VW roof and insurance

[Roger M. Woodbury]

I have never heard of a convertable top that was intended to last the life
of the car, so very much like tires, they are a highly depreciable item.

VW branded tops absolutely cost a lot more than a generic product.  You have
to pay for the brand mark...VW...which is considered by VW to be worth a lot
of money.  Matter of opinion, of course.

If an insurance company adjuster....an employee of an insurance
company....steers you to a less expensive, but otherwise identical part may
be doing you a favor, by covering the entire loss under the policy.
However, IF that adjuster is sending you to a different body shop, then
there might be some ulterior motive in making the suggestion.  Often
insurance companies have special arrangements with specific body shops that
give the insurance company a far different rate for any specific job due to
the volume that the body shop gets in return for maintaining certain
practices that the insurance company wants.  Instead of "flat rates" for
replacement and repainting of a fender, for example, the body shop bills the
"flat rate minus 15%" to that insurance company.  Not uncommon, and not at
all ethical.

The insurance company is required under most contracts to provide the
insured with replacement cost less depreciation, using "like kind and
quality" products....which sometimes translates into non-branded, or OEM
products.  This also means a lot of times that in order to maintain the
purity of the product, the additional cost will have to be borne by the
policyholder, who elects tospend more money for that particular part.  A
good non insurance example of this, is continuing to buy the same kind of
battery that came in the car.  Not too many people replace the Varta battery
that came in the VW, with another one, at 140% of the cost of the exact
duplicate available as a Die Hard, or Interstate battery.

There are lots and lots of stories about unscrupulous adjusters in cohoots
with body shops, however the ultimate choice about who does the work on the
car really rests with the car's owner.  An adjuster will normally gain the
same price for work performed at any body shop.  The only example that I
have EVER seen when this didn't happen, was with a lovely Bentley that was
"keyed"....only one body shop in the state would actually undertake the
delicate, and very specific procedure required to fix the damage...it wasn't
price but availability of the technical knowledge to handle the lacquer
refinishing without redoing the entire car.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Steven Addy" <steveaddy at earthlink.net>
To: "Roger M. Woodbury" <rmwoodbury at downeast.net>
Sent: Wednesday, November 13, 2002 7:38 PM
Subject: Re: VW roof and insurance


> Roger
> Thanks for the response. The uncertainties primarily relate to the tops.
> Obviously, the insurance company is using the price to steer us toward
> the aftermarket parts.  The questions that must be answered -  Are the
> tops really made by the same company and are they truly identical or
> nearly so? The insurance company says they are; the price says they're
> not. If they're different, how are they different? Specific information
> relating to VW tops would be helpful.
>
> As for the practice of depreciating parts. A top is not a wear item like
> a tire and there's the rub, because they're treating it as if it is. IMO,
> a top is a body part that is expected to last as long as the remainder of
> the car. It should be treated as such by the insurance company, that is,
> repair the car properly or total it.  An insurance company that steers
> you to cheaper parts may be doing you a favor or may be suspect.
> Unfortunately, before the fact, you have little to go on except the word
> of people you don't know. Anyone who isn't suspicious about insurance
> adjusters and their connections to body shops and junk yards hasn't been
> paying attention.
>
> regards
> Steve Addy
>