Just noticed that the trim on my rear-driver’s-side door seems to be coming detached (Toyota 4Runner, about seven years old). It’s a plastic?/fiberglass piece that runs along the bottom of the door, and then diagonally about a quarter of the way up, towards the rear. Doesn’t seem to be anything structural in the least, just more or less “cosmetic”.
I’m curious what my luck would be, trying to ask my auto insurance company to help pay some of the repair cost, even though I wasn’t involved in an accident (and this obviously wasn’t due to a hailstorm). I haven’t so much as gotten an estimate as of yet (I just noticed it coming undone, and it’s after 9pm here in my neck of the woods).
The first answer is of course “just call your insurance company in the morning and ask”, but I’m wondering if I should even bother (or if they instinctively say “nope, sorry”, should I even argue the point). Any auto insurance people have any insight?
For sake of reference, it’s a State Farm agent, I’ve been with the same guy almost 12 years (haven’t ever had a claim with them), and the 4Runner is paid off and I have full coverage… thanks for any feedback.
IMHO, don’t waste your time. That sort of damage is considered normal wear and tear. Its possible that Toyota might do something, but I honestly doubt it.
If you consider hail an accident then you probably consider falling tree branches and lightning accidents also. Once you eliminate every thing like that you end up with the effects of aging on a car and that doesn’t get covered.
I assume you are talking about the cladding on the bottom part of the door. That’s usually held on from the factory with just glue or double sided automotive trim adhesive. Some have clips too. The lower cladding on my 92 LeBaron came off and I used the tape and it stayed put for the rest of the time I had the car (about four years).
You’d probably have better luck asking your neighbor if he’d help you pay for the repair, than your insurance company to pay for wear and tear on your car.
Even if they were willing to cover it, why would you?
Unless you go to the dealer for the repair, this is a cheap fix. Ebay will almost certainly have what you need, and maybe even in the right color. Or if you can’t find the right color, a body shop would charge you no more than $150 to paint it. I bet you can do this yourself for less that $250. Which is likely your deductible anyway.
Or, if it’s just loose, and not really damaged, a roll of 3M Automotive Trim two sided tape is less than $20
I’m seeing a cool internet myth arising here where insurance companies get flooded with requests to pay for loose trim and rust spots. It could be a secret that mom in my town discovered.
Your insurance company would no more pay for this repair than they would normal brake replacement, oil change or fading paint. These are all considered normal wear items.
In a sense, they might. I was once in an accident which was not my fault. The other person’s claims department sent me to a Cadillac dealer for an estimate of the repairs. I live in Colorado and the law says (I don’t know whether this is typical) that the insurance company must give me a chance to pick my own repair shop and pay me directly for the estimated costs. I picked a low cost, but reputable, repair shop and actually got a lot of repairs done and the entire car repainted for what the expensive place estimated it would cost them for the direct repairs.
This might seem to be cheating, but it was perfectly within the law. I can remember when you had to take your car to three places for estimates and have it repaired at the cheapest one (saving the insurance company piles of money).
