just going into parkville last thursday the exhaust is bent in, from what i can tell, the pipes are fine, just the muffler is bent in which makes my car sound like a civic..i have a full tbe front CNT racing btw. but anyway the rear bumper/diffuser, and trunk also were damaged and i have to do some pushing to get the trunk to close. it was determined that it was the guy behind me was at fault so his insurance is taking care of everything and im actually scheduled to get the damage estimated later today..

my question is since i have an aftermarket exhaust, what will happen when it comes time to repair the car? id rather they just give me a check and let me do what i want with the money and get my own parts and have another collision center do the work.. the insurance is MAIF..and finally, has anyone had any good experiences with any collision centers in the baltimore area that was really easy to work with??

 

usually you'll get a quote of what they estimate it will cost to repair the car including the cost to replace your aftermarket exhaust with the same brand. Then its up to you to decide if you want to go with that exhaust or something more expensive or cheaper. Chances are though you won't get the extra cash if you pick something less expensive. It all depends on what the insurance says. Also, and this is very important, check to see if you are entitled to diminished value!! You can get thousands of dollars for the difference in your cars value post crash vs pre crash. Definitely look into it.

 

who should i checked with if im eligible for that?

 

for my accident when I was rear ended in NC at the end of last year I had to look around for a company that did the evaluations. I went with auto appraisal group. I'd check with the guy's insurance to check to see what the steps are to file a diminished value claim. For my case I had to get the repairs completed then the appraisal rep looked the car over, took a copy of the repair list (what was repaired, oem vs aftermarket parts, etc), then they did a report that I had to mail a copy to the guys insurance company. They evaluated the report vs what they estimated the diminished value to be (they agreed with the appraisal group) and then i got a nice big *** check. Only downside is you get definitive proof that your car is worth less. Good news is a) you get a nice check b) people could carfax your car and come to the same conclusion and c) you can report the diminished value to the state for decreased property taxes.