Advice on collision repair

I hit a deer with my car a few months back. The car still works fine (the deer probably doesn’t) but the hood is dented and half the grill broke off.

I don’t have collision insurance so I didn’t get it repaired. But my inspection is due next month and now I’m wondering if it will pass inspection.

My second question is how to best go about getting it repaired if I need to do so. Am I better off going to a dealer or an independent collision shop? Should I tell them I’m paying out of pocket in hopes of getting a better price or avoid the subject?

Deer collisions here get put through comprehensive insurance, not collision. Are you sure you can’t just pay your deductible and have it repaired through comprehensive?

It shouldn’t affect the inspection. How old is the car? If it’s just replacing or fixing the hood and replacing the grill you want a small independent body shop. If it’s an old car and you don’t care if it’s multi-colored car in the end you can go to a junk yard to get parts and ask them if they can do the work or know someone who will. Many of the big collision centers won’t even do non-insurance work.

If one of the headlights is out of adjustment that might cause a fail.

Good point. The inspection station can usually fix something like that, and of course, all the lights must be working, and the lenses can’t have holes in them, but they can be cracked. Colored tape can be used to repair those, or inexpensive replacements can be found at the junkyard.

[QUOTE=Leaffan]
Deer collisions here get put through comprehensive insurance, not collision. Are you sure you can’t just pay your deductible and have it repaired through comprehensive?
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Comprehensive and collision coverage are usually linked as one entity. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone offer just comp coverage.

Check with your state’s vehicle inspection bureau or DMV about damaged lights - in some states, colored or clear tape holding lenses together is a fail.

I got through inspections in New York with tape, and in one case the wrong colored lens. However it’s been a while, the rules may have changed. Possibly they weren’t following the book with my inspections, they were being done by friendly places.

My headlights aren’t cracked and appear undamaged. I’m not sure how to check if they’re aligned properly.

You can shine them on a wall to get an idea. Any garage should be able to check it for you. They’ll check at the inspection, and you get some time after that to get it fixed (or you used to, i’m not in New York anymore).

I just looked, and mine is separate. I have both now, but used to only have comprehensive on my last car.

This is Ontario, mind you.

I’ve had (unfortunately) a fair amount of body work done on cars over the years, and none of the dealers I go to for service do body work. They all send that kind of thing out to a collision shop anyway (though one of them has a shop that’s owned by the same parent company). So I don’t think that’s a decision you’re likely to have to make, though maybe it’s different in Canada.

My experience also is that paying out of pocket (which I have done) does NOT get you a better price, and in fact can get you a worse price. They have pre-negotiated rates with the insurance companies, which are lower than their normal rates. I’ve been successful in talking them into giving me the same price they’d charge my insurance company, but not less.

But as always, YMMV.

Cite? I work in at an insurance company and have seen/pulled/answered questions about countless individual and commercial auto policies. Comprehensive and collision are totally separate coverages. It would be unusual to carry collision without comp, but a **lot *of people carry comp without collision. Comprehensive insurance is not all that expensive on its own, because it covers infrequent random events like animals, hailstorms, vandalism, falling trees, flood, and fire. A lot of people choose to carry it even after they pay off their vehicle, because comprehensive events cannot be predicted and may result in expensive repairs and/or a total loss.

*Unless the vehicle is financed, in which case the lienholder will likely require you to carry both coverages to protect their investment until the vehicle is paid off.

One of my rear lights is totally missing its lens. The light works, even though it’s not red. It’s been this way for about 7 years, and hasn’t failed an inspection.

Actually, many (but not all) insurance companies will allow Comprehensive only, without Collision…but not just Collision solo.

On average, Comprehensive (or “Other Than Collision”) coverage typically costs 35-50% less than Collision coverage, even with a lower deductible. My Comp runs about 60% the amount of Collision, even though the Comp deductible is $100 and the Collision deductible is $500.

A lot of people drop their Comp and Collision when their vehicle’s value drops below a certain value, $5k for example. But instead of dropping both and cutting their annual premium by $450, they could just drop the Collision and save $300 while keeping the protection of Comprehensive.

Comprehensive pays for things that are out of your control (weather, theft, fire, vandalism, animal impacts, objects thrown from the highway). But Collision covers things that you can control. So it can pay to protect yourself from the things you can’t prevent!

Just my opinion…and yes, I am an Independent Insurance Agent (in Georgia), if you were wondering.