Got into an accident with my 2011 EOS, damage to the side (door), apparently my fault.

Need a body shop now. Insurance company (Geico) strongly seems to steer me towards using one of the contracted shops, seems to be a much bigger pain to use anyone else. (would need to drive in first to get an adjustment, difficult to get appointment for that, then would get a check for the damage, and be on my own)

Since the Eos is somewhat special I want to be extra careful about what place to select. Any suggestions on how to go about it?

Got into an accident with my 2011 EOS, damage to the side (door), apparently my fault.

Need a body shop now. Insurance company (Geico) strongly seems to steer me towards using one of the contracted shops, seems to be a much bigger pain to use anyone else. (would need to drive in first to get an adjustment, difficult to get appointment for that, then would get a check for the damage, and be on my own)

Since the Eos is somewhat special I want to be extra careful about what place to select. Any suggestions on how to go about it?


Couple of points:



If your policy allows choice of repairer, always take this option especially if your have a future collectible car such as the Eos.
Ask several VW dealers in your area who they use for warranty bodywork. Check with any car clubs that you know as well as their members will invariably know who are good and who are bad repairers.
Go visit the repairers and see who you feel comfortable with - if you feel uncertain, walk away and look elsewhere. Intuition can be a useful guide.
Repairer's contracted to insurance companies are subject to a lot of pressure to keep the repair cost to a minimum and accordingly "cut corners" causing future problems long after you have signed the insurer's release note absolving them of responsibility for the repairs.
Check the car thoroughly in full sunlight for ripples, colour variations and overspray [especially below the sills and on the underframes as this is the first place used car valuers look for evidence of repairs] before signing the release note.

Hope you find the right repairer without too much difficulty - remember the person with the greatest interest in ensuring the repair is done professionally to new car standards is yourself :). This means you suffer some inconvenience doing all the running around but you know you made sure the repair is the best possible under the circumstances.

Thanks Silvershadow. Good idea to call the dealers in the area for recommendations and to look for clubs. By the way I posted an image:

http://www.vweosclub.com/photos/images/3726/medium/1_WoundedEos.jpg

Wonder for a relatively new car like this if one would be able to insist that the insurance pays for new parts instead of just getting a plaster and duct-tape type patch up job.

You may wish to be careful with the panel behind the door as It is a structural part of the car
I had Hail damage to my previous Eos and the top of this panel was damaged and is one of the main reasons that the Insurance company wrote off the car as being too expensive to replace.
To do this panel they have to take the whole roof off including all the rear interior and reweld it in to make sure that the car still has the structural integrity.
Fortunately my car was 11 days under 2 years and the insurance company had a new for old replacement for under 2 years.

Fred

Hi Fred, the structural damage issue sounds really scary. Do I need to worry that the insurance adjuster would downplay a positional issue like this and just authorize a superficial repair that would leave the car unstable in the long run? I'm not able to judge this by myself. How to avoid this sort of situation?

not sure but all I know is that I was overjoyed to hear that it was being written off and therefore did not have to worry about long term effect

Could not be happier that I actually got the car replaced with a brand new one

may be worth talking to a dealer that can point to you to a repairer who does a similar job on an Eos and have a long chat to them

The insurance company will obviously try to get the cheapest job and not worry about long term but you are entitled to stamp your foot and say it is a "newish " car and you want it to be fixed properly and not just a cosmetic patch

Good luck

Fred

Hi Fred, the structural damage issue sounds really scary. Do I need to worry that the insurance adjuster would downplay a positional issue like this and just authorize a superficial repair that would leave the car unstable in the long run? I'm not able to judge this by myself. How to avoid this sort of situation?


After seeing your photo and the location of the damage, Fred K's comments are very relevant.

