It is being covered by insurance. I chose to do repairs myself is all. I'm savvy with 10mm's and do not trust other folks to touch my vehicles. Been burnt too many times so now I just resort to doing it right the 1st time.....AKA myself.
Not the case this time cause I don't think this pony will ever leave our coral. If the wife ever gets tired of dailyin' it, I'll gladly take over.
It is more than ridiculous! Prices for parts are a very small factor in insurance premiums though in my opinion. All the insurance companies want you to take your vehicle to their "trusted", "select", "platinum", etc. repair centers for a reason. And it ain't cause they do good work. It's all a damn racket. But that's a WHOLE other topic and I ain't trying to derail. I'll work on getting some pictures up for visual aid in removal and replacement of parts. It was actually very simple and easy.
I'll hit the topic ... Auto repair cost (collision) have increased 40% since 2020. YES this IS a reason for your increase in premiums. The special shops are not a racket ("1-800-lawyer" doesn't help either). These are trusted repair shops that must meet rigorous standards for the companies. These shops actually keep costs down by not overinflating your loss to cover your deductible and to send you on vacation. Also, these shops usually have to offer lifetime warrantees on thier work and paint. I've been in the business 35 years and you are mistaken. The industry is regulated by the states; they don't operate mafia style rackets.
How did you go about doing this? Just get a check cut? Is it covering your labor or a shops labor rate too?
My sister took out one with her Lexus sedan years ago. Hit the front clip, went up and came down on the front of the roof and blew out the windshield. When she came to (it was quite an impact) she freaked out as she was covered in blood as the glass just painted her face and exposed upper body. Fortunately it was mostly superficial and there was no scarring. Lexus was totaled and she's only ever driven SUV's since then as she wants to be more elevated.
Wow man, you are quite talented with a wrench! Taking DIY to the next level.Removing and replacing parts was very simple. I only needed a few sockets, a few torx bits, a push pin removal tool, and three hose/line clamps to keep from losing all the coolant. I had a local shop pull down the AC system so I could replace the condenser and then had them recharge it. I did have to replace the headlight processor and tell the system to recognize and accept it so that the headlight would function properly. Had the edge of the new grille painted body color as I'm a fan of the look, think it blends better, and is more "heritage" than the whole thing being white. I gotta get some trim nuts to mount the FORD letters and get the front camera recalibrated and it'll be a wrap.
I tore it down to see what all needed to be replaced, got all the part descriptions and #'s together, ordered everything from the local dealer parts counter, and submitted pictures and receipts to the insurance company. I've received two checks so far. Still ain't done. I will admit, it is a little more work on my end but well worth it in my opinion knowing that it is done 210% correct and not touched by some dip shit at caliber collision or auto body express. The down side is I am not compensated for my labor. Anything done at a shop with receipt should be covered. In my experience, ANY time I've dealt with an insurance company for a claim, it's been an aggravating ordeal, big name company or no name, gone tomorrow company alike. My deal this time was the Bronco had less than 5K miles on it and I wanted to know, for damn sure, that it was as good or better than the day it left the lot.
I have a buddy who hit a turtle on a bike. It was a bad day for him and the turtle. Bottom line, I don't wanna hit anything, not even a june bug, on a bike.Uh!!!!motorcyclists worst nightmare too. Eradicate them
They definitely can push that "oh shit" button. Every single time we have a get together at our house the 1st thing we say to folks leaving is watch for the deer. We are in BFE north Louisiana and deer are everywhere, year round. I even gave my wife a hard time due to this little fact. HAHA
This really was easy brother. I'm a hotrod fella and wrench on old cars and trucks pretty regularly. I was kinda surprised how easy this was to do being that it is new. It seems the newer the vehicle, the harder the manufacturer's have made it for the average Joe to work on it themselves. I have to tip my hat to Ford for the Bronco so far. Seems like they've made most stuff "DIY friendly" to some extent.Wow man, you are quite talented with a wrench! Taking DIY to the next level.
Sorry this happened to your wife, but good thing she has you to step up and lean into these situations. Impressive work and I bet it’s now put together better than factory.
Cheers to you!
