Fender bender...headache!

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About a week ago I was involved in a small fender bender. I won't go into details, but wrong or right both parties were ticketed. The other guy is contesting his ticket, a fools errand IMO since he was also driving someone else's car and WITHOUT insurance. Anyway, I called in the accident after it happened, and contacted insurance yada yada yada.

Now, a week after the accident my insurance FINALLY got around to emailing my the quote for repairs. I noticed that one of the damaged body panels was not listed in the estimate. I also noticed that they were going to replace the damaged wheel with an aftermarket part. I emailed my adjuster right away to address my concerns. She told me that if there was additional damage (the part they missed) that they would cover it as a supplement when the car was in the body shop. HOWEVER, she told me it is standard practice to use aftermarket parts.

I told her I was not ok with this and would only be happy with an OEM wheel, aftermarket just isn't going to cut it. Long story short we did not agree, I asked her what I needed to do to get them to put a Honda OEM wheel on. She said there is nothing I can do and that she would speak with her manager.

Have any of you been in this situation? Honestly I am thinking about just touching up the spots myself and moving on. This has been quite a headache, from being ticketed (improperly IMO) to having to deal with these insurance problems.
 
You may want to review your policy. In general, your auto policy has no obligation to use OEM parts unless you purchased the OEM parts endorsement.
 
Is the aftermarket wheel actually made by another company from a blob of metal to a finished wheel or a Honda wheel that has been repaired and brought back to OEM specs. You may be able to force them to use OEM parts but the wheel can be a repaired Honda wheel. You smash a door, then can repair the door or replace the door skin. They do not have to give you a new door.
 
I can't imagine the aftermarket wheel is going to be remotely the same as OEM and that kinda sucks when you have three other OEMs spinning on the car.
I have been able to negotiate things like this in the past with the people actually doing the work...for example, I had some scratches from somebody trying to get into my CRX in Dallas that started to get rusty and was able to get it taken care of when some guy hit my front end and took off some time later. They figured out that something insurance said had to be replaced could be repaired instead and they applied that money to fixing the scratches.
It's probably worth trying more with the insurance and bringing up that having an unmatched wheel is likely a safety issue (like driving on a donut for a long time).

I thought I was going to have to deal with this a few weeks ago, reserved a spot in a lot near Fenway for a game and some giant SUV was at least 6 inches into my spot. Was easing into the spot oh so slowly and suddenly heard a POP...got out and part of my fender had popped out! I could not believe it, finished pulling in after the attendant walked over and opined "You got the worst of it" and looked at the little car on that side closely. Finally figured out that they had their wheels cut fully one way (BAD practice when parking in a tight spot) and my fender got caught on their tire and finally gave way with enough pressure. Explained why I didn't hear any scraping before the POP and why they had no damage at all...plus why I made contact with a car when I was watching my clearance very carefully, couldn't really see their tire. The owner happened to come back for something she had forgotten then and I apologized to her before we verified together that they had no new damage (her car was a little beat up).
I was relieved that I wasn't going to have to deal with another driver, then I got the fender all the way back into its slot with about 10 minutes of finagling after the game. Touched up the one little scrape I got from the body parts sliding and the car doesn't really look any worse for the wear. I was kind of lucky and unlucky all at once...
 
Originally Posted by The Critic
You may want to review your policy. In general, your auto policy has no obligation to use OEM parts unless you purchased the OEM parts endorsement.


This. Its an option in most policies now a days, and adds a considerable amount. Whats probably going to happen is theyre going to cover a refurbished wheel and used/aftermarket parts, and you can pay the difference to upgrade back to OEM.
 
Originally Posted by Audios
Originally Posted by The Critic
You may want to review your policy. In general, your auto policy has no obligation to use OEM parts unless you purchased the OEM parts endorsement.


This. Its an option in most policies now a days, and adds a considerable amount. Whats probably going to happen is theyre going to cover a refurbished wheel and used/aftermarket parts, and you can pay the difference to upgrade back to OEM.


I regularly deal with body shops since I do both the back counter and wholesale. We will do what we can to come close to aftermarket since most body shops much prefer using OEM parts. Sometimes when we can't get close to that price they will have the customer pay the difference of what insurance will pay the body shop. The body shop can also submit a supplement request stating the aftermarket parts either were wrong multiple times or did not allow for a proper repair.
 
Originally Posted by madRiver
The wheel cannot mismatch or is it steel/one hub cap?


Not sure what your question is. They are alloy wheels.
 
