[Synomenon]

This is the first time I've been in an accident so I don't know what to do regarding repairs.

Geico says I can take the vehicle to one of their "premier" / "5-star" body shops to get the repairs done or I can take it to the shop of my choice. The repairs done by their shops are guaranteed for the life of the car. They couldn't guarantee that the shop would use genuine Toyota parts though.

It's a new vehicle. I've only had it for two months.

Should I take it to one of their shops or bring it to my local Toyota dealership? My collision deductible is $500.

 

[crisps]

dealerships typically don't do crash and body work. but they may recommend a body shop (that might be affiliated with the owner of the dealership or attached)
to do toyota work, or recommend shops they trust to do their own repairs for demos and lease returns...etc. so ask around a bit before settling on what the
insurance company recommends

looks like 5 grand+ of work to do on that thing. parking sensors and radar sensors calibration who knows what
is hidden under the hood...the light assembly itself is expensive and you must go OEM with that as nothing
else will be photometrically equivalent (zero non-OEM aftermarket headlight assemblies are photometrically compliant)

 

[db821766]

Go to where the Toyota dealership takes theirs. They usually have agreements to do all of the sensor alignments after the body repairs.

 

[SDGTR]

Go to where the Toyota dealership takes theirs. They usually have agreements to do all of the sensor alignments after the body repairs.

This. These cars have so much tech, sensors, gadgets, etc, that recalibrating everything is probably a monumental pain in the ass. I wouldn't trust a random shop to be able to do that properly.

 

[14v6]

I have Geico and used one of their shops in the past after a deer hit with a CRV about 10 years ago. It was an older car and the damage was minor. The repair was completed quickly and they gave me a rental. It was very good from a customer service point of view. However, the workmanship and quality of the parts was poor.

With a new Prime I suggest you take it to a good shop and insist on Toyota Parts even if it costs you more. Do not let them give you an aftermarket headlight or mechanical parts. The plastic bits will just bolt on and they will try to get the paint to a close match. I had a deer hit with a new Honda Passport and they were able to salvage the fender and replace the plastic bits and paint them if needed. Some places wanted to paint the whole side of the car while others just wanted to paint the fender and the plastic bits. The paint was close enough but I wasn't happy with an aftermarket headlight it's junk but I'm stuck with it.

If the supply chain is still a mess this could take a while to get in and then the wait for parts. Good luck.

 

[CoffeeBear]

This. These cars have so much tech, sensors, gadgets, etc, that recalibrating everything is probably a monumental pain in the ass. I wouldn't trust a random shop to be able to do that properly.

I'd barely trust the dealer to do it correctly but the odds are probably better.

 

[anav_ds]

My experience over the years is that the replacement metal parts never hold up as well to rust. If you are in a snow, ice salt zone, ensure you get it rust proofed well........

 

[CoffeeBear]

My experience over the years is that the replacement metal parts never hold up as well to rust. If you are in a snow, ice salt zone, ensure you get it rust proofed well........

is there a reason for this? the material sourced for replacement parts is different? I would think it would be advantageous to just make the replacement parts on the same line as the vehicle itself for something this new.

 

[Synomenon]

Sorry, double post.

 

[anav_ds]

Hi coffeeBear, my work was done at professional body shops that swore up and down they were genuine parts etc..... but they always rusted before the original body parts.

 

[Synomenon]

So I spoke with my dealer's service department and as some of you mentioned, they don't do body work themselves. They referred me to the shop they bring their cars to and said the shop would do the body work and I'd have to bring it to them after, to do any calibration / re-alignment of sensors, etc.

I checked their shop's reviews on Yelp and it actually has a lower average rating than the place Geico was trying to send me to.

 

[chuckles70]

So sorry to hear about the mishap. I had a serious case of road rash on my first prime with about 2k on the odo. It sucks.

My advice: Body work is art. Ask around and find the very best, most reputable shop. This probably won't be one your dealer recommends, and they are most likely NOT on your insurer's preferred list (shops make deals with insurers to get on their list and that is definitely in play in workmanship and the care they can afford to deliver). Good luck with the repair.

 

[305WhitePearl]

Sorry you had to experience that.
As for your question, it's a tough one: I'd think taking it to the one the dealership deals with would be best but because their customer rating is lower I would re-consider it.

As someone already said, you can demand original parts but it's likely it will cost much more.
I agree 100% with what chuckles70 said.

BTW, big dealerships do have their own body shop albeit at a different location. Would there be a problem taking it to another dealership?

