Wheel fell off car after shop changed them!!

[Tom]

This morning I went to a well known tire chain to get new rubber put on my wife’s car. About 100m – 200m down the road I notice something off with the steering so I slow down and put on the emergency flashers. I was about to turn into a driveway when the front left wheel fell off the car in rolled down the road and into oncoming traffic. Luckily, all other drivers avoided the tire and it crashed into a fence without any damage. My car has damage to the front quarter panel and driver’s door as well as some scrapes on the lower control arm and ball joint. Obviously the mechanic didn’t tighten the lug nuts.

I went back to the shop, and as calmly as possible explained the situation. They jacked up the car, put the spare on, and brought it back to the shop. They were of course very conciliatory and said that their insurance would take care of all the damages and pay for a rental car. My concern is that they will take the car to a cheap body shop and not repair it properly. The car is currently at the tire shop.

Does anyone have any suggestions about what I should do now? Should I take the car to my own body shop and then sue, or somehow work with the tire shops insurance? Any advice would be appreciated. I would prefer an amicable resolution with their insurance company so this doesn’t need to go to small claims court.

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[Bill]

I would want to know who they use for body work then you can check on their reputation. If you don’t like what you see then ask them if you can take it to a shop of your choice.

If they don’t comply tell them that your Lawyer will be involved and wait for their reaction. Then you can decide on what to do next.

[Tom]

Yes, that sounds fairly reasonable. I’m wondering if I should contact my insurance and get a list of preferred body shops from them and use those. What do people think about insurance recommended shops, do they usually do good work, or is is just the cheapest place the insurer could find?

[michael]

insurance companies use shops that do what they want them to do at the price they want. This usually means you aren’t getting the quality you would get if you were paying for it.

[Author]

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