[M2M2M2]

I was the unfortunate victim of deer trickery this week.

Unfortunately, I was also the victim of Progressive bs today.

I got two estimates done by local reputable body shops.

Estimate 1: 5,852.63
Estimate 2: 4,837.34

Progressive: 2,896.75

They want to replace all my damaged pieces with Non-OEM aftermarket parts, and repair my torn, bent and scratched pieces by gluing them together.

He determined scratches on the car by trying to get his fingernail to get into the groove, if he thought it could be wiped off, he licked his thumb and tried to rub it out.

I have the Dynamic Xenon Head lights. He wants to keep one as the OEM part and mismatch it with an aftermarket part from KOI.

They also won't let me have a loaner for free. I must have forgotten to check that box.

He said no one will notice that they are aftermarket and that they are made out the exact same material. Just like the generic versions of soda.

He thinks he can repair the door that has three dents in it and won't open, rather than replace the panel.

The battle has begun. My time occupying a team member will translate to a far greater expense in payroll than complying to a few things they are over-looking.

Stay tuned, pics later when I'm not a mad man.

[positiveions]

yeah that's not going to fly. Just tell him, I'm going to take my case to the State Department of insurance.
Then I'm going to call my lawyer.
Sorry about your accident.

[Fox128i]

This guy is a typical insurance douche. Gluing them together? Seriously? No way in hell would I settle for non OEM.

Sign nothing. Do not talk to this idiot or anyone at Progressive. Hire an attorney. You are being hosed.

As an aside, I do hope you are doing alright.

[IMG]

I had the same issue with Progressive 7 years ago,they wanted to use aftermarket used parts on my car and i asked them to send my the check.
I paid about 4K out of pocket and once the check was cashed.i dropped them and got a different insurance .

Total BS ! sorry man

[AW335]

Our 5 series was in a fender bender a few years ago with Geico, had a similar issue, wanted to use non oem parts. Talked to our agent and he said there is an extra charge for being able to use only oem specific parts. I had never heard of this and told him I was never offered or explained the clause of this in the policy. It only added about $50/yr. I said of course I would have been paying that if it had been offered so added it to my policy and agreed to allow the oem parts. Their original quote was less than $3k, but ended up around $7k. Hopefully they will be understanding and make an exception for you. Good Luck

[kingofthedemo]

You guys need to get State Farm Insurance!

[spanner1751]

Another Progressive insurance horror story:

http://www.glennbeck.com/2012/08/14/...u-your-policy/

[cmyk]

Wow, OP, sorry to hear about your car. Hope you're doing ok.

I have been considering switching insurance companies, and was thinking about going with Progressive but maybe I'll stick with Allstate after all. I recently had over $15,000 in hail damage and Allstate didn't bat an eye at paying for all OEM replacement panels (and by "all" I literally mean every panel except for the bumpers which weren't damaged). For as much as Allstate charges I assume they have this built into the policy somewhere...

[Tom K.]

Originally Posted by cmyk

Wow, OP, sorry to hear about your car. Hope you're doing ok.

I have been considering switching insurance companies, and was thinking about going with Progressive but maybe I'll stick with Allstate after all. I recently had over $15,000 in hail damage and Allstate didn't bat an eye at paying for all OEM replacement panels (and by "all" I literally mean every panel except for the bumpers which weren't damaged). For as much as Allstate charges I assume they have this built into the policy somewhere...

Had a similar experience with Allstate last year when tree limbs from a storm damaged two cars to the tune of $5,000. OEM parts were completely covered (except for the $50 deductibles) and the policy premiums were not increased.

Tom

[dougand]

Do keep us updated on how it goes. I have nothing but loathing for Progressive because of how they treated a friend on a homeowners claim. I've had to claim on my Farmers Insurance many times and have had great experiences there.

[andrewket]

I hate to say it, but OEM vs generic parts is specified in your insurance policy. Progressive is well known for this. You can ask for OEM only part coverage, but will cost you more.

[Tee-Dub]

Maybe it depends on the state but I think you have a right to OEM parts. I know I paid extra for my glass coverage to guarantee factory glass but nothing for body parts. Sounds shady to me plus the aftermarket parts will de-value your car.

