[s-cars] S4 Smashed

Thu Sep 4 21:59:29 EDT 2003

Chris,

BTW, I read it that some other stolen car was on the joyride and Karl's
parked car was collateral damage in the incident. If this is so, then the
insurance company may have a third party to go after- not that that third
party has anything to offer.  I have a long-standing judgement against a
wrongful party and that doesn't mean I'll ever see anything like real $$$.

Doug L

-----Original Message-----
From: s-car-list-admin at audifans.com
[mailto:s-car-list-admin at audifans.com]On Behalf Of chris chambers
Sent: Thursday, September 04, 2003 4:38 PM
To: karl at matthias.org; s-car-list at audifans.com
Subject: Re: [s-cars] S4 Smashed

Karl,

I am presently having my 93 S4 repainted due to paint damage, there is
no bodywork to be done, just paint work. The estimate for the repairs
came to over $4,700, and this was without replacing any body parts, or
repairing any sheatmetal. There is no way they are going to fix your
car and repaint it at the amount you quoted.

I would find an Audi dealership (or a dealer recommended body shop)that
does body work and get an estimate. I believe they are low balling you
big time!

As for the transmission, sure it was probably caused by somebody speed
shifting it like the mechanic described...the individual that did it
was the thief that took your car on the joy ride. I am sure you have
more than one witness that can testify to the fact that the car drove
perfectly fine before it was stolen. They way it was driven around the
neighborhood indicates the way it was treated.

Get your own estimate, and don't give in! They may need to be reminded
that this is expensive paint, and that the car will have to be
completely stripped and repainted so that it will all match. Also
remind them that while the shop can do their best to provide you with a
quality paint job, it will still be second best to the factory paint
job.

Don't let them just touch up damaged parts, they will try to push for
that. Also beware that they will want the body shop to tape off parts
rather then remove them. They have to put the car back into the shape
it was before it was stolen. This includes a paint job that all body
panels match with no feathering in the paint to try and hide the
repair. If they try to spot paint the car it won't match, not on this
pearl paint.

Is the car financially repairable, maybe...maybe not. Find the best
body/frame shop and have them inspect the car. If the frame is bent too
much you may not be able to repair it.

Bottom line, you do not have to accept their estimate. You can insist
on an independant 3rd party providing an estimate. You do not have to
have it repaired at the shop they recommend. They will try to minimize
their costs as much as possible. Be polite but firm, if you have photos
of the car before the wreck use them as evidence to the condition of
the car.

If they don't seem to want to make a reasonable offer to repair your
car you have the right to go to arbitration. They do not want to have
to go that route, they lost all capability of negotiating a settlement
then.

Hope this has helped, I would be glad to help further but I am getting
married tomorrow and will be off on my honeymoon. Please feel free to
keep me informed, I will be glad to offer any advice I can.

Chris
--- "Karl N. Matthias" <karmat at matthias.org> wrote:
>
> Hey listers--
>
> I have a pearl white 1993 S4 which I bought in May and have been very
> much
> enjoying.  I parked it on the street overnight about 2 weeks ago,
> around
> the corner from my fiancee's house in a nice suburb of Columbus, OH,
> and
> someone decided to steal a car and joy-ride it around her
> neighborhood
> crashing into anything which happened to be in the way.  The police
> figure
> my car was hit at about 50mph in a side-swipe 3/4 impact that
> caved-in
> both driver's side doors and tore a huge hole in the rear door.  The
> B-pillar looks a little bent, and the rear door is kind of bunched-up
> and
> wrapped around it.  Every panel on that side was hit except the rear
> one,
> and the rocker is dented, too.  The wheel was hit, and the mirror is
> toast.  After all that, I tried to drive it and the transmission
> won't
> really go into 1st or 2nd gear, without a lot of effort.
>
> I am now dealing with the insurance @$$holes who insist that the
> transmission couldn't possibly have been damaged in this way by the
> impact.  I called 9 shops in town (including both dealers--who
> wouldn't
> take it) before I found one who would actually open the box for the
> insurance company to examine.  The insurance jerks are insisting that
> they
> see the damage and "determine whether or not it was caused by the
> accident" before they will pay to have it repaired.  Like the guy who
> comes to look at it will know what could or could not be caused by an
> accident...  And he's predisposed to thinking it's not from the
> accident.
> So the shop that's looking at it tells me "I just don't see how this
> problem could have been caused by an impact, it sounds like a bent
> shift
> fork from power shifting."  I don't power shift and the car worked
> fine,
> without a single transmission problem before the impact.  Anyone had
> to
> deal with this mess before?  Any advice, evidence, etc is much
> appreciated!
>
> On a side note... The car was in pristine condition when I bought it,
> with
> 110,000 miles but more or less factory condition.  The leather seats
> were
> a little scuffed, but everything else was flawless.  The insurance
> company
> thinks all the damage (minus the transmission) can be repaired for
> $3450
> which includes used doors since new ones are not available.  I think
> they
> are high on something.
>
> Any help, advice, experience with the transmission issue is greatly
> appreciated.  Thanks!
>
> Karl
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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> S-CAR-List at audifans.com
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=====
93 Audi S4 silver, 93 Audi S4 black, 85 VW Scirocco 2.0 not stock :-)
73 Porsche 914 2.0 (67,000 original miles, stock), 67 GMC Long Step pickup
95% complete frame off restoration, 86 VW Scirocco Wolfsburg

"If things seem really under control, you're not going fast enough.  -
Mario Andretti"

"It's not how much you make, but how much you don't spend!"

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