DIY Fix or Dealer/Insurance?

[Meisterjager]

Hey Everybody, new Gladiator owner and member on here.

Just picked up my truck a few weeks ago and already damaged it. Backing up and caught the driver mirror, cracking the mirror base and bent the door. Looked up some parts and I would probably need the door shell (68281911AO), mirror (68281891AE), and then get it painted and swap the internals and window. Doesn’t look too bad in the pictures, but there’s some exposed bare metal, the mirror is a little off and the top of the door is bent enough to add quite a bit of wind noise.

Anybody done this yet? I did on my on old TJ and it wasn’t too bad, but debating whether to use my insurance to deal with it, pay out of pocket at a dealer or DIY it.

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[kevman65]

If you take it to a dealer or body shop whether you use insurance or not, it will end up with a tag on the VIN as damaged in an accident.

If you do it yourself, no one else knows.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Whether or not you file insurance is up to you as an individual based on your insurance policy and company. Sometimes it's better to eat it, sometimes a single claim won't matter.
I'd have it fixed - whether or not I submit it would be based on a conversation with my agent.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

If you take it to a dealer or body shop whether you use insurance or not, it will end up with a tag on the VIN as damaged in an accident.

If you do it yourself, no one else knows.

Apparently that's either true for the type of shop you go to - or the extent of the damage. Never ever had anything show up later after repairs due to small boo-boos.

 

[kevman65]

Apparently that's either true for the type of shop you go to - or the extent of the damage. Never ever had anything show up later after repairs due to small boo-boos.

That's not a small booboo. Parts and labor wise, that's enough that a police report would be filed if it were 2 vehicles involved.

All in, that's over $2,000.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

2,000 is still pretty small potatoes. Takes nothing to get there.
We've had similar damage repaired on a Grand Cherokee. Never showed up. (actually we had a second one repaired after the roof got dented, over $2K)
Dealers look that stuff up when you trade. Local body shop took care of both. Reports came up clean.

 

[kevman65]

Bill, you do what you want.

But to tell someone else not to worry because it's small potatoes without realizing where the reporting threshold is just not a good thing to say.
Dealerships and body shops are supposed to report a VIN with damage over a set amount.
This keeps dishonest people from selling a wrecked vehicle as "like new".

This is the reason Car Fax and other such companies can sell their services.

 

[Meisterjager]

Thanks for the replies. Called a couple dealer collision shops to get a quote on paint and most asked me to bring it in for the VIN even if I did everything but the paint myself. I assume everything besides maybe the weatherstripping could be transferred over if I did it myself. Anybody have any idea if the hinges need to be aligned or anything, and if they’re painted when on or off? If I could get a shell painted with new hinges and everything aligned, I feel pretty confident I could do the rest (especially if I could get a repair manual)

 

[kevman65]

Thanks for the replies. Called a couple dealer collision shops to get a quote on paint and most asked me to bring it in for the VIN even if I did everything but the paint myself. I assume everything besides maybe the weatherstripping could be transferred over if I did it myself. Anybody have any idea if the hinges need to be aligned or anything, and if they’re painted when on or off? If I could get a shell painted with new hinges and everything aligned, I feel pretty confident I could do the rest (especially if I could get a repair manual)

Hinges are painted while on the JT. Yes they will need aligned on the new door skin. Yes it can be a PITA to get it just right.

Check the weatherstripping when you pull it off the old. Should be "pins" going to holes to hold position, but the adhesive may tear it all up as you take it off.

 

[Meisterjager]

Hinges are painted while on the JT. Yes they will need aligned on the new door skin. Yes it can be a PITA to get it just right.

Check the weatherstripping when you pull it off the old. Should be "pins" going to holes to hold position, but the adhesive may tear it all up as you take it off.

Thanks! I’ll probably get new weatherstripping if I go the DIY route. For aligning the hinges, is it just making sure the gaps are even and torqueing down, or do you have to use shims or anything? And are there specific torque values for any of it?

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Info from the web -
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Do all car repairs get reported to CARFAX?
Since CARFAX relies on information that is reported to the company, anything that doesn't get reported either to the company or to any of its data sources won't show up in the report. We ordered a report on a vehicle that we knew had extensive collision work performed on it five times.Aug 2, 2021

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Only repairs reported by certain body shops or insurance companies are known to Carfax. There is no universal reporting ...

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In fact, most auto body shops and Paintless Dent Repair shops will not report any records to Carfax.

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Carfax Report? [does a minor repair at a body shop appear on Carfax]
May 30, 2021 — It will only show up on Carfax IF the body shop reports to Carfax. Insurance companies and police departments don't report to carfax.

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Bottom line - stop being so afraid every little repair will end up in your VIN history!

Most shops do NOT report repairs. Some will, most will not. You can ask the shop if they report - chances are they will not but if they do - you can always go to a different shop.
There is NO UNIVERSAL REPORTING, most shops do NOT report.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Bill, you do what you want.

