How bad is this?

Phreakish said
I'm no insurance expert, but have been through a few claims. I've typically faced two possibilities. I can send the car to the shop the insurance will pay for and cross my fingers that it's done right. Or collect several estimates for the repairs and get a decent estimate of the actual car value (recent valid sales on eBay or through classic auto dealers) - then get a check from the insurance company and handle it yourself.

Route 1 can suck because nothing is settled until the car is done, and "done" is relative to the shops involved. Route 2 can suck because if you take a check and find more damage, you're not getting a second check... So make sure any estimate is very thorough. Pay for the estimate(s) if possible to ensure they're proper thorough.

Just my $.02.

Thanks. I've been going through old threads to see how other people have approached this situation and am starting to see this pattern. I don't really want to settle for whatever chain body shop their insurance co. will send me to, so I've already started shopping around and collecting some part numbers, proof of value, and whatnot. I plan on taking it to a couple of different classic/resto body shops here in the next couple of weeks for estimates so that I can lay out exactly what needs to be done whenever I get the claims adjuster knocking on my door. There shouldn't be any hassle on their part given the circumstances, but I want to be prepared.