I suggest you consult an independent accident damage repair assessor and get him/her to inspect your vehicle and prepare an assessment of the work required AND the cost involved in repairing your vehicle to new car standards. The last time I had an independent assessment done was 10 years ago on a classic car when the at-fault party's insurer tried to insist I had to use their repairer who had no experience whatsoever repairing the car involved and I wished to use a well-respected specialist repairer for the make and type of vehicle. The assessment cost me AUD250 and the report detailed exactly what work had to be done together with the appropriate cost to the insurance company. My preferred repairer advised he would undertake the repair to his usual standard of work at the assessed cost.

To cut a long story short, the insurance company refused to authorise my preferred repairer to do the work at their expense. I had the repair done by my preferred repairer which was my legal right under our laws and sent a letter of demand for payment to the insurer which they rejected. I then sued the insurance company who held out until the day of the Court hearing when they settled on the Courtroom steps for the full amount of my claim plus my costs. When the settlement was documented by the Magistrate to finalise the proceedings; he commented that the independent assesssor's report would have carried more weight in the proceedings than the conflicting assessment by the in-house assessor for the insurance company and, as a consequence, he would have found in my favour.

Best $250.00 I had spent in a long time :):):).

Quick update: checked the VW list of certified repairers in the area and talked to the shop that was recommended by my dealership.
They will come to my house and give a free non obligation estimate. They are a bit out of my area (1 hour), they would pick up and return the car for free, but wonder what would happen if I have any follow up issues.

Alternatively there is another certified shop that is closer, from the web, it seems to be more an Audi shop. That one is part of my insurance network, wonder if that's a good or bad thing?

Quick update: checked the VW list of certified repairers in the area and talked to thepremiercollissioncentre.com that was recommended by my dealership.
They will come to my house and give a free non obligation estimate. They are a bit out of my area (1 hour), they would pick up and return the car for free, but wonder what would happen if I have any follow up issues.

Alternatively there is another certified shop praybodyshop.com that is closer, from the web, it seems to be more an Audi shop. That one is part of my insurance network, wonder if that's a good or bad thing?


What price are you prepared to pay for peace of mind?

If I was in your position, I would pay to get the assessment from an independent assessor to see what the real repair cost should be if done properly. You can then compare the quotes from both shops against the assessment.

If the quotes are less than the assessment, you can be certain they are taking shortcuts with the repair and accordingly you need to be careful in selecting the repairer. You can also use this assessment to good advantage if you need to argue with your insurer about the standard and scope of work required for a high standard repair.

As far as the shop which is associated with your insurer goes, you can be certain your insurer will instruct them to do the job to their lowest acceptable cost which always involves doing the bare essentials and not what really should be done. If you do not intend to keep the car long-term this may not be a problem but be aware the evidence of this repair will reduce the trade-in value of the vehicle.

Quick update: checked the VW list of certified repairers in the area and talked to thepremiercollissioncentre.com that was recommended by my dealership.
They will come to my house and give a free non obligation estimate. They are a bit out of my area (1 hour), they would pick up and return the car for free, but wonder what would happen if I have any follow up issues.

Alternatively there is another certified shop praybodyshop.com that is closer, from the web, it seems to be more an Audi shop. That one is part of my insurance network, wonder if that's a good or bad thing?


What price are you prepared to pay for peace of mind?

If I was in your position, I would pay to get the assessment from an independent assessor so see what the real repair cost should be if done properly. You can then compare the quotes from both shops against the assessment.

If the quotes are less than the assessment, you can be certain they are taking shortcuts with the repair and accordingly you need to be careful in selecting the repairer.

As far as the shop which is associated with your insurer goes, you can be certain your insurer will instruct them to do the job to their lowest acceptable cost which always involves doing the bare essentials and not what really should be done. If you do not intend to keep the car long-term this may not be a problem but be aware the evidence of this repair will reduce the trade-in value of the vehicle.

DBLKO

Just wondering how did you get on with getting an assessment or repairs?

Fred K

Got tired agonizing about it any longer and decided to just go with the shop that was recommended by the dealer. They picked up the car at my house yesterday and the adjuster from the insurance company even made it out there to see the car the same afternoon. Have to follow up with the body shop on Monday, but so far it seems to be of a good start.

