yea the same thing happened to me actually but my seats were stolen as well..the insurance company found me some seats and wrote the check out to me and the person i was suppose to pick the seats up from and i just signed it over to them...

as for the top, they wrote the check out to the upholstery shop and i just went ahead and upgraded to a glass windo since it was only 150 more...now im just waiting on the top to arrive so i can drop my car off and get the top replaced.

really nothing you can do about it :/

 

I've been using Mercury for about 11 years, and only made one claim on a car I previously owned. They directed me to take the car to one of their "preferred" (shoddy) body shops for an estimate. My deductable was $500 and the shop estimated the repairs at $620 or something like that. Probably an extremely lowballed estimate. Mercury cut me a check for $120 made payable to ME. I never bothered with the repairs because I didn't relish paying another $500 OR MORE to make a crappy Saturn look beautiful again.

Perhaps Mercury has changed their policy, and they won't make the check payable to the claimant anymore. I don't know about that. I now have a $250 deductable because I don't want to get screwed like that again.

 

Hey I've got an idea - buy a car you can afford to fix.

 

Easy there turbo. Based on what assumption makes you think I cant afford to fix this? This is why I paid for full coverage insurance. I hope you know that there are people out that DONT LIKE to be ripped off. Just because I dont agree with the methods and practices of insurance companies doesn't mean that I cant afford to have this car. I believe the fact that I paid for full coverage insurance is enough to show that I am capable of paying for this car. Sure if I half assed it and payed only for one way insurance, then I do not deserve to have this car. Insurance is an investment that you have just in case situations like this come up. My post did not state: "Help I cant afford my car or the deductable for my insurance to fix it!"

Anyways, you got a good idea, but too bad it doesn't relate to the topic. Thanks!

 

Okay here's a little update on the situation. I got a call from the bodyshop earlier today. The adjuster came to look at my car. They ended up not charging me for the betterment fees since my top was replaced only a few months ago. The body shop said that they will wave my deductable so I will not have to pay for anything up front. I'm not sure whether or not they raised the prices on the repair or not but it ended up being $2100. This includes a canvas top w/ glass rear window and labor (I actually was glad that they did this because I think canvas looks better). He did say to keep everything being stated between me and him so Im pretty sure I know what he did. I guess that was nice of the body shop. But yea, Mercury promised that they will pay the shop within 48 hours, which should be when my car is ready to be picked up. Lets hope they live up to their word. Thanks for all of the comments and suggestions. I can post a picture of the final product with the canvas top when I actually get my car. Hopefully, without any delay.

 

Isn't canvas going to be less durable than vinyl, especially in the strong sunlight we get in the summer?

 

I think canvas does look a little nicer but vinyl is close. I also agree that canvas will not last as long as vinyl. Evidently there was a premium price for canvas since the $2100 is the most I've ever seen for any soft top.

 

when you have a lien against your vehicle from a finance company, some states have laws that force the insurance company to EITHER:

1. write the check to you and the finance company, or
2. write the check to you and the body shop of your choice.

So I guess since you're getting a canvas top, it's not OEM then? Also, sounds like the body shop is inflating the cost of the repair towards the insurance company in order to cover the total actual repair cost (saving you from having to pay the deductible). This is fairly common with glass shops, but less so with body shops. I will say this: make sure you get a warranty from the body shop.

 

Yea I made sure that there is a warranty covered by the body shop. He said that there is a 1 year warranty through the body shop and 3 years through the manufacturer. I'm bringing it in on tuesday. I should have the car back by friday of next week.

 

I work for Allstate, but also State Farm, Geico and Progressive are good. if you are not going back to Allstate you can go get a quote with Geico and State Farm I corrently have State Farm and no problem very good been in buss. since 1928