Forgot to mention - there are three ways to repair damaged door.

Method 1 - bang out with a hammer and use buckets of filler. This is cheapest way to fix this, but once filler exceeds 1/4 inch thickness you risk later cracking due to panel flex (e.g. door slamming). So this can result in warranty work or redo.

Method 2 - replace sheeting by tapping out old welds and welding a new sheet on the old door frame. This tends to be faster as you don't have to remove all wiring, worry about door alignment and so on. The downside of this method is that welds always rust in time and it is easier to tell that it was fixed as panel fitment around thin parts will never look factory.

Method 3 - remove the damaged door, get a new door shell (entire door minus seals, glass, and electronics), paint this shell off the car and then mount it and transfer over "guts". The downside to this method that it is more "mechanic" work like transfer of moving components and wiring - not something every paint shop employee would be able to do.

Ensure you get Method 3.

As you can tell, I have been through similar ordeals in the past...

 

From what I understood from the incident description, the door in question was forced forward beyond normal operation and may have tweaked the forward door pillar and hinges and all that. Unquestionably, the entire door shell is too damaged to recover, the hinges are at least tweaked, and the support most likely is twisted out of alignment. The front wing/fender bent significantly at the trailing edge, which would have rippled the outer skin and twisted the attachment points.
I'd think the only repair is a new wing, new door and hinges, and significant adjusting of the forward door support. I'm surprised the estimate wasn't higher than it is.

 

Excellent observations, Cee Jay, especially about hidden damage. Ted should be glad that the estimate wasn't higher. But ...

That's what supplements are for; they allow the body shop to continue to complete the repairs after they find hidden damage not seen or considered by the adjuster. Once your insurance company has sunken $X into the repair, they're unlikely to total it, particularly since they're going to subrogate against the other party's insurance.

Ted should be glad that his car has been approved to be repaired. If the estimate was higher, it probably would have been totaled.

 

Because all of the panels are aluminum the only way to fix it properly is to replace all that is damaged. The major concern here would be a A pillar and the door mount area. These repairs are specialized as it requires both aluminum welding as well as special glues to attach panels.

 

I hate to say this but...

(And I'm sure I will be unpopular and most likely in the minority, or probably both...)

"When an open car door is struck by a passing motorist, cyclist, motorcycle or any other legal mode of transportation, it is the fault of the driver who opened the door."

 

Driving in Los Angeles have gotten so bad lately. There has been a wreck on my commute several times a week since the beginning of the year (sometimes twice a day and sometimes right in front of me). I get into a near-miss at least once a week. People cut off buses and trucks, then the trucks threaten to ram them or speed up, go around the offending vehicle, and then cut them off in retaliation (I saw this yesterday morning). It's really getting out of control and shame on that woman for lying about how it happened. She was probably looking down at her phone.

 

Jagrag,
I don't know on what you are basing your opinion regarding fault, but it's not accurate. And in my case, when I opened my door and put my foot out onto the pavement, I had obviously first checked traffic coming up behind me before starting. The woman who hit me, turned right from an alley directly behind my car (less than 5 feet). I was close to the curb and my opened door did not even protrude out of my clearly marked parking space within a clearly marked parking lane. She was not in a driving lane and I opened my door into her. When I opened my door first, I checked my rear view mirror to make sure oncoming traffic was not an issue, and she was still in the alley. I could tell she had cut the turn too sharply and was going to hit me. I'm fortunate to still have a left leg. She was at fault and I will prove it to hers and my insurance.

 

I assume the police accident report will support your statement. Case closed.

 

tberg, I do hope you are found not to be at fault here in this case. However I believe it will be very difficult to prove your side of the case/facts.

I am simply providing my legal opinion, and it certainly is not the final say in this matter. I look forward to hearing the final outcome, which will hopefully be a positive one for you.

 

Every case involving a door is open and shut.

https://www.quora.com/If-I-ran-into-...-whos-at-fault

https://www.bellinghamherald.com/new...222731850.html

https://distasiofirm.com/who-is-at-f...r-door-is-hit/

A dashcam is your best witness.

 

I guess it all goes back to the accident report. If he opened the door to on coming traffic they will claim his fault but if the door was open and the woman then hit the car then it would be her fault. In NY it is mandatory that any accident over $1000 est must be reported to the police and an accident report be filled out based on the evidence at the scene. It almost sounds like the woman's position on how the accident took place is what is in the report. How the police wrote it up will determine what the insurance company will do.

 

Since you are fixing the car regardless it will all be good in the end. Stick to your guns, subrogate the fight to your carrier and if you lose so be it move on. I once had a company car with 5,000 miles catch on fire in the engine compartment with normal driving, in the end the company insurance had to pay to fix as independent investigators could not find a cause. Treated it like I was in an accident and had to file claim, argued with the insurance company to keep up the fight but they only went so far.

