When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
A couple days before Christmas a lady ran into my 1995 jaguar xjs with her truck. Does anyone recommend a body shop in Arizona to bring the car to?
also this is my first time filing a claim. I filed a claim with the person at faults insurance company which was Allstate. I did a “virtual assist” (FaceTime) to show the damage on the vehicle. I received an estimate of $4,500 to repair the car. Does anyone have any experience with doing a diminished value claim or anything like that? Disappointed that my mint condition 77k miles xjs got ruined.
Tire, wheel, rear bumper cracked, front door damage, rear quarter panel damage.
As for me I wouldn't accept the 'Faults' Insurance Company estimate, as I would want the repair carried out by a Jaguar Main Dealer or the Body Shop of my Choice and then you may need a separate Claim for any increase in your own insurance
Where an increase in Insurance can often happen in the (UK) even if you were not at fault
First of all, before you accept anything, I would go to maybe three body shops and get a written estimate. $4,500, to me, sounds like it's in the right ballpark, but there's only one way to find out. Arizona has no shortage of body shops. If you want to go to a Jaguar dealership and ask them which ones they use, that wouldn't be a bad idea. There's nothing inherently unusual or different about this car that would require anything unusual or special....other than sourcing a new body part. It will have to be a good used one, that you might have to help locate.
Secondly, I have no experience with diminished value claims, but unless it was registered as a classic car, or something like that, it might be difficult to prove any significant loss was made. Still worth asking about, but would probably require a lawyer. Will that lawyer offset that diminished value amount...most likely.
So Sorry to hear about your Car but in the (UK) they would probably 'write her off' as an uneconomic repair, where depending upon the Insurance, they might even offer to pay you out and allow you to keep the Salvage, which may be a good option to consider, as from the Photo there doesn't appear to be any Structural damage
Where that being the case, you may be able to have her repaired for a fraction of the estimate you were given and end up sort of 'having your Cake and eat it' as they say
Thank you for the replies. I do see that sng berrat has an aftermarket rear quarter panel for sale. I wonder what would be better a used oem part or a new aftermarket part?
I have been down this road several times and the first thing you need to understand is that insurance companies are in the business of making money and not necessarily paying out the amount of money that it may take to fix the car properly. I just had a low mileage, mint condition Volvo 240 totalled when I was hit from behind by a driver who was texting. The insurance company initially offered me $3,800.00 for the car. When it was all said and done they paid me $12,500.00. I got this amount because I knew the process, knew I didn't have to accept their offer, knew how to value my car and knew to threaten with state arbitration (Massachusetts) if they wouldn't agree to a more reasonable amount for the car. The insurance companies get away with what they do because they count on people thinking they have their best interests in mind when in fact they want to pay the least possible.
Called three body shops. Two of them said they will only work with new body panels and not used ones. The third said they are hesitant to take the convertible top off because they are hard to align.
They did mention they could possibly pull the metal and use a little bit of bondo to repair compared to pulling the convertible top and welding a new quarter panel. What are the disadvantages of that?
It's 'bondo' which if not done right has a tendency to crack and absorb moisture - polyester based resins are hygroscopic, although I will at a push use it i do so only to fill minor defects. You cannot get a new complete panel easily, they do come up but it is getting less and less frequent. Although that damage can be pulled out it will take a real craftsman to get that back to halfway decent (creases on curved sections are insanely difficult to recover) so they need to step up - there is nothing hard about stitching in a section for a decent bodyshop, the SNG Barrett body sections are new.
Decided to use the top rated body shop local to me. They said they would take the job through insurance. Waited over two months for my drop off date for them to fix the car.
Today when I drop off the car, they say they won’t be able to work on it because they only work with brand new panels. They do not use “used” panels because they cannot guarantee the work. 😤 they couldn’t tell me this two months ago?
Anyways other body shops I’ve contacted have said the same thing. So how the heck do I go about getting this thing fixed?!
Those kind of shops are FOS - they care only about replacing stuff they aren't really sufficiently skilled to create panels or panel sections from scratch, the warranty excuse is so much BS on a 30+ year old car - you need an old school repairer that knows how to shape metal - problem is no insurer will pay what that costs. There is a chance that you could track down a 'new' panel, they do show up occasionally but off the shelf they aren't.
This next statement is contentious I guess but this is why owners of classics and older cars need to learn how to fix them, most modern body shops are like modern mechanics - they know only how to replace things and that depends on them being able to get off the shelf items to fit. To some extent I understand why since there are cost, resource considerations and most businesses these days don't want a job that takes weeks because nobody will pay the bill.
Personally I'd be looking for a section from a donor vehicle given the complex curves in that rear quarter but that's only because I lack the skills and tools (aka an English wheel and shrinker) to create right now. It should be possible to push most of that out, there will be some creasing and stretching that could pose a challenge especially on the arch - but modern shops lack the skills in my opinion because the 'modern' apprenticeships just don't teach them. This situation will only get worse.
There will be many shops that will do this work. I have had no issues finding shops in the Washington DC area, I suspect you are looking at large shops. You're going to have to find a much smaller shop. Check Yelp.
Now whether they'll work with insurance, I don't know.
I did source a used quarter panel for them to use. But the shop said some mumbo jumbo about the factory piece includes 10 more inches of rocker panel etc and that it being a used part they can’t use it. They said a restoration shop would be able to use it.
Body shop said they will “work up” the insurance estimate. Don’t have any experience with this kind of stuff but will give you guys updates as I figure out what’s gonna happen with the car.
I know all stories are different, but the body shops in the DC area I have used in the past had no issues using parts I gave them, only because they knew it would take them much longer to find on their own. They do have databases, but it takes time and the responses aren't instantaneous, and you won't find all the parts you need at one place.
These were smaller shops. I assumed any large shops would turn me down because of parts. Ideally the body shops that are run in generic industrial business parks seem to be best. You'll find tons of them once you know where to look. Make sure they have a good Yelp following, and you should be good to go.
help with insurance claim/Arizona body shop
