Unfortunately, it WAS.:mad:


Either a brand new one, or a junkyard one ... Made in China.


~~~

The car has been in the shop since 6/29 and the Insurance company stopped paying the 80% of the car rental today bcause their $500 limit was reached; I turned in the car Friday....


The problem, it seems is that while the car is 95% finished and ready to go, NOBODY can find a replacement bumper skin, to prep, shoot and hang.

The body shop has been heroic in its efforts to find one.

Ford Motor Company of USA and even Canada don't have any that they are willing to sell, and won't even let one go on an "emergency" basis.

So far, a used one can't even be located in a junkyard, either, so the car continues to sit (fortunately, under a carport, that they have --- safe from bird bombs and sunbaking)..



What a clusterfork.


I have paid premiums since 1987 to this Insurance company and now look what happens.


When this is all over, it is time to go to a broker or multiline Insurance agent and start reading different auto insurance policies to see if any afford decent coverage in their policies at a reasonable price.

I have had some training in the law so to a point I can actually understand contract language like that.


Though it may be a waste of time, probably every company screws the customers with regards to parts and rental allowances like this one did to me.



(I cannot imagine the parts procurement problems 5-7 years from now on this car, which now is only a year old with 15,000 miles on it.):eek:

Well, I pay insurance so I can get a fender bender fixed with less hassle; and so I can tell my wife or daughter that it's no big deal if she bends up a car a little. Many people pay insurance because they have borrowed money to buy the car and the lender requires coverage. I don't bother with rental car coverage because I have enough cars, and retail cars are pretty cheap.

For old cars, the insurance is very cheap but they are not going to pay more than book value for a total lose and they are not going to pay for OEM body parts. As a result, many of us are really self insured when it comes to a major accident.

Regarding the original post, is it the insurance company's fault that the shop pulled the car apart before they verified that the required part was available?

I pay insurance for medical coverage, cars are cheap compared to that. I don't even carry collison on my cars, its cheaper just to pay out of pocket.

I'm surprised they can't find a bumper cover for such a common car.



http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MERCURY-GRAND-MARQUIS-06-08-FRONT-BUMPER-COVER-07-NEW-/270333476496?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3ef1217e90

http://www.*********.com/gbproducts/AC/18707-04020916.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=ff&utm_term=2006-2009+Mercury+Grand+Marquis+Bumper+Cover+Front+Action+Crash+Capa+Certified+Platinum+Plus+06-09+Mercury+Bumper+Cover&utm_content=AYY&utm_campaign=*********+Google+Base


Not only did the shop screw up and take the cover off, they suck at finding parts. Took zero effort to find these.

I think we are spoiled because we can get anything we need for our cars.

Nah his shop just sucks, its a freaken Ford their are a billion of them on the road. Their not used to dealing with Fords probably, if it was a Porsche 959 they could probably source the part.

I was wondering the same thing--Do you work for the insurance industry? No one has to listen to an insurance company saying we wont use oem parts because your car is x years old-thats Bull s**T.

I have a LOT of experience repairing Mercurys like yours I did work at The largest reconditioner of Fords Lincolns and Mercurys in the world for 5 yrs-til 08- as a bodyman-the Manheim DFW auto auction,(Also fixed many many Mercedes for Park place Merc) they have the biggest contract-or had with Ford/hertz -Hertz owned by Ford. I suspect the shop guy you are dealing with is co-ordinating with the game playing-do it every day and had the routine planned even before disassembling your car-thats how they/and insurance co tag team unwitting customers..

I tend to get radical at insurance company monkey buisness-and If I were in your position right now I would have already contacted one of the local news programs wh has the -whats bothering you- guy and dished up as much bad exposure on a nitely news segment of the shop misconduct and that insurance companys as I possibly could. And Ford too for not getting you the parts for THEIR baby.

We got boxes and boxes every day of new FMC bumper covers and I really cannot see them not being able to supply you with the parts needed even though 2010 is the end of the road for the big RWD platform (The platform by the way was paid for in the first Regan Term)--Yes the actual platform your car is riding on is the same as a late 70s ltd with newer suspension upgrades/parts. From my understanding Ford in particular has its own urethane bumper cover recycling system-production facility and i never heard of anything being produced in china. And YES they will be putting new covers on at that sweat shop for YRS still to come-as long as hertz is still supplying the cars to their customers.
So Jim google ford dealers in the DFW area and call some in the central metroplex and see if we have them here, I dont know which dealer-or if Ford had a direct pipeline pumping in from a warehouse, try Payton Wright ford in Grapevine,Tx.

Nope, but my wife does. They will give you whatever the policy says that they will give you. Read you policy; if you don't understand it, sit with you agent and have them explain it to you.

You mean that you have documentation and an agent to explain it to you? Kinda of a new concept. Wonder if that will stick around. :rolleyes:

Yeah, after working in the insurance industry, I make sure to go over all the fine print with the agent that is writing the business.

It seems that the ones that are in a hurry to get the policy quickly and cheaply are the ones that are unsatisfied in the event of a loss. I made it a point when I wrote insurance to take the time, meet with the client, and to go over the policy in detail, and to make sure they knew what they were getting.

For those that had something special or interesting, I made sure to cover the coverages that would provide them with new oem parts, and for the very interesting cars, I made sure to get them in touch with someone who could appriase the car. Hell, I do not skimp on coverage when it comes to insurance, as I have been in the situation more than once where I needed it to cover my ass for doing something stupid!

My wagons got an appraisal, and I carry full coverage on it (its pretty modified - and also have the coverage for new OEM parts). My 500SEL has full coverage, and once its fixed, I am going to get it appraised. Unless you have collector car insurance, a standard policy with a valuation should be backed up by an appraisal.



But yeah, just my $.02 lol



With that said, the cost of insurance on an AMG is nuckin futs! :cool:

Thank you panZZer this is an amazing look into the INSIDE of the FoMoCo business of parts supplying...

If the bumper is not on the car by Tuesday, though even oe has not been found, and delivered and painted and prepped by the, this will be plan 2.

Good advice, all of it.


Couple of years ago I sniffed around after my '91 AMG Mercedes was restored, looking for insurance. No local company around here was interested, even AAA said it was only worth $5,000 and they DID NOT WANT THE BUSINESS ANYWAY.

I went and had it appraised, and the appraisal came back at $22,500, I wa astounded.

For a rarer older Mercedes Benz I definately recommend a full appraisal. Should not cost over $350 at the most.

after the appraisal, were you able to obtain insurance on the AMG?

An elderly man backed into my clk about two years and State Farm fixed it, they thought that I was done with them. I asked their agent about deminished value, he acted like he didn't know what I was talking about. When I got done with them, I got another couple of thousand out of them. :D I have more insurance stories. :D

Diminished Value
 

The concept of "diminished value" is a VERY good one to use and apply in a physical damage auto claim.

Hardly any policyholders know about this and of COURSE all auto insurance companies would LOVE to keep it that way. They hope ALL policyholders would be best off left ignorant about it.

It could add up to some serious money they would have to pay.

Over and over.

It is a pretty easy concept for almost ANY adult to comprehend.