car insurance question

[Rine]

I wrecked my car back in...October or November of last year. It was in the shop for three or four weeks. It's funny that I can't really remember it when it happened...Anyhow, had to get the front end body replaced and whatnot.

I thought all was fine and dandy. I know I have to get my motor mount (?) replaced because apparently it is worn and the place I got it fixed at doesn't think the accident caused it to get damaged.

My heat shield rattles now (wasn't welded back appropriately) and makes an awful noise sometimes. However, the body shop doesn't believe me even though the car repair shop across the street spend ten minutes revving my engine and poking around to figure out what was causing the screeching noise. They said they've never heard a car sound like that. They had the whole repair shop looking at my car.

BUT, what I have noticed since then is that any time I go through a puddle of water and need to turn, I can't turn! It's like I have no steering ability.

I talked to the auto techs at work and they said that there's supposed to be a shield that keeps water from hitting the steering belt (?) because that's not supposed to be wet.

So, what I would like to know is when I have it looked at tomorrow and they find this piece missing, do you think I can get my insurance people to pay for it if it costs too much?

I think I didn't notice it right off since it hasn't rained too much since the accident and any time that I *DO* go through puddles, I'm always going straight, so I don't notice a problem with the steering. The first few times, I thought it wasn't anything really. I mean, I've only noticed it happening all of five or six times since the accident.

The other day, I nearly hit a tree because I went through a puddle and was heading into a turn and I couldn't turn well! It was so damn scary!

Do you think GEICO would cover this, if the shield is indeed missing (and the tech says it sounds like the problem). I had the car for three years before the accident and never had this problem. It was only after the accident that this problem occured. Did the body shop forget to put it back on?

Is it unreasonable to ask insurance to cover this, six or so months after the accident? I honest to god didn't notice it sooner since it doesn't rain as much and I don't go through puddles and turn soon after, therefore, the belt has time to dry.

Did any of this make sense?

[BookstoreEscapee]

Well, it can't hurt to ask. Try to work out the timeline of the problems to back up your theory that the body shop did something wrong. They may cover it. The worst they can do is say no, right?

Actually, if the problem really is caused by the body shop doing something wrong and leaving something off (and you can prove it), they should just fix it. Can you get an opinion in writing from the other mechanic that looked at it?

[Reyneth]

Actually, if the problem really is caused by the body shop doing something wrong and leaving something off (and you can prove it), they should just fix it. Can you get an opinion in writing from the other mechanic that looked at it?

Yup. If it can be shown somehow that the shop did not do the work correctly, especially if it was one of their suggested shops* or if it can be traced back to some damage related to the accident** then your insurance should take care of it.

*Possible, a lot will depend on their repair system and the shop.
**Less likely given the time involved but since the combination of puddles + turning isn't a common thing, it's still possible.

[Rine]

Well, my mechanic looked at it and said that, YES, there is supposed to be a shroud or shield underneath the car.

He said there's nothing, save for one underneath the radiator but everything else is completely exposed to the roadway.

Soooo, now I'm going to call the body shop on Monday--probably Tuesday, since they might be closed Monday--and see what they can do.

Then if they won't help, I'll bump it up to my insurance company.

It used to be there.

They obviously didn't put it back on.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Sounds like...I think you'd have noticed if it fell off...

Good luck

[It's me]

Mazda3 by any chance?

[Rine]

Nope. '02 Ford Focus.

I love my little car. Most of the time.

Lately, it's just been giving me so many problems.

[protege]

The Focus and the 3 (along with the now-dropped Protege) share the same platform. The shop could have forgotten to re-install the shield, or they could have simply cut corners when fixing the car. I hate to say it, but it happens more than you'd think. Call up your insurance company, and see if there's any way to get that taken care of.

[Rine]

I thought I would give the shop the benefit of the doubt and call them Tuesday to inquire about it. I can't find the darn paperwork from the accident and GEICO no longer lists it on their website. There was a list of parts that the adjuster/body shop created to repair my car and I wanted to see if the plastic shield was on there. To my knowledge, it's a part that's under $100, but that's money I don't have, to be completely honest!

I'll escalate it to my insurance company if the body shop doesn't want to help.

The way I see it...what if I got in an accident because I couldn't turn? The adjuster would have seen that there was no shield installed to keep the water out and I could have gotten my claim denied or something for failing to maintain my vehicle.


Thank you everyone for your advice/information! I really appreciate it.

[BookstoreEscapee]

I thought I would give the shop the benefit of the doubt and call them Tuesday to inquire about it. I can't find the darn paperwork from the accident and GEICO no longer lists it on their website. There was a list of parts that the adjuster/body shop created to repair my car and I wanted to see if the plastic shield was on there. To my knowledge, it's a part that's under $100, but that's money I don't have, to be completely honest!

Call them and see if they can send you copies. They'll still have the file.

[Rine]

I don't think the body shop believes me.

They keep telling me that they only did work "up top" on the vehicle. I agree with them, somewhat. BUT, I would have really noticed if some big piece of plastic fell off of my car, wouldn't I?

I also discovered another thing they didn't put on or replace, but I don't think it's a vital part.

It's another shield...I think it's called a sight shield...it goes at the front of the car, over the top of the access to the headlamps/turning signals. I KNOW that was there before the accident because I used to have to pry it up to fix my faulty turning signal.

WHY didn't I notice this before?

There's even listing in the estimate report that says "REPL SIGHT SHIELD." It...wasn't replaced, I guess. But there is no mention of a splash shield or guard or anything.

The body shop manager said that..."yes, there is supposed to be something there to protect your power steering belt. But we didn't work down there. We only worked up top."

Well, someone must have worked down there because the radiator shield was replaced and that's "down there."

But it's my word against their word. I don't have a damn picture of what the underside of my car looked like before the accident. The body shop also doesn't have pictures of under the car and neither does GEICO. I don't know if something got loose and fell off when they were transporting my car from the accident scene. (They delivered it to the wrong body shop the first time, so it was moved again.)

This is money I don't have, even if they are inexpensive (relatively!) parts. Do I get GEICO involved? Or do I just suck it up and pay for the parts?