"Leon" wrote in message
...

"krw" wrote in message
t...

He didn't get paid because he slid it under the rug. He *HAD* to,
or he would have been stuck with a "rebuilt" vehicle with zero miles
on it. They usually don't have insurance against such things either
(thou$and$ in deductibles).


He got paid. I got paid. The used vehicle status does not apply in Texas
simply because you replace a part.


Just to take this a bit further, deductibles are not that big of a concern
to dealer after a certain point. Insurance pays full price for repair less
their little discount. This price is still most often more than the dealer
cost even after the deductible is taken out. Because the price that the
dealer collects less the deductible from the insurance company, he still
shows a profit. For example, the deductible is $1,000. Lets say the lot
lizard is parking the vehicle in a row of tightly arranged vehicles. His
front bumper hit the car nest to his parking spot very lightly and put a
crease across the front of the quarter panel, rear door skin, front door
skin and the back of the fender. All of those pieces can be repaired more
cheaply than replacement except for the fender. Seriously the damage is
mostly cosmetic but the repair bill is going to be $2500, less the typical
10% "on parts" for the insurance company less a $1000 deductible. The
fender is the only part being replaced at retail price of $600.. The
insurance company pays $2500 less $60 discount on the parts, less $1000 for
the deductible. The dealer collects $1440. The fender cost is $300, the
dealer internal labor cost is 22 hours at $20 per hour paid to his body men
and painters, the body repair and paint materials cost is $300. This all
comes to a total of $1040. The dealer makes $400.
You have to remember that insurance companies pay retail less the typical
discount of 10% on parts. The dealer has the advantage of doing the repair
at his cost and not paying retail pricing. Body work is a high percentage
profit, money making business. The dealer discloses that there was cosmetic
damage on the car and typically says that he will stand behind the repair as
long as the customer owns the vehicle.