[scotscan]

I was recently in a minor collision. I was turning around on a road on which cars were parked on both sides, I backed up into the front door of a car which I believe may have been parked in front of a drive-way. We agreed to settle out of court. The other driver came with different estimates, and I chose the lowest at $1,600. The car is now repaired and the damage is now closer to $2,300. The extra cost was apparently to repair the window. The collision occurred near the front of the rear door, and if the door was not functional due to my accident, its repair should have been included in the estimate, which it was not. I don't feel that I liable for its repair, if it was not included in the estimate.

[ScottGem]

Sorry, you are wrong. A body shop has to estimate damage based on an eyeball of the vehicle. Often there may be hidden damage that is exposed when the vehicle is taken apart. It doesn't surprise me that the window mechanism could have been damaged by your actions and that wouldn't have been apparent until they removed the door lining.

What I would suggest you try is offerring to split it with the car owner, but if that doesn't fly and he takes you to court, you will lose.

[twinkiedooter]

Estimates are just that, estimates. Hidden damage is just that, hidden damage. Sorry, you owe for the car's repair.

[Fr_Chuck]

No, you are liable for all the damage you do, Estimates needed to be reviewed, did some include this, but if in the repair, they find hidden damage, you are liable if your action caused the damage.

[nikosmom]

Scott, Twinkie, and Chuck are all right! I will also add that you should keep in mind that when you cause damage to someone else's car, they are entitled to have it repaired any where they choose. That being said, they didn't necessarily have to let you choose to go with the lowest estimate. Lucky for you they did. But oftentimes, more damage is discovered after the car is disassembled.

[ScottGem]

I will also add that you should keep in mind that when you cause damage to someone else's car, they are entitled to have it repaired any where they choose. That being said, they didn't necessarily have to let you choose to go with the lowest estimate.

I disagree with this. If you or your insurance is paying they may be required to go to an approved shop. Especial;ly if you are paying, you do get to choose. If they prefer a different shop, then you don't have to pay anything more than the lowest estimate, unless additional damages are found.

[nikosmom]

I disagree with this. If you or your insurance is paying they may be required to go to an approved shop. Especial;ly if you are paying, you do get to choose. If they prefer a different shop, then you don't have to pay anything more than the lowest estimate, unless additional damages are found.

Being in the insurance biz, we do have certain shops that we recommend because of an agreement with those shops (ie. Ease of rental set-up, guarantee of the work done, etc). But in the end, the claimant can have his/her car repaired at a shop of their own choosing and we cannot "require" someone to use a shop on our list. One way to look at this, if the person were driving a brand new car, they may feel more comfortable going somewhere their dealer suggests. This doesn't mean they'd get a blank check for the repairs. Now once the adjuster looks at the car and if the estimates are vastly different, the claimant will get a "median" payout (if they decided not to have the shop paid directly). However, the job of the insurance adjuster is to make sure whichever shop the owner chooses, that damages/repairs unrelated to the accident aren't tacked on to the final bill. Since you chose to deal with this outside of your insurance company, you don't have this extra protection and you just have to take their word for it. Once all is said and done, regardless of which shop they choose, as long as the bill reflects only repairs of damages directly related to your fender bender, you or your insurance company are responsible for paying it.