That's unfortunate that it was such a painful process. I've never been in the body business, but the $6k sounded like a huge red flag right up front to me seeing how much little fender benders can cost and with hail is lots of dings on every panel.

Personally, I've never liked USAA. I know they used to offer good service, but I never liked that they acted like they were some sort of non-profit helping service people out. I also hate being called by my rank by civilians. Just yuck. But my friends who have had them have reported their service has really suffered the past several years. Farming more and more out to save money means they don't have the control on quality they used to. They're just trying to be competitive.

As a business model it made sense when large portions of the population served. But a dwindling eligible percentage of the population puts them at a disadvantage with the bigger conglomerating companies. I'm not familiar with any advantages they really offer in an open market. They depend on that illusion that it's something special, or at least that's always been my take.

 

Which shop did you go with, the approved or non-approved?

 

Approved. But because it was hail damage they weren’t allowed to do an estimate of record themselves. Dumb.

 

I wouldn't mind seeing some pictures of the carnage if possible. I'm always curious.

For me, I think there would be a certain point where hail damage was okay (especially with glass intact) but really egregious damage is definitely enough to trash an otherwise perfect car. I suppose I wouldn't mind being seen in something with a few pockmarks. Naïve of me? The ensuing insurance saga would probably convince me to just drive the car as it was.

 

Would depend alot on the color of the car how bad it might look... but if the car is insured, well that's the whole purpose of insurance.

 

I may have read this wrong, or your laws may be different...., but if i read correctly the op vehicle was at the dealer?, or on their property?.
So wouldnt this mean they are responsible for "due care" etc. A analogy would be taking your car to get it serviced,and mechanic (do they exist nowadays) managed to crash the car whilst on the dealer property.

 

Having cars stored outside would not be a violation of due care from a sensible standpoint. That's normal procedure and nothing was done by the dealer to cause harm. Regardless of any laws, that would be a moral low ground to take. Further, he said he left it there while he went on a trip. A 20k service isn't an overnight job... he just didn't bother to pick the car back up. Obviously his insurance is not looking to the dealership to be liable here, and if anyone would want to move liability, it's his insurance. He isn't under insured and looking for payment, his insurance just mismanaged the claim (or possibly he mistaking authorized repairs on behalf of his insurance, which he shouldn't have done, it's hard to know the full back story).

 

Ironically the main reason we brought it up for service is our local dealer said it would take a week to replace the HVCH. The folks up in Minneapolis had it (and the whole 20k service) done in a day.

 

To be exact, he was too cheap to pay for airport parking. Well this was an expensive parking. I never had any problems with USAA. They always paid within 24-48 hours. But I think that their service quality has declined in the last few years. I called them for a claim and they didn’t understand the details, missed important and relevant information etc. But they’re still the best priced insurance in my state.

 

Carnage as requested…

 

Regardless of the intricacy in all of this. The customer should be able to take it to their shop of choice. Was with AAA for 30 years in CA but NC is a little different so dropped the Auto but kept Roadside. Insurance companies have become more and more disagreeable and will find anyway not to pay out. When our 03 GS300 got rear ended on the freeway the police report said it was the woman's fault but she told a different story to her insurance and they refused to pay. Our insurance would have to go after them. Our insurance sent us to their "Independant" estimator which was $2K less than the very reputable body shop. This guy was a younger but industry old timer so didn't think many of the unseen parts were neccessary to replace. A little hammering here and there. Get rid of USAA as we got rid of Progressive.

 

Sorry to see such Damage - Ouch Dealer had it Under His Control - then His Insurance ? Isn't It !

Should of Filed with Auto Dealer . .

Anyhow all Insurance Comp. are Becoming Super Tight after Covid ~ Got even Worst have to Say ..

 

Why didn’t OP leave it at the dealership after the damage and let them deal with USAA? If they send the independent inspectors, the dealer can show them the actual repair cost, calling the insurance to adjust it and it’s properly done by a Volvo dealer. Don’t they have body shop at the dealership?

 

They told us “sorry, you’ll have to go through your insurance.” Friend of mine had a similar incident with identical results. Didn’t think it was worth picking a huge fight over our deductible.

 

Well It's Not about Deductible - it's all about - Damages by Professional Company as They are Responsible to
Customers First - Their Inventory is Second .. Not to mention most Dealer have parking under a Roof 8 cars , In Service Bay & Center hall there 18 cars min.
in Show room for 12 more Additional - then there is Wash Bays 6 cars - Service Folks & Salesmen could have moved a Bunch in 3 Min.. . .

Work shows Carfax & Shows in Value & Hits You in Pocket for 5 years at Your Insurance Company to Tune of $195 Min. or Dropped by Other Insurers . .
That's Lot of Damages . .


I Know I may be Hassle ( They Hoping that Will Send You Away ) but 5K~10K in Damages . . Hey Ya Know what I Mean Right ..

Electrical Company sends Surges down Line - Burns out Your $1100 Flat Screen 2 Dehumidifiers & Melts Buss Bar in You Meter Box - which can't be Replaced 3K
Plus Labor ..