But to tell someone else not to worry because it's small potatoes without realizing where the reporting threshold is just not a good thing to say.
Dealerships and body shops are supposed to report a VIN with damage over a set amount.
This keeps dishonest people from selling a wrecked vehicle as "like new".

This is the reason Car Fax and other such companies can sell their services.

Sorry, that's not correct. There's no universal amount, no set report structure. Do a search - you'll find most shops do not. There's no requirement and carfax can't possibly require it. There's no way to know of all shops in the country and enforce any reporting.

Carfax can report a car as clean - and as one consumer organization posted -

CARFAX VEHICLE HISTORY REPORTS CAN BE A GOOD SOURCE OF HISTORICAL INFORMATION, BUT THEY
CAN ALSO LEAVE OUT A LOT OF CRITICAL INFORMATION
AUGUST 2, 2021
If you've ever looked into purchasing a used car, the odds are really good that you've at least heard of CARFAX, if not purchased a CARFAX report. CARFAX is a service that provides historical information on vehicles. Your dealer might be advertising that a vehicle has a clean CARFAX report, which might calm your nerves about the car. But how reliable is the information that CARFAX reports provide?

INFORMATION IN CARFAX VEHICLE HISTORY REPORTS
If a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is plugged into the CARFAX database, the report will display the available information about vehicle ownership, accident history, mileage discrepancies, lemon status, flood damage, fleet use, and other things. You can see whether any potential odometer rollbacks have been detected, whether there were any failed emission tests, and possibly some maintenance or service records. But the information you should really want is the information that is not in CARFAX vehicle history reports.

WHERE DOES CARFAX GET THE INFO FOR VEHICLE HISTORY REPORTS?
You may be wondering how CARFAX gets the information you see in the report. After all, the company maintains a system of more than 6 billion vehicle records and it seems to have a lot of information about each vehicle. CARFAX gets information from various motor vehicle bureaus across the U.S. and Canada, insurance companies, auto auctions, repair and service facilities, rental companies, state inspection stations, fire departments, law enforcement agencies, and vehicle manufacturers. But that's not every single source of information. Those sources are the big ones.

THE HISTORY REPORT IS ONLY AS GOOD AS THE INFORMATION THAT GETS PUT INTO IT
Despite the vast number of resources available, CARFAX vehicle history reports should not be considered completely reliable. There's just no way that one of these reports can be all-inclusive. In fact, we have found major problems with some CARFAX vehicle history reports. Since CARFAX relies on information that is reported to the company, anything that doesn't get reported either to the company or to any of its data sources won't show up in the report. We ordered a report on a vehicle that we knew had extensive collision work performed on it five times. The report showed only one minor collision. In another case, we purchased reports for four other vehicles we knew were repurchased in North Carolina by the vehicle manufacturers as 'lemons' under the North Carolina Lemon Law. These vehicles showed clean CARFAX reports. We were able to find one vehicle on a local dealer lot as a 'local trade.'

CARFAX IS A GOOD STARTING PLACE BUT SHOULDN'T BE YOUR ONLY SOURCE OF INFO
While CARFAX is a great place to start researching a vehicle's history, CARFAX vehicle history reports won't show you a history that was never reported. So a clean CARFAX report shouldn't be considered a good vehicle. On the other hand, a vehicle with a CARFAX history report that shows major collision damage shouldn't necessarily be considered a bad car. To get a good idea of a vehicle's condition, take it to a trusted reputable mechanic who can give the car a thorough check from top to bottom. It'll cost a little more than a CARFAX report, but your concern should really be the condition of the car now, not necessarily only what it's been through. Another place you can check is the local dealer for the car you're looking at buying. The dealer can give you a history of all warranty and other repairs that may have been done.

As I laid out in my other post - odds are that the info will not be reported. Most dealers (not all) will but only some independent shops will report. There's no law or rule, it can't be forced or enforced.
No one should be afraid to get a vehicle repaired because "it may show up in the VIN history later".

 

[johnparjr]

Personally I would have that done by a professional

 

[Meisterjager]

Not too worried about the carfax or anything since I plan on keeping it for a long time. More concerned on the cost to repair out of pocket vs difficulty of DIY vs impact on insurance premiums

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Not too worried about the carfax or anything since I plan on keeping it for a long time. More concerned on the cost to repair out of pocket vs difficulty of DIY vs impact on insurance premiums

Talk to your agent. They can fill you in. At least ours would. Been with Jeff since about 1982 and he's always been 100% up front on all things.
Each company is different - some may increase premiums, others will not and some depends on your insurance history. No one can say one way or another - other than your agent or company rep.
Like you, I plan on keeping mine and even if I didn't - I'd have no concerns what-so-ever on any report.
A lot of body stuff I'll do (like a complete repaint on my classics) - but something like that, I'd have our local body shop do. I don't like to re-skin doors.

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