Car dealer body shop fudges repair. What to do?

[MindPilot]

29. Would you like some advice from an experienced pro?

20+ years as a car dealer tech.

This is not necessarily a case of shoddy repairs or any kind of rip-off. This is simply what the insurance company will call hidden damage. The guy who does the body work is not skilled in electrical repairs, but there is no provision in the insurance payment to cover the cost of that. Additionally the guy working on it may have not seen that as enough of an issue to start the process to create a supplement; asking the insurance company to cover additional costs.

So, bottom line, nobody is trying to rip you off. You need to go back to the adjuster who took care of your claim and tell them you have found hidden damage. This is the insurance company's repair to pay for, not the dealership.

Take the car back to the dealer but go to the service department, not the body shop and get an estimate for the electrical work. You may have to pay and get reimbursed by the insurance company because the service department doesn't have the same administrative structure as the body shop does to bill insurance.

I was the electrical guy...this kind of thing was a daily occurrence, and I would tell you the exact same thing as the service manager did; "go back to your adjuster".