Yeah I'll just Run it through My Company - Man - They Love You - are Invited to Their Personal Golf Club
Christmas Parties
, You Married 1 of Their Daughters ? , IF NOT then You don;t Own Them anything They Owe You ! - Like 5K On Top of Instant Trade In ( Up Grade ) . .

 

I've learned long ago never accept the insurance estimate, and take your car to a Volvo authorized Body Shop (or x brand certified), to get your own. That way you are able to gauge whether or not your insurance estimate is close to what the actual repair cost may be. In any circumstance, the insurance should issue a supplement for any difference between what the body shop estimates and what the insurance initially paid out, once repairs are completed.

 

Oh dear,that damage is pretty bad, we must be lucky here,as if we dont pick the car up on the day (for what ever reason) then the dealer parks it under secure cover.We have had one instance on a 21 volvo where damage was done to the car, the dealer didnt know how it had happened , but didnt quibble and paid for all the repair work (minor scratch,but they had to respray the front), i think i would be pretty devastated if that hail damage happened to our car (23 model).

 

The dealer is not at fault in this one at all. They're not obligated, nor expected, to shelter cars from weather.

Reading back over the initial post.. the discrepancy seems to be between the body shop and the insurance. Did the body shop actually get approval?

"Agreed to hold off on bringing the car in for repairs until the shop got estimates approved and parts ordered and delivered"

If they did, then USAA is completely on the hook.

If this happened instead:

"USAA apparently never agreed to pay out more than the original estimate and the body shop wouldn’t release our car"

Then that's going to fall on the bodyshop for performing unauthorized repairs.

Both statements can't be true, so whichever one is points to the at fault party.

 

Insurance companies cannot dictate where you take the vehicle for repair. They can give the crappiest low ball estimate in the world, but if the body shop can attribute the damage to a legitimate claim, then the body shop and insurance get to duke it out.

Generally speaking (having been through this several times....and in process of dealing with it now), the insurance will issue an estimate + payment. You take the vehicle to the shop of your choosing for repair. Upon completion of repairs, you tender over the payment given for the estimate, and the shop submits a supplement for difference between estimate and final cost. The Shop and Insurance duke it out. Customer isn't responsible at all.

The only exception here would be if the OP didn't inform the shop this was an insurance claim, and the shop didn't reach out to the Insurance company in advance to notify the vehicle was in for repair. Regardless, the insurance company would still have to prove that the effected repairs were unrelated to the actual claim. That's next to impossible given OP had vehicle at dealer, the dealer was subjected to a verifiable hail storm, and I am sure the dealer documented the damage, too.

 

That’s the crux of the matter to me. Last time our car was at the body shop (it’s had a short but hard life) we chose to bring it to the dealer’s shop because we wanted a Volvo-certified collision center doing the repairs. The red tape with USAA was unbelievable. This time since it was a simple (or so I thought) hail damage repair we chose to just bring it to the closest USAA-approved shop (which even did the estimate for our last repair). Why USAA won’t let the collision centers they approve to do estimates for all other damage do hail estimates beats me and I have no idea who’s right or wrong…although based on the customer service I received I’m inclined to side with the local collision center.

Would it have been nice if the dealer had taken some responsibility or offered to help some way or another? Yeah. Am I going to go after them? No, since it was my choice to leave it there a few extra days. It’s frustrating since our local dealer would’ve just done our 20k service and HVCH replacement if they hadn’t said they needed the car for at least a week to get done what turned out to be a day’s worth of work for another dealership.

 

Act of God. Dealer has ZERO LIABILITY. This is why people have comprehensive insurance.

 

OH that Clears that Up >/. ./.

 

It's definitely something to keep in mind in areas with volatile weather. I'm kind of surprised a dealership in such an area wouldn't have covered parking, but I guess it's different budgets: capex versus monthly insurance.

 

Dealer has no liability for acts of god, so from a cost standpoint, why would the dealer undertake the expense to protect customer's cars?

 

I have been with USAA for ~30 years. The trajectory has been noticeably downhill. TWICE they failed to send the correct info to the DMV which prevented me registering the car resulting in more time away from work. Another commenter hit it on the head. When they were small and worked everything in-house, they were awesome. Now when you call it normally takes 2-3 people to get to somebody who can help because you start out in Voicemail H3ll waiting (an unusually high volume of calls...) for the first human AFTER the robot misunderstands. If you are core USAA there is a kickback program, if you are property-casualty IDK why anyone would bother, buy by price.

 

I was at that dealer on Oct. 4th to pick up my vehicle for mice damage. See "Mice!!!" Post. There was a black Xc90 in the drop off area with massive hail damage to the hood. I wonder if it was yours?

