First, a little background.

About a month ago I had a near miss with a semi doing an emergency swerve into my lane to miss a driver that had cut him off. She was talking on her cell phone and putting on her makeup at the same time. Going down the interstate. Doing 70+. I had a free lane to my left (I was passing on the right), but it was coned off. I managed to flick the car between two cones, but nicked the front right corner of the car.

It looked pretty ugly at first, with cone plastic all along the right side of the car. But I managed to buff out most of it, and ended up with a dozen or so deep scratches on the front right corner.

Fast forward to today. The insurance company wanted an estimate of the damage, and the also want us to take the car to them for visual inspection. No problem. We took the car into the dealership for her oil change, the heat blanket installation, and some other small issues. While she was there, the dealership took her over to their 'collision center' for an estimate on the damage. That was first thing this morning.

I got a call from the dealership later in the evening telling me that everything had been completed, as well as the estimate for the repair, $1415.41!!!!

Looking a the estimate, it kinda breaks down like this:

• Repair bumper cover w/o headlamp (?), 4 hours of labor, 2.6 units (?) paint.
• Add for Clear Coat, 1 unit paint.
• Replace right Headlamp assembly w/HID lamps, $467.30, 0.3 hours labor.
• Aim Headlamps, 0.5 hours labor
• Repair right fender, 2.5 hours labor, 2 units paint
• Remove and replace Air grille, 0.2 hours labor
• Flex Additive, $8.00
• Hazardous Waste Disposal, $5.00
• Colorsand & Buff, 1.0 units paint
• Cover for Overspray, $5.00, 0.3 units paint

That comes to:

• $467.30 in parts
• $373.80 for 8.9 hours @ 42.00/hr for Body Labor
• $323.40 for 7.7 hours @ 42.00/hr for Paint Labor
• $200.20 for 7.7 hours @ $26.00/hr for Paint Supplies
• $18.00 for Sublet/Misc
• $32.71 for 7% tax

Grand total $1415.41

After reviewing the estimate I brought up question as to why they thought that the headlight had to be replaced. There was no visual damage to the headlight, so I'm just wondering if they are just covering their bets and assuming that it may fail in the future, or are they just pulling my leg?

Any ideas out there?

 

This is being sent through your insurance correct? Why do you care what it costs you just pay your deductable. If you are paying out of pocket it is a little different. I think it looks like a decent quote for replacing the headlight.

 

I really would find out what is wrong with the headlamps if they are going to try and replace them. Are they scuffed at all? Do they work(hi's and low's)? Are they aimed correctly?

When you say cone, do you actually mean a cone (flexible rubber)?

Or, do you mean sand/water filled plastic barrel?

Sucks,. if this happened to me, I would just take the reimbursement money from the insurance company, get the fender fixed and buy a body kit.

 

For all practical purposes, the headlight appears to work just fine. We took a 1700+ trip to upstate NY and back after the 'incident', and I didn't notice any problem with them at all. The clear shield isn't scuffed. It's just a mystery to me.

I can't help thinking that the parts department has a little more nefarious motiviation for wanting to replace the light, after all, they are probably making a pretty good margin on it.

And, as far as letting it go because "the insurance company will cover it", I'm pretty sure that I'll only be contributing to the high cost of insurance. I am also in the unfortunate position that the same company that insures the vehicle also owns the title. So that doesn't allow me to take the money, forgo the headlight, and buy something else for the car.

I'd just like to know if there is any validity in replacing what 'appears' to be a perfectly working headlight.

BTW: The 'cone' was one of those large barrel-type markers, but empty.

 

Beyond that I'd suggest taking the car to a good bodyshop and having the work done and paying for it yourself. It'll probably be a little cheaper and you can skip the headlamp. If you are sure there aren't any problems with it that is. A claim on insurance might only end up costing you more money in the long run.

 

pretty sure the front bumper comes painted. time to take it off and replace it is about an hour.

i would do it myself. dont know about the damage to the fender.

beers