There is no such thing as an "insurance approved" body shop. atleast here in MN. You have the right to take the car to ANY bodyshop you feel comfortable with.

Your car is german and audi.... dont take it to abbra or maaco or some crappy GM place.

Get this FIXED through INSURANCE... do not take cash... no settlement... just go through insurance..

I hit a dear later last year, not very fast but you know what i go fixed?

front 1/4 panel, bumper - replace, hood - paint, PDR on doors

that cost the insurance company 2500+ dollars...

your door+quaterpanel+paint+clear might cost more... now take it to a good shop, get reccomendations from friends/relatives..

The insurance agent can meet your body shop guy at the shop, and the body shop guy will tell them what needs to be fixed, they can either agree or disagree (most of the time agree)

now.. say you take cash, get another crash.. the insurance company can pay you no/less money on the parts you repaired prior because they paid out a check instead or repairs...

dont try to get anything extra... get all the parts from the dealer

 

that seems so low ballish from the insurance company
are u sure they gonna replace door
take ur car to a a good trusted collistion mechanic and get an estimate

 

I am telling you right now that is a VERY low ball estimate. The door alone if they replace it is $430, plus your repair time and paint time for almost that whole side. I work at a auto repair shop in WA and I just talked to an estimater who works here about your exact repairs and he said that it would almost for sure be at least $2500 to get it done right. You are much better off just going through insurance. You never know what damage they can't see that will have to be fixed. If you want it done right and well just go to a GOOD repair shop and have it done through his insurance company. You will save time, money, and a whole lot of hassle if you do

 

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I've gotten 3 estimates so far and they're all within the $1600 range. I'm gonna do what everyone here seems to think I should do, which is just go through insurance. I've decided you're probably right it'd be too much of a hassle. I'll let insurance deal with it and ask the bodyshop to do repair and repaint the front bumper and i'll pay the extra $300 that'll cost me.

By the way they told me the door is $399



Thanks for all of the replies.

 

Honestly, if the insurance company is paying for it, why not take it to a stealership? They will get it done properly. They won't care who the money is coming from so they will do the best job they can as if you would be paying it out of your pocket.

I took my car to the place my insurance company suggested, lets just say I filed a complaint through the independent insurance board because my car was gone for over a month getting repaired.

 

I found a good place that said they can start whenever we're ready and have it back in easily under 3 days. And plus I get a rental from the insurance company if it drags out. I'm going to look for a dealer in the area because I agree that it'd be the best way to go.

 

the closest dealer is 49 miles away, we made the appointment with the place i mentioned above ^^^

It's called like Southern Auto

I'm going straight through insurance, and i'll pay to get my bumper done on top of it. The car is supposed to go in the shop Monday and he gaurunteed it out by the end of the week

 

hmmmmmm my dealer wont do body work. i say just get it fixed at someone reputable. dont take the cash and take it somewhere else. this may sound like a good ideal but really its not, just go with the flow and let the insurance conpany take care of it.

 

Insurance gave us a couple of shops that they recommend, and we went to one of them looked good to us so we got the work done. Took 3 1/2 days. Came out great!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But I can see all of the buffing swirls in the rest of the car now b/c the new parts are perfect with no swirl and it looks really weird. I painted the front bumer too b/c it had all types of rock chips and dings in it. Overall, the car looks 100% better!!

Oh the estimate was $1654. The front driverside fender needed to be repaired, the back driverside door needed repair, the driver door needed to be replaced, it all needed to be painted, and all of the little side moldings needed to be replaced. Insurance took care of it and my rates stayed the same! the bumper was extra and costed me $275.