My estimate.. need opinions.

[NetViper]

Here is what I have been given from the insurance company. Does this seem about right?

------------------
1993 White NSX, 70K miles and running STRONG!

 

[gheba_nsx]

35$/hour? Wow, that seems a bit low!

 

[robr]

i think it might be a bit low on the amount of labor involved. what you need to do rather than ask us, is pick out a body shop, take it to them and have them look at the car and the estimate and usually they will take over dealing with the insurance company directly.

 

[NSXnBRLA]

Not sure what insurance company that is, but State Farm pays me $35.00 an hour on estimates. There are different hourly rates for different tasks. Body labor, paint labor, mechanical labor, etc... I put that estimate into my estimating software, and came up with the exact figure. State Farm issued me the software that I use.

 

[MAJOR STONER]

These days anyone can sit in front of a computer and come up with an estimate. The software tells you how much time it takes to do the job, and the costs and materials involved. But an insurance man is not qualified to do this type of estimate. Notice that the estimate does not even include any mention of the windsheild spritzer nozzles and associated plumbing and clips. Remember, you have the right to have the car fixed by any shop you wish, get an estimate from the best shop around.

 

[gheba_nsx]

Ok, also the insurance or the software

should point you to a reputable shop (with real exeperience on NSX or other exotics) that ask 35$/h...

I had some stone chip removal and the roof color matched by a shop with much experience and higly recommended by exotic car owners, in Italy(!!!=cheap) and they wanted about 50$/hr. Here in Switzerland the rate are up to 100$/hr for shops that work on Ferraris...

[This message has been edited by gheba_nsx (edited 19 July 2002).]

 

[nsxtasy]

Originally posted by MAJOR STONER:
These days anyone can sit in front of a computer and come up with an estimate. The software tells you how much time it takes to do the job, and the costs and materials involved. But an insurance man is not qualified to do this type of estimate.

I disagree that insurance people are not qualified to do these estimates. The estimates are prepared by claims adjusters who are trained in body shop repair, not by your local agent.

That being said, there are still sometimes different ways of doing a job - short cuts vs the "right way".

It all goes back to robr's advice, with which I totally agree. Take it to your preferred body shop, explain to them that you are a perfectionist and expect the same of them, and let them work out any differences with the insurance company's estimate.

gheba_nsx, in the United States, shops often negotiate rates with insurance companies. If you walk into a shop and you're paying for a repair yourself, they might charge you $50 or more per hour, but the major insurance companies might only reimburse $35 per hour. Most shops will do the job at the reimbursed rate because they want the business. A few shops may ask the customer to pay the difference in rates.

This approach applies in many other industries here as well (most notably health care).

[This message has been edited by nsxtasy (edited 19 July 2002).]

 

[NSXnBRLA]

Originally posted by MAJOR STONER:
These days anyone can sit in front of a computer and come up with an estimate. The software tells you how much time it takes to do the job, and the costs and materials involved. But an insurance man is not qualified to do this type of estimate. Notice that the estimate does not even include any mention of the windsheild spritzer nozzles and associated plumbing and clips. Remember, you have the right to have the car fixed by any shop you wish, get an estimate from the best shop around.

I hate to disagree, but the damage on NetVipers car is nothing more than a bolt up and paint job. There is no structure damage there (from what I see and judging from the size of the dents). I realize that more extensive damage would entail using someone possibly more experienced in writing estimates, but this is a half a day job. Unbolt damages parts, bolt up new parts, paint. I had to replace the left fender on my car, and paint it. The R&R for the fender was 30 minutes. A hood can be R&R in 15, with 15 more for adjustment. Its only 4 bolts. Wiper nozzles and plumbing take about 3 minutes to R&R. That estimate is right on the money.

 

[Vytas]

Originally posted by NSXnBRLA:
Snip... Unbolt damages parts, bolt up new parts, paint. Snip...

Would you not want to paint the panels off the car? I surely would. No need to deal with masking the car and concerns of overspray. Plus you'll be able to paint the body parts completely including all the edges that may tuck under other panels. If the panels are painted on the car, the paint will only cover the "visible" areas and not every square inch of the body part. I'm very picky. If my NSX got damaged, this is the ONLY way that I would have the car painted. No exceptions.

Vytas

 

[NSXnBRLA]

Thats the best way in a perfect world..however, no matter how much attention you pay at mixing your paint, and no matter how perfect you THINK its going to match, you will be in for a rude awakening if you paint the panels off the car, then bolt them up. If your car was painted 10 years ago, as was NetVipers car (and mine as well) in Japan, a totally different climate, trust me, the paint you mix has a 1 in 10 chance of matching exactly, therefore, you must bolt up the panels (after trimming which takes no time), and paint them as well as blend into the panel next to it, so even if the paint is a shade or 2 off, it will gradually fade into the next panel, and the naked eye will not be as apt to notice the shade difference.

 

[Vytas]

I see your point. The process I described initially was assuming that the paint has already been matched beforehand.

A friend of mine had his green NSX's panel munched and the shop painted the panel off the car. The paint match was perfect. In the bright sunlight or under city lights, I couldn't see any difference in the paint. It looked like a factory job. No overspray anywhere. All the black gaskets between the fender and bumper had no paint on them. Really hard to tell if the panel was a repaint.

NetViper, I hope you get a quality repair and your NSX back in action.

Vytas