manishaudi

Also, in California, you can take your car to any BodyShop you choose too. I have 2 of them, one being my insurance's certified shop, the other being the preferred shop of all the dealerships in the area (Audi, BMW, Ferrari, Porsche, Acura, you get the idea).

I never take it to the other insurer's shop, in my experience they always try to short change you some how. Leaving it with my insurance's body shop, forces them to come to me and examine the car there. Also my insurance's shop is authorized to make most decisions locally, cutting out most of the red-tape on my end.

safelder

Another very good point. You take the car where YOU want to take it -- again, the other driver's insurer can't enforce their contract with their insured against you.

FWIW, I would recommend against using the dealer's bodyshop. I'd try to find a reputable independent shop, which you can often do on the regional forums here.

manishaudi

To clarify, this is an independent bodyshop that a lot of local area dealers go to. They are my backup choice. My family has used them on a couple of occasions, they do good work.

Nutdotnet

That's definitely not totaled. If you have your a body shop that you trust then take it to them. If not, I suggest doing some research and inspecting a few places before deciding who will fix the car.

It's up to you, not the insurance company. For a repair of this size, there's no way I would take it anywhere else but the "best shop in town."

tenspeed

I agree. It's your car. You have a contract with your insurance company that they have to honor.

Are there any more pictures of the damage?

dougpaper

update to the situation.

adjuster looked at the car and determined $6,000.00 in damages, i flipped out and called him. He mentioned that he could only look from the outside and not underneath. His estimated(these are his words) is like looking at a crinkled paper bag, you can see what is on the outside but until you open it up he wouldnt be able to tell any other damage so i will get a supplemental estimate. After speaking with some lawyers and others regardless of the situation with the other party insurance companies are only on the hook to repair the car and that even though it is damaged goods the damage is less and less the longer i own the car. So i will end up with my car again and never feel good about the situation.

In a weird way it makes me understand the pains families go thru when something happens to a family member in a accident.

I guess i should be happy its just a car

AutobahnA6

Best of luck getting the car repaired, thank goodness you were not hurt.

In the past, I have successfully negotiated additional funds based on the depreciation of the vehicle that will now show up in a VIN check as having been wrecked.

dougpaper

It works out that audi and my insurance company use a body shop and the owner lives in my neighborhood. Talked to him today "He made the comment that audi's are built like tanks" he would tear apart everything that could possibly be damaged and repair or replace. I mentioned that rather than having hard feelings down the line he should be as meticulus as possible. His shop offers a lifetime warranty thru the insurer so i do feel better. I will send updates as this sad story unfolds.

dougpaper

Panzer tanks after looking at the picture reminds me of the americans during the war fighting the panzer tanks.

tenspeed

Any updates Doug? Post some pictures of the dismantling. It may be handy for your records to have shots of what lies within the "crumpled bag".