Ummm... this is kinda true.

You are entitled Diminished Value. But it's a process. If you are not at fault, the insurance company of the one at fault is liable to pay you the diminished value of your vehicle. It could be $200, or it could $2000. It all depends. The only reason I know about this, is because a really good friend and co-worker has a side business doing this.

It works really good for us because we work in a car dealership, and at least a few times a month we get someone trying to trade in their car that has been in an accident

 

cut the kid some slack....he's traumatized right now

 

There ARE great body shops—but they're few and far between, and tend to be expensive. But… many restored classic cars (like you see on the Barrett-Jackson auctions) have been fixed at high-end body shops that do "regular" cars, too. The technology and know-how is out there—but you have to pay for it, unfortunately.

When I need a body shop, I'll ask around, search online, and look for shops that do restoration or "custom" work. Also the shops that Porsche, Ferrari and Bentley dealers use. I can always find 2 or 3 places that have a reputation for doing "perfect" work. And while they always charge more, sometimes they don't charge a lot more.

 

Hopefully your insurance company will let you send it to whichever body shop you choose. In my case, the body shop I sent mine to was the one the Mazda, Porsche and Audi dealers used.