That's a bummer. I wouldn't mind an aftermarket bumper, or a fender, as long as it fits the same, but the quality between OEM alloy wheels and aftermarket is quite big. Aftermarket wheels are usually much lighter and weaker, so they don't take pot holes all that great.
I would research aftermarket wheels for you Accord. Perhaps there are some that are in fact OEM quality, not just looks, and then insist on those.
 
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Originally Posted by The Critic
You may want to review your policy. In general, your auto policy has no obligation to use OEM parts unless you purchased the OEM parts endorsement.


OTOH, insurance is required to "make you whole" and restore the vehicle to the condition it was in prior to the accident....this may vary by state so OP should check his local laws.
 
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Originally Posted by JLTD
Originally Posted by The Critic
You may want to review your policy. In general, your auto policy has no obligation to use OEM parts unless you purchased the OEM parts endorsement.


OTOH, insurance is required to "make you whole" and restore the vehicle to the condition it was in prior to the accident....this may vary by state so OP should check his local laws.

Auto policy forms are state specific so he should consult his policy form for the policy's obligations.
 
Between the original estimate and the later supplement, there's a good chance that the body shop can do things differently and be ahead on costs.
This was our experience with a recent insurance repair to our newer Forester when it got rear-ended. The offending driver's insurer tried to spec aftermarket parts but we ended up with all Subaru genuine.
There is also the likelihood that the aftermarket wheel is made by the OEM supplier, since I'd doubt that anyone is buying the rather ***** alloys these cars came on as an upgrade. We have a '12 Gen 8, and the OEM rims are not a source of lust and desire.
Finally, there are always the local yards. Enough of these cars were built and now wrecked that a genuine mint OEM rim should be readily available pretty cheaply locally, ignoring what LKQ says one should cost.
If all else fails, pony up a few bucks more and get the proper rim.
Most Honda dealers offer significant discounts to shops like the one fixing your ride.
 
I'm probably missing something here, but is there such a thing as an aftermarket wheel that's an exact match to an OEM alloy/aluminum wheel? I realize there's outfits out there that may refurbish OEM wheels to look prettier, etc. Would a replacement OEM wheel for a 2012 Honda even be on a shelf somewhere?
 
Originally Posted by maxdustington
OEM parts on a seven year old Honda Accord? Get real, bud.


A couple things. I don't care if its a 27 year old Honda Accord, if it had OEM wheels on it during the wreck then that is what the insurance company should put back on it! Also, I pride myself in maintaining my vehicles and keeping them looking and driving as new as possible. Maybe you don't? Finally, as someone else mentioned it's one thing if they wanted to install an aftermarket bumper, but an aftermarket wheel? If you are un-aware, let me inform you that not many aftermarket wheels are of the same quality as OEM (meaning they are of inferior quality). Being easily bent by potholes would be one example, not to mention looking slightly different cosmetically.

I don't need your snarky comments, thank you.
 
Originally Posted by JTK
I'm probably missing something here, but is there such a thing as an aftermarket wheel that's an exact match to an OEM alloy/aluminum wheel? I realize there's outfits out there that may refurbish OEM wheels to look prettier, etc. Would a replacement OEM wheel for a 2012 Honda even be on a shelf somewhere?


Yes, plenty of suppliers that stock OEM wheels.
 
Your policy will be clear on this. If you insist on OEM parts then perhaps the insurance company could agree to let you pay the difference.

As I understand it, and it will differ between policies and states, most policies will fix a brand new car with OEM but for a seven year old car it's highly unlikely unless you purchase a rider on your policy stating as such.

You would see such riders on expensive or unique vehichles. For a Honda Accord, probably not.
 
Depends on the state as well. Here you can request and they'll give you OEM for 5 years from new. FWIW though, I had my Durango repaired with aftermarket parts and it looked great. I know not all aftermarket parts work out that well though...

As for the wheel, I'd be demanding OEM on that so it matches the other 3. You can argue it's a piece of safety equipment, and having 3 of one kind and 1 of another could cause issues, unless they'll buy you 4 new aftermarket wheels
wink.gif
 
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They're not going to give him a wheel that doesn't match! I doubt there are any aftermarket companies that manufacture a matching aftermarket wheel. A reman is the most likely and the chance of that being available are slim so he'll probably end up with new OEM anyway.
 
Originally Posted by Skippy722
Depends on the state as well. Here you can request and they'll give you OEM for 5 years from new. FWIW though, I had my Durango repaired with aftermarket parts and it looked great. I know not all aftermarket parts work out that well though...

As for the wheel, I'd be demanding OEM on that so it matches the other 3. You can argue it's a piece of safety equipment, and having 3 of one kind and 1 of another could cause issues, unless they'll buy you 4 new aftermarket wheels
wink.gif



I did argue it is a safety issue, she just huffed and said it wasn't policy.
 
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