aniketkulkarni

Unfortunately, I got involved in an accident this morning (Not my fault!). I was in split lane (going left & straight). Guy in Tesla X was in left only lane but he thought he was in split lane at a light. As light turned green, I turned left and he went straight, Bam!. My left rear fender and door are bent and scratched. I don't see any damage to wheels or front fender.

I have a 2007 GT. I'm wondering how much would it cost to get dent removed and repaint? I live in Houston. I'm afraid insurance company may try to total my car.

One of my colleague said I should go to Ford dealer for estimates and then go to my body shop guy to get it repaired. Thoughts?

Thanks,

A

proeagles

Listen to your colleague. We don't have pics to even begin to estimate.

aniketkulkarni

Thanks a lot for your response. I tried attaching images yesterday but it didn't work. Uploading from my phone now.

Derf00

Let them total it if they do and go buy a "new" one.

That's not a "dent" that's a crushed panel.

I had similar damage on my 2000 mustang back in 2006 and it was around 3,500 if I recall to fix it but my panel did not look nearly as bad and my door was untouched. They blended from the frame of the door back. Yours will require the door to be painted which will add significant cost to it.

Dino Dino Bambino

Total the car for that? You've gotta be joking. Arthur Tussik (YouTube channel) would fix that in a heartbeat.

aniketkulkarni

Thanks a lot for your help.

I went to Ford dealership and they couldn't give me an official estimate because their system can only go back 10 years for auto parts (weird!) and I have 2007 mustang. Just by visual inspection, dealer agent said rear panel and door panel will have to be replaced. $3k for rear panel + $4k for door, so total $7k at least. Agent asked me to find body shops that have older systems to check if they can order parts. KBB showed by car's value around $8k-$10k. I think Statefarm will try to total my car and pay me less than market value. Sucks!

A

danzcool

State Farm is usually pretty good about their values. They use a formula of how much to repair versus their estimated market value, and if it's close, just talk with your state farm estimator and tell them you'd like to keep the car, can they tweak the value up just a bit... it will end up costing them less to repair than to total it out. Also you can argue with them about what they are calling comparable cars, they don't use KBB, they actually research what the comparable cars are selling for in your area, and will have a report available for you to review.

Derf00

Hah, well i'm sure he could fix it for way less than a shop fixing it for (saw his channel) . I don't think the OP has the tools or experience to repair it himself

Yes total it. $4K-7K for repair on initial review.

OP, Not having seen the car itself, the door from the pic looks repairable. The panel is the killer. A ton of labor to strip the panel, most likely remove the rear windshield, remove the panel, straighten any unseen damage, reweld a new panel, paint prep the car, paint it, and put it all back together. Does the other driver not have insurance? It's not your insurance you should be worried about it, it's the other drivers. Let your insurance company deal with them, that's what you pay your insurance company for.