The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk getting an estimate for repair

ok as some of you may know i was rear ended a few weeks ago and need some repair to the bed, cab, and frame. does ANYONE know where i can get just the estimate done somewhere in the dc metro area? ive been to 4 or 5 places and first off, they have no idea where to get the parts (i do), they dont want to work with older vehicles and it just sucks. i really need an estimate to give the insurance company and this is becoming a huge hassle. so, if anyone knows of anywhere in the dc metro area that can give me and estimate it would be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance.

if it was someone else's fault have their insurance man estimate your loss. most older cars total for the reasons you have found. brian

Alot of insurance companies now have their own adjusters. Or, they use approved body shops- Call an agent for the other guy's insurance and get the name of some of their approved shops. Take it there.

The deal with totalling out a vehicle is that if the repair will be 75% or more of the current 'fair market value' they will declare the car a total loss and give you the current fair market value. If you want to keep the truck they give you fair market value minus the salvage value.

For fair market value they use NADA, which you can check online. If you have receipts for upgrades, like stereo, alarm, etc... it might increase the value.

For salvage value they call a junk yard and find out what they would pay for your truck.

For those of us who have spent lots of money improving out trucks, restoring older cars or building hot rods, we get 'replacement value' insurance- it costs more and generally you need to get an appraisal before they will issue a policy. Sometimes those policies limit the miles you drive per year, or charge more for extra mileage.