Not sure you can, I think most ins companies write the check to the place doing the fix and not to you. plus the dealer will know you are desperate and make you pay more.

Figured as your dealer could be the one repairing it and gets the check and you would say, if you can't do this, just have the repairs done...

Not saying it's a sure thing, but it might be worth a try?

C'mon.....Why pay for depreciation when you don't have to? Betcha that little move will cost you $4K +++. The damage is not that bad. Maybe a little filler and some paint work. If you can't get over that you shouldn't be dirving a new car.

Exactly......My car was 5 days and 200 miles old when someone caused $7K damage to it. It's been better than new for awhile now, I got my diminished value check (paid for my mods) and all is like it never happened. Actually, my paint is better than OEM so it was a good score!

Lets hope not.....Go to the best body shop in town. This may not necessarily not necessarily be the dealer's if they even have a captive body shop. Body work is body work.....The dealer would have no advantage here unless their shop is a quality one. Not often the case with dealer affiliated body operations..

The only real advantage of a "dealer shop" would be the use of oem parts...this is not always the case but seeing how new our cars the aftrmarket sheet metals probly havnt been produced yet..whatevr the case your paint will not and cannot be perfectly matched to the rest of the car due to different paint n baking techniques..id have them try to paint the whole thing instead of color matching..goodluck.

Of course they'll be using OEM parts (any independent shop)...Not enough volume to be knocking off Clones at this stage of the game. This isn't a Honda Civic., besides the OEM body panels aren't that expensive. Paint the whole car? I think not. There's no reason a quality shop can't do a perfect blended match. Can you tell mine's been painted from the doors forward including the hood? Thought not. In person the finish is better than OEM. Don't scare the guy!

http://images52.fotki.com/v1554/phot...MG_2042-vi.jpg

http://images49.fotki.com/v1494/phot...MG_1930-vi.jpg

And I have found that they like to replace parts/panels so they can make more money and make the job easier.

Yup...They replaced this hood. Not dented much but it did have a little bow in it. Plus working with aluminum can be tricky. The $535 + paint was cheaper than massaging it back into shape..

http://images44.fotki.com/v1470/phot...MG_1477-vi.jpg

I'm not trying to scare the guy..this is what I know from experience...past 10yrs in the ins biz and before that 7yrs wholesaling honda/acura parts to bodyshops...I've delt with hundreds of shops...even taken a class on bodyshop repairs..I know how it works on the bodyshop as well as insurance end...its impossible to perfectly color match..it cannot be done...shops can get damn close..I mean really close..but not perfect..half the time nissan can't get the match right..haha..but I think we've have this conv in another thread..

Bodyshops can only use parts that the insurance company will approve..some companies will not approve oem parts if aftrmarket/used parts are available..obviously trying to save money..I ran into this all the time unfortunately..

well Ive had my bumper repainted too and Modshacks has been done and you cant tell the difference to the human eye, so OP dont worry it will look fine when you get it back if you go to a reputable shop and not some crappy one trying to make some money.

I'm sure it'll come out fine..last year I got sideswipped n 5 panels had to be replaced/fixed..they did a good job for me...they use plastics insteads of bondo now which is better..I did tell the bodyshop to take "extra care" of my car or I wouldn't send them any more business..hahah..

I can tell!:p

I'm sorry, but my 2 times experiencing the need for paint work trumps your 10 years of experience. Guess I'm just lucky with the choice of quality shops.

My old TT had the left quarter blended in after a key job, by a Glasurit trained Painter/shop. And this in a Pearl Blue color. You could not tell even if you knew where to look....Just lucky I guess based on your observations..

http://images51.fotki.com/v423/photo...SC02355-vi.jpg

some nice memories of my TTs.