WHY SHIT IS SO EXPENSIVE

 

WHY SHIT IS SO EXPENSIVE

                                                                  ALL FIXED UP

OK, I apologize, that should be WHY STUFF…It is just that I am so incensed!

“What Happened, Cranky?”

I’ll tell you.

A few weeks ago, while racing from the Bowlero parking lot as I was a bit late for league warm up, I realized my key fob had fallen out of my coat and was lost in my car’s interior.

In my haste and panic when I could not find the fob, I pulled open the passenger side door to check if the fob had somehow flown into the passenger side.  (I eventually found it barely peeking underneath a seatbelt anchor cover.) When I yanked on the passenger door, it grabbed onto the front side car panel and buckled it.  The door would not operate without effort due to the door panel obstruction.

WTF?

I had no idea how this happened, but apparently the panel had been pushed ½ inch or less backwards where the passenger door would not open unobstructed.  There was no apparent damage to the car otherwise.  Not a scratch or a dent.

I had my friend who is the head mechanic for the local AAA and a borderline genius (just trust me) look at the issue.  I was informed that yes, somehow the panel had been pushed.  He estimated it would cost from $1500 to $2000 to repair.

The first shop I took it to said “Somewhere from $1500 to $2000 to fix.”

I called the insurance company.

“How did the accident happen?”

“I have no idea.”

“When did it happen?”

“Somewhere between end of March and beginning of May.  Possibly someone bumped me in a parking lot…I have no idea.”

I was told the shop I took it to had no relationship with that insurance company.

I took the car to an accredited collision shop that has a working arrangement with my insurance company.

I have $500 deductible, so what ever the cost, that is all I stood to lose.  Truth be told, if the cost was all coming out of my pocket I would have asked,

“Just pull the panel, bang out the crumple, adjust it back where it does not impede my door, and I will spray some paint over the damage so it won’t rust.” 

Probably cost me $750-$800.  With the deductible, I left it to the discretion of the insurance company and the body shop.

I was without my beloved Harvey (Honda HR-V) for two weeks.  Yesterday it was done and I picked it up.

The car is beautiful, no dings, no dents, years of minor scratches were buffed out and the car was completely detailed. 

It is now gorgeous, not that I really care that much…scratches and dents do not really bother me that much, they are inevitable.

“So why are you so incensed? It only cost you $500 and they did a great job!”

The insurance company was billed $7500 to fix a dented ½ inch moved front panel.

$7500!!!

OK, no more than $500 dollars of skin off my teeth, but damn, no wonder insurance is so dang expensive.

The shop charged for every screw and face mask, every rubber glove and every second of labor.  They adjusted shit that did not need adjusting and they painted stuff that did not need painting. 

I wonder, did the insurance agent who approved the job get a little extra in his sandwich bag?

Just got me thinking.  Where else does this sort of thing happen?

 

BTW, after further reflection, I am pretty sure the damage was done when Harvey was parked in my tiny garage almost abutted against a cabinet when New Jersey was hit with a 4.9 earthquake the shaking of which pushed Harvey’s panel.

The news reported back on April 5 that the NJ quake shook lots of people up but there was no known damage.

Apparently, they did not know of the $2000 damage to Harvey that was turned into $7500.