2 weekends ago, I was involved in an accident (I'm sure some of you have seen the thread lol). I decided to go through the insurance, as the cost of repair was a little more than I felt comfortable spending out of pocket. However, beforehand, I purchased some parts to repair it, as my original intention was to do it on my own. Would I be able to let the adjuster cut me a check for the damages to the car, and just supply my own parts to the body shop? Logic being that I already have some of the parts and i'm sure allstate will more than likely pay out more for the damaged parts than I spent, which would help absorb some of the deductible.

let me know if this is ok to do. Thanks!

 

I'm pretty sure they usually cut the check to the shop, so maybe you can talk to the shop about working out a deal for the parts. But usually they like to get their own so they can uplift it as well.

Also, I'm not sure if I would want to tell insurance that I have pre-purchased parts that all of a sudden I need them to pay for. Kind of throws up red flags of insurance fraud.

 

Heard the same things about shops sometimes not even wanting to take parts brought in by customers for that very reason. My concern was exactly that about the insurance and them thinking fraud. I did genuinely buy them prior to filing the claim with the intent to do the repair out of my own pocket, but after finding a few other things damaged, and doing a final tally, decided i would be better off going through the insurance. Wasn't going to tell them about the parts i've got already regardless, since i figured that would look bad.

Also, I was curious about if the insurance would cover damage to aftermarket wheels. my front driver side wheel has a slight bend and scuffing on the lip from the accident. I know they would cover an OEM wheel, so i'd assume they would cover equivalent wheel repair on an aftermarket wheel correct?

 

This answer varies by state, by company, and by adjuster or shop. Best to ask those who are making the choices and adjusting the claim. Once you submit a claim it is in their hands.

 

Very few shops will use parts brought in by the customer. If they do use them, they may not be willing to give you a warranty on the work. At this point I would return the parts I bought and march on. I suspect they will cover the damage to your wheel unless there is a huge difference in cost between it and a factory wheel.

 

Generally, an insurance adjuster will look over the car and give an estimate, which a body shop then adjusts. The check can be given to the customer but then its up to them to handle the adjustment if there is one. Generally insurance companies just give the original and adjusted amounts to the body shop as it is less fraud-prone. And remember, insurance companies are about compensating for loss, not necessarily making sure your car is repaired.

In the future, get an estimate for repairs before you make any decisions or buy anything. Since shops aren't thinking of how much money will be spent, they typically give a generous accounting of the repair costs and know what damage to look for.

 

Yeah, I started figuring this out after a quick google search. They are going to repair the wheel, since it isn't too bad. Thanks for the response.

Yeah, lesson learned. I'll just sell the parts I've got already, which shouldn't be too difficult. Thanks.