 

[Eldorado19h]

After a deer collision I went with a shop attached to a dealer and pretending to be a dealer.
I regretted dearly.
If the repair is suboptimal geico won’t be able to have the quality of repair improved.
If you choose geico shop after complains geico will make the same shop to fix it better for you.
I had my repair in brooklyns plaza collision shop and it was a shitshow.
Maybe you will have more luck.

Don’t expect at the same to panels match perfectly because shop workers are not robots in Japan.

In my case manager gave me parts so I replace them myself and car stranded me cause they didn’t tighten air hose.

 

[SLS Artemis]

After a deer collision I went with a shop attached to a dealer and pretending to be a dealer.
I regretted dearly.
If the repair is suboptimal geico won’t be able to have the quality of repair improved.
If you choose geico shop after complains geico will make the same shop to fix it better for you.
I had my repair in brooklyns plaza collision shop and it was a shitshow.
Maybe you will have more luck.

Don’t expect at the same to panels match perfectly because shop workers are not robots in Japan.

In my case manager gave me parts so I replace them myself and car stranded me cause they didn’t tighten air hose.

It all comes down to doing your homework. I have had good luck with the bodyshop run by the dealership. They guarantee the paint for life and the color match is always perfect. I have an eye to notice that. My wife has a friend that has worked in the automotive paint business his whole life. He recommended a shop to do a repaint on my kids Camry that someone backed into. The color is silver, which I have heard is hard to match. The color match is perfect. You will only notice if you have color difference in direct sunlight. Unless it is really bad. Sunny day, not a cloudy day. Or having a ScanGrip light. I have three of them for car detailing. Pictures below are of my kids car and the repaint. It is perfect. The quality of the match on your paint all comes down to the skill of the painter. Contrary to the belief that you will never match a factory paint job. The truck lid was replaced new with a Toyota one, not repaired. And only the trunk lid was painted with zero blending.

 

[Dontmind]

Sorry to hear about accident on your new R4P.
Absolute take your R4P to a Toyota dealership with an in-house Toyota certified body repair shop. The downside, the repair wait time could be a lot longer.

As other have already mentioned above, you do not want a local shop to mess with the modern car electronics. Additionally, with an insurance's own shop, you can demand original parts all you want, but in some States, and most insurance companies have clauses in the policy that alleviate parts origin requirement.

You can check my other postings for my background. I would ignore those recommendations telling you to go with the insurance's shops, unless it is a Toyota dealership with an in-house Toyota certified body repair shop.

 

[SLS Artemis]

The car is probably too new that there isn’t aftermarket parts available for it.

 

[Synomenon]

Sorry to hear about accident on your new R4P.
Absolute take your R4P to a Toyota dealership with an in-house Toyota certified body repair shop. The downside, the repair wait time could be a lot longer.

As other have already mentioned above, you do not want a local shop to mess with the modern car electronics. Additionally, with an insurance's own shop, you can demand original parts all you want, but in some States, and most insurance companies have clauses in the policy that alleviate parts origin requirement.

You can check my other postings for my background. I would ignore those recommendations telling you to go with the insurance's shops, unless it is a Toyota dealership with an in-house Toyota certified body repair shop.

Yeah I'm leery of Geico's shops. I don't know why. Some weird bias.

Anyway, I discovered that one can search for Toyota certified collision centers on Toyota's site:

Find a Toyota Collision Center| Toyota Owners

Easily locate your nearest official Toyota body shop or collision center for peace of mind.

www.toyota.com

There's one near me run by Autonation. After Geico does their estimate they said I can take the Prime there for repairs.

The car is probably too new that there isn’t aftermarket parts available for it.

That's what I thought, but the Geico body shop said that since most of the external parts are the same from the last couple of years' RAV4s, they can most likely find aftermarket replacement parts that cost them less.

 

[Keith_A]

So I spoke with my dealer's service department and as some of you mentioned, they don't do body work themselves. They referred me to the shop they bring their cars to and said the shop would do the body work and I'd have to bring it to them after, to do any calibration / re-alignment of sensors, etc.

I checked their shop's reviews on Yelp and it actually has a lower average rating than the place Geico was trying to send me to.

I wouldn't trust Yelp. Businesses can pay to have negative reviews remove. (It is part of their business model for people to be able to pay to have negative reviews removed.)

 

[RENE65]

I dont know about repairs in the USA but here in Canada , the insurance companies will not put parts on your car that are older than your car , ex, putting 2021 parts on a 2022 is not allowed and usally on a car this new , they will go with new OEM parts. As for the lifetime warranty on repairs , READ THE FINE PRINTS on what it covers, lots of limitations , ex you have to still be with the same insurance company, parts warranty is the warranty given on the replacement parts by Toyota. So basically , it covers the paint and workmanship.