[sgtfury40]

OEM parts depend on the state. Also, check your policy. Just because the policy says something, does not mean that it complies with state insurance regulations, or state statutes.

[marshall834]

Interesting. I have Progressive and with my accident (~5K) this past winter they quickly and easily paid for everything, no questions asked.

Hope everything turns out for you!

[tntsE90]

Originally Posted by sgtfury40

OEM parts depend on the state. Also, check your policy. Just because the policy says something, does not mean that it complies with state insurance regulations, or state statutes.

CORRECT. My friend is a Insurance adjuster for a major insurance company and it's he tells me it's perfectly legal for a insurance company to use "aftermarket" parts in repairs. It's usually written in the policy but 99.9% will never read it until it is too late.

The moment you drive that car off that dealer lot, it is considered used and subject to the insurance company's repair policy. The only time you will get OEM parts if IF there was no availability of a aftermarket part.

[DJtoad]

I think most insurance companies specify aftermarket body parts when available unless you pay a surcharge. I pay an extra $50/year per vehicle to Nationwide for OEM parts. Most people don't even realize the repair shop isn't using OEM parts and don't think to ask. But the truth is, after market parts are usually fine and have the same fit and finish. It's very hard to tell most aftermarket parts from OEM. I just like the extra piece of mind knowing my car will remain 100% OEM in the event of an accident.

[John 070]

Everyone here is saying OEM vs. replacement, but nobody has mentioned used parts. That lizard co. will use "used" parts when available.

[N8N]

Nothing wrong with used parts IMHO. That just means that if you need, say, a driver's front fender, they'll take it from a wrecked car in a junkyard that was rear-ended or something. It will still need to be painted to match your car so it'll have fresh paint on it by the body shop. With a lot of older vehicles I'd even PREFER rust free junkyard parts because they may fit better than what NOS parts are out there (what's left is often the end of the run when the tooling was getting worn.) It's also ecologically correct, if you care about stuff - the PC name of "auto recycler" for a junkyard is actually accurate.

I would be wary of new aftermarket though. My dad and I used aftermarket doors on his '73 Chevy pickup when we fixed it up the first time and that was a mistake, should have had rust free door shells shipped from Arizona.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by kingofthedemo

You guys need to get State Farm Insurance!

+1. You get what you pay for. Progressive will "save you $300" in premimum cost, then only to repair the car with non-OEM parts. KOI headlight - LOL.

Get State Farm. They've never even suggested using non-oem parts when I've had repairs done.

[DJtoad]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

+1. You get what you pay for. Progressive will "save you $300" in premimum cost, then only to repair the car with non-OEM parts. KOI headlight - LOL.

Get State Farm. They've never even suggested using non-oem parts when I've had repairs done.

Are you sure they didn't use non-OEM parts? Did you ask? They lost a huge class action lawsuit several years ago for failing to notify customers that they were using aftermarket parts:

A judge in Illinois this week awarded $730 million to State Farm policyholders whose vehicles were repaired with generic replacement parts. This is on top of a $456 million jury award in the same case earlier in the week.

The country's largest auto insurer says it will change the way it does business following that major loss in court. CBS News Consumer Correspondent Herb Weisbaum reports.The company decided Thursday to temporarily suspend the use of "after-market" crash parts. For the time being, State Farm wants repair shops to only use parts made by auto manufacturers. State Farm says it's doing this to eliminate any customer confusion or concern.

Monday, a jury in Illinois ordered State Farm to pay $456 million to past and current policyholders. State Farm cheated its customers by making body shops use cheaper and sometimes inferior copycat parts for crash repairs, the jury decided.

[BOBKUR]

You get what you pay for.

[Clifton]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

+1. You get what you pay for. Progressive will "save you $300" in premimum cost, then only to repair the car with non-OEM parts. KOI headlight - LOL.

Get State Farm. They've never even suggested using non-oem parts when I've had repairs done.

Ahem....you may want to read the fine print. ---> FINE PRINT<---

State Farm will use whatever part is the cheapest and let you pay the difference. In other words, you DON'T get what you pay for.