Here in Florida even if you aren't at fault they raise your rates. Or not? Hell I can't tell, they raise the rate every year whether there is a claim against you, no claim, claim against someone else, neighbor has claim, whatever! Who knows what the impact will be to your rates if any should it remain as-is.

 

In this case the door was *already* open - he says his foot was already on the ground when his car was hit. I guess it will hinge (no pun intended) on the exact moment the door was opened. If the door is already open when the collision happens, but it was opened when the colliding vehicle was so close that it was impossible for the driver to avoid the door, then it's the fault of the person who opened the door. If the door was already open in good time and someone drives into it, then they are not paying attention and they will be at fault. As always, with legal matters, nothing is ever cut and dried. I hope tberg gets everything sorted to his complete satisfaction.

This is a good example of where a front and rear facing dashcam could help. I have a front camera but the wiring was too complicated for me to install a rear facing camera on my XKR so I didn't bother. Maybe that is a decision I should reconsider.

 

This sort of claim is always a challenge. Over 20 years ago when I was inexperienced with accidents, The car next to me on the right decided to change lanes and ran into me. Police came out and the driver admitted his mistake. The officer had us exchange insurance info. I immediately contacted his insurance but seeing as this had just happened they refused to open a claim without having a copy of the accident report. I waited a few days until I was able to provide them with a copy which of course they refused and said they had to obtain it themselves from the agency. Another few days went by and the newest excuse was they were not able to contact their insured for his side of the story. Out of frustration I contacted my insurance and explained the details. They opened a claim with the intent to subrogate. To make a long story shorter. My insurance contacted me and said the guy who hit me had filed a claim against my insurance and said that I hit him! I was furious but as Florida is a no-fault state and the officer who had filled out the report did NOT identify ANYONE as being at fault my insurance said they would deny his claim against me but they would have to pay for my repairs. It was quite frustrating. On a positive note, the exact same type of accident happened to me several years later. The guy who hit me in the passenger side provided me a copy of his insurance card and I called 911. The dispatcher asked if anyone was hurt and I said no and she said well it will be about an hour before they can send anyone out. I contacted his insurance on the spot and they spoke with him and he admitted his fault and everything was taken care of as it should.

 

I don't have a dashcam, so pardon my ignorance, would it have captured the video of his foot out the door or the door, is it a 360 fish eye type deal? If not I believe it would solve nothing in the he said/she said scenario.

 

Oh wow! I'm so glad you weren't hurt! This could have been so much worse. Keeping my fingers crossed your kitty will be better than ever soon!

 

I got hit by a little old lying woman about 6 months ago. I now have a dash cam mounted which has a 150 degree lens (front only) mounted. She hit me on the left driver's door and left front fender (wing).

 

Hi all--

I don't mean to hijack this thread too much, but I, too, just had an accident in my 2010 XKR. Or rather, my wife did. She was sitting at a red light, and the other driver, by her own account distracted by a hands-free conversation she was having, side-swiped our car's driver's-side rear quarter panel on her way to the left turn lane next to my wife. The other driver admitted fault, and her insurance company, which happens to be the same as ours (State Farm), also is treating the case as 100% her fault. We live in Seattle, Washington State, USA.

The challenge is this: My SA at a Jag Dealer I have known for long time recommended a body shop, one of the two Jaguar-approved repair shops in the area. So I had the car towed to that shop. In summary, the rear quarter panel is toast, but there is also damage to the rear bumper, and, far worse, there is damage to the left rear wheel well, which is apparently welded to the frame. The preliminary estimate for repair is $25-$30,000, supposedly. The body shop estimator says that they have particular problems with State Farm as a carrier, too.

Although I have not heard back officially from State Farm, their own estimator/appraiser tells me it is very likely they are going to total it. They have been taking their sweet time to come to this conclusion, however, and meanwhile the body shop is charging me $100/day in "storage." The car is in excellent condition, 40,000 miles, wrapped with Expel Ultimate (and with an ECU Group pulley and tune, incidentally). I anticipate a real battle with State Farm on valuation. Does anybody have any suggestions on what I can do to maximize the total loss payment?

Incidentally, when I told the bad news to my wife, to my great surprise she burst into tears. I've always been the car guy in our household, (the tweaked XKR, a couple Dinan M cars, and a heavily modified 930 over the last few years) which she has appeared to tolerate to the best of her abilities, and I knew she liked this car and considered it hers. But I did not know how much, apparently. So I've located a 2014 XKR, same colors inside and out, with 5,000 fewer miles on it, and have secured it with a deposit. I will surprise her with it when all is said and done. But in the meantime, I have a sneaking suspicion that State Farm is going to try to rip me off on a settlement payment...

 

But pleased to hear no one was hurt. Good job on sourcing a replacement so quickly. I'd do the same.
Cheers.

 

Also glad everyone is ok and you are on to a replacment. I did the same, our first XK was totaled in the first year and I bought another straight away.