LightningMcQueen

I had my 2004 A4 (60K miles) at the dealership for some work and the tech got into an accident with it while test drving it. According to them it wasn't their fault because it was weather related. The other car slid into mine because he couldn't stop at the intersection. There was a lot of snow here yesterday. I will wait for the police report to verify that story.

Regardless, and as expected, the dealership is offering to fix the damage and give me a loaner car for the duration. The damage is to the front left corner of the car, ie, headlight, bumper, front quarter panel, hood. It doesn't look crushed into the engine cavity that badly so I'm assuming no engine damage. Also, both airbags deployed and there is some smoke smell in the car. I'm not a autobody expert, but it looks like at least $5K worth of damage.

It's great that the dealership will take care of this, but I'm concerned about any devaluation due to the damage and the subsequent repair and any future side effects. I discussed this on another general forum, and some folks were saying I am entitled to additional reimbursement for the concerns I mentioned above.

What do you guys think? I wanted to ask here since this is AUDI specific forum. Also how do I make sure they don't skim on any repairs?

Ginseng Sniperâ„¢

I believe that it is your right to have any shop of your choice fix it -

Diztek

if something goes wrong you can always take it back to the dealer. if the bodyshop does the estimate and then the dealer pays the bodyshop, then 1 year down the road something else is messed up, the dealer will not be liable because by them paying the bodyshop, the dealer has settled the claim and now its the bodyshops problem. the dealer will care more about your business and opinion of them than the bodyshop would. so basically, if a problem occurs down the road, you dont want to be stuck on the phone complaining to the body shop and the dealer. plus the dealer will use all oem parts.

as for resale value compensation, i would just see if you can negotiate some service credit toward future repairs or maintenance. our cars are not worth that much anymore to be concerned with devaluation. our cars are devaluating just fine on their own. lol.

good luck.

quattrothatcould

imo, its going to be more than $5k...the whole dash need to be replaced as well, plus the airbags, airbag sensors, steering wheel (possibly), etc etc. I'd agree that its not their fault if someone slid into them, but they're still responsible for the damage. You might want to call your insurance adjuster and ask those questions as well (I doubt they would get involved but they are experts on the situation). If the dealer insists on their repair shop doing the work, get some estimates from other companies. And make sure you're 100% happy with the final product...if you're not, take it back and have it made right.

nanotech

They will do a better job than your average body shop, and you have more recourse against them if something is not fixed to your satisfaction. Why introduce another unknown 3rd party to the equation?

Unfortunately, unless you have specific insurance coverage for depreciation/etc you will not likely get any compensation for that loss. It's not usually a significant loss anyways, at this point in the life of a vehicle.

DWP

thing. If it's not perfect, don't accept it. Talk to your insurance agent about diminished value compensation.

Nate (ETKA+Scumbag)

Attorney General's office.

Just a word of warning: It doesn't take much to total out a car these days.

LightningMcQueen

Thanks for your responses. I will leave it with the dealership and have them fix it. The dealership happens to promote itself as the "World's Largest AUDI Dealer" so they're pretty reputable.

juventus10

try to get it totaled and then buy my car

QuattroFan02

hehe, think I know which one it was.