From the discussions I had with both adjusters they are going to replace the door and back panels with new original parts, which involves quite a bid of work of taking the car apart, including the roof, welding the panel in, and putting the puzzle back together.

Will be posting updates, the body shop promised to send me pictures of the work in progress. Pretty cool. ( Not certain if its a good idea to look at pictures of my baby being torn apart, most likely that would just make me worrying about all possible things that could go wrong in the process )

Got tired agonizing about it any longer and decided to just go with the shop that was recommended by the dealer. They picked up the car at my house yesterday and the adjuster from the insurance company even made it out there to see the car the same afternoon. Have to follow up with the body shop on Monday, but so far it seems to be of a good start.

................................................)



You made a wise decision IMHO :).

Repairs are progressing, car moved to the paint department now. The shop is asking the insurance adjuster to approve retouching the paint on the side of the undamaged trunk lid that's facing the replacement side quarter panel in order to better blend the new parts to the car. ( I originally thought they will mix the color of the new parts to perfectly match the car, but apparently one would still notice a difference without the additional blending work)
Afterwards the car is supposed to go back to my dealer who is going to check for wheel alignment and reset the electrical codes to the cars computer system that might have become undone when the door was taken off. Hopefully I will be able to get the car back in about a weeks time.

Picked up the repaired car yesterday. Looks OK initially, but there is a glue or solvent type odor in the interior that bothers me, even when driving with open top. Is that to be expected for the type of work that was done? (The body shop mentioned its possibly from the adhesive that was used for welding in the quarter panel.) Is there anything I could check where it's coming from or any Ideas how to eliminate it?

Picked up the repaired car yesterday. Looks OK initially, but there is a glue or solvent type odor in the interior that bothers me, even when driving with open top. Is that to be expected for the type of work that was done? (The body shop mentioned its possibly from the adhesive that was used for welding in the quarter panel.) Is there anything I could check where it's coming from or any Ideas how to eliminate it?


This type of odour is not unusual and comes from the materials, adhesives and solvents used during the repair process. It will decrease rapidly over time and it helps to put the vehicle in a warm environment with the windows and doors open for ventilation while the residues evaporate.

if you park the locked vehicle in the sun for any period of time, it is essential to leave the sunroof cracked open for ventilation otherwise the odour will be re-absorbed by other parts of the car interior delaying the odour dissipating..

Thanks for the pointer about leaving the sunroof a bit open.

The car was last worked on Friday, and I picked it up Monday. Today is Wednesday, so there has already some time passed.

I noticed the smell comes really overwhelmingly strong out of the air-conditioning ducts when powering up the car, essentially blowing directly in my face. Does this makes any sense? Would be interesting to know where the air intakes are?

Could it be possible that the work that was done broke something in the air-condition unit and the smell comes actually from the coolant?

Thanks for the pointer about leaving the sunroof a bit open.

The car was last worked on Friday, and I picked it up Monday. Today is Wednesday, so there has already some time passed.

I noticed the smell comes really overwhelmingly strong out of the air-conditioning ducts when powering up the car, essentially blowing directly in my face. Does this makes any sense? Would be interesting to know where the air intakes are?

Could it be possible that the work that was done broke something in the air-condition unit and the smell comes actually from the coolant?


Is your Aircon operating in the recirculation mode? If so, the polluted air inside the car is simply being recycled to where you need it least. Has the mesh filter on the fresh air intake been cleaned? It may be clogged with smelly dust from the repair shop.

If the Aircon has been damaged, it would certainly not be working in cooling mode as the refrigerant would be missing from the system. The smell of the refrigerant would not hang around for days afterwards as it is a gas at normal temperatures and atmospheric pressure.

I would wait at least a fortnight for the odour to dissipate unless you have a spell of hot weather to accelerate the drying out of the components involved. The key question is whether solvent-based paint was used in the repair shop while your car was being worked on and the fumes absorbed by the seats and trim inside the cabin.

In order not to drag out this threat I made a new posting in the technical Q&A section specifically to the odor and after-repair problem.