 

Nope. Ours got fixed in IA. I’m guessing they had a LOT of cars hailed on. I didn’t see any C40s on scratch/dent special though 😢

 

I may have read this wrong, or your laws may be different...., but if i read correctly the op vehicle was at the dealer?, or on their property?.
So wouldnt this mean they are responsible for "due care" etc. A analogy would be taking your car to get it serviced,and mechanic (do they exist nowadays) managed to crash the car whilst on the dealer property.

Can you imagine taking a loaner home, parking it outside during a hail storm, and it get damaged? And the dealer saying this is your responsibility? I have a feeling you’d walk back this wild inaccuracy in that moment. Because you know… it involves you.

 

Exactly. Imagine a tornado or earthquake what then? Is the dealer supposed to have an underground bunker for cars?

Acts of nature suck but that's why people need good insurance coverage.

 

Dealer has no liability for acts of god, so from a cost standpoint, why would the dealer undertake the expense to protect customer's cars?

? Dealer has cars, too...

 

It doesn't matter. Act of "God" / Nature aren't dealer's responsibility. Let's say the dealer did have a secure shelter for vehicles. The dealer could choose to put all their cars under it and leave customer's vehicles outside. That wouldn't change the fact that the dealer still has NO responsibility here.

.....The very reason you have insurance. It would be the same as if lightning struck your house or a tornado rolled through and leveled it.

 

I'm curious whether or not USAA offered you diminished value?

My low mileage V60 was hit in the door by a USAA driver. Their body shop told me that the internal metal of the door could not be replaced or rehaped, causing a new OEM door to be ordered. I pressed USAA for diminished value but they refused, stating that the door was not a 'structural' part and they wouldn't cover it. After much haggling I received a few bucks, but certainly not the hit I will take in a sale. Not happy with USAA.

 

Yes Your All Correct in Saying it's all Down Hill - Got a Shipping Claim do to Damages : ( But Let Me Start by saying First Claim in 18yrs .. ) OK
After 45 Day Review ( Investigation ) , After Providing More Evidence - with Up Loaded Pictures - which is another Very System for Idiots !
More on that Later ..
We Arrived @ Solved for You - a Check will be Cut soon and sent Out .. 45 More Days -Now 90 Days - It was Authorized sent over to Insurance Division - to Be Issued ? ( HA ) ?
28 More Days Check to be Issued ~ That ~ Takes 10-15 Business Days ..( Still NOT Done ) . .

F. M. F's = Truth

OK 18yrs ago I walked in FedEx for Damaged Package - showed to them Customer Service - had a Damaged Line on Turbo Housing from UK .. Heavy Package ..
I Told them I had an Extra Line so I could still Use Item .. Customer Service asked for Proof I Paid for Item ( I Provided Credit Card ) - She came back in 7-8 Min which seemed Like
20Min as I was Concerned .. ( She Approached - Gave Me back My Card and Said They were Sorry for Messing Up Package ..) & That - Everything was Cleared on Cost !
Shipping was $284.00 - I Felt Relieved - But when I Checked ~ FedEx - gave Full Credit = Shipping & Part = $1085 & Vat Tax . . WOW WHAT !
Wholly Molly ~ Bought Tickets to Buffalo Bills game & Pizza !

Fast Forward to Today & Total Influence of Computers & BS in Customer Service - all in Name Cost Cutting & Robotic Answering Machines , Oh Lets Not Forget Insurance Company 's Forcing More Companies to be Self Insured . . Due to Huger Rate Increases , soooo then Add in CEO's Trying for Their Million Dollar Bonuses !
Cost Cutting to Tenth Degree !! ( 25% ) Working from Home ???

Back to OUR Future : We all have 4K TV's & Phones & Computer Screens Camera's etc.. ( Why Then ) Must We do all HAVE Work like Someone Hired Us as Secretary - Business have No Texting No E-mail Direct , No Secure Communications for Customer Service ?

Instead Companies have a Up Load Site - where they Demand Cookies or Log in , Your ID , Your E-mail , Your Phone , Your Address & Only Up Load 1 Picture @ Time
as they have a 5mb Limit & Evidence 8 Pictures which are all 4mb min to 6mb. & Doc's come to 27 Mb - can't get Done in 1 E-mail or 1 Up Load ..

Burn Your Time as a Customer , Burn Your Data , Burn You Period & Z Generation Thinks this is Normal !

OH Yeah some also even - Sell Your Info !
Paid to Share It !

Adding Insults to Injury & Damages - I Took Item Directly to FedEx - where They Witness Item in Person & Took Pictures - Yet Would NOT Resolve Issue !
This is also Union Crap . . " Everyone Afraid to Actually Do Their Job " ~ This is Why China says United Stated of America is Failing . . Congress is Another Great Example ..

 

Everyone Has Weather Apps on Their Phones - Salesmen & Owners of Dealer Ship Live on Phone !
All day - Kind Like a Amber Alert and You see the Car coming by and say Nothing ..

Hey It's on Way there are damages Reported - Your a Long Time Customer - and Oh get My car inside but Leaves everyone Else 30K-50K Vehicles
Out in Mother nature to be Destroyed ~ Id Never Buy even a qt of Oil there every Again ..