Hi Y'all!
I'm in a little quandry with the dealer and wonder if you'd advise me. My 350 ZR is a 2005. I love the car, and drive it all the time, but don't do track or rally's or anything (Too old.) Contrary to what I say below, I am kind to the car, and keep her in good shape, except as below.
About ten months ago I betgan a series of mishaps. I ran against a curb, front edges of parking spots, and sustained my first damage during that time. The underside was bad enough that the plastic panel needs to be replaced. Ant the bumper and its front spoiler need to be replaced; and then a little paint to coordinate bumper and spoiler they say.
I don't know what got into me, but I just assumed it was the chassis, therefore no damage to the car. The wife had me have it estimated; and the fix would have been over $700. I figured since the car was only 4" off the ground I'd probably do it again until I learned better, then I could have it all fixed.
So today since I haven't had any damage since that referred to above, I decided to get an estimate and probably get everything fixed. So the dealer/appraiser (the same guy I used for the first appraisal) gave me an appraisal...of $1400 dollars! DOUBLE the original from about nine months ago!! With maybe a little more damage, but nothing major over what I had done before. No structural damage. No more cracks in the bumper/spoiler, no additional paint to match.
So I will get 3 4 more estimates, but this guy can't be that far off, can he? I reminded him of the old estimate, BTW; so he restated that with no painting (just reinstall the spoiler with a few scratches), a new bumper but only "white", not necessarily matched; and a new underside panel - uncoordinated. And the bill would just be $740!
Should I think about taking him up at the "patch" price? Should I pay the $1400 because of my ignorance? Should I just not fix it? The dealer tells me other Z owners (who are only involved in driving themselves) don't fix such problems at all since they're almost completely out of site and cause no harm as is. Can I count on that being a truthful statement, and consequently not worry (at least for a while).
As you can see, I'm discombobulated and would appreciate any advise and or leadership from you guys. I guess since I'm 65 and recovering from a life-threatening illness, I'm trying to be a kid again; AND BY D..N, that's exactly what I intend to do from here on! But I do want to make a correct and responsible decision here. So it is in this context as above that I need your help. I sure would appreciate hearing whatever you have to say.
