Will I ever get my car back? An inside look at my auto insurance claim.

Have you ever spent any extended time away from your car? Most of us may spend a week or two away on a trip. Then waiting for you at the airport you find your car buddy. Well, it's been just about a month since I've seen my car. And guess what? I miss it. What does this mean? Do I have feeling, dare I say an attachment to my car? Or do I just not like my rental that much?
Let's not get carried away here. Yes, I do miss my car. Yes, spending time with this rental car has made me appreciate my car even more. I also get a little sad when I pass the same make and model of my car that is in the shop. Anyone have the number for an auto therapist?
Hopefully, this week I will finally get my car back. The estimated return date is on the sixth. I can't wait to see my car's smiling grill. I wonder if it misses me too? I'm not expecting a welcome like I get from my dog. But, it will be nice to see my car's shiny exterior and to wrap my hands around the heated steering wheel again. Maybe it will give me a cute beep from it's horn when I see it. That would be a nice gesture.
The claims process has been slow. I don't know if the shop I took it to is just busy. Or, if the approval process has been slow. Or if getting parts took awhile. Regardless, it should be over soon. 
Here's what I've learned so far during this claim. First, having a car accident stinks. Second, it will take longer to get your car back than you think it will. Third, it will be much more expensive to fix than you would imagine.
When I brought the car in just about a month ago you could see the damage. Mostly, because a good portion of the bumper had been removed by the car that hit me.  To my untrained eye I just needed a metal part welded that was bent down. Then slap another bumper on paint it and done. Off you go in a week. Uhm, yeah that's not how it's gone.
It took awhile to get the estimate for the repair. What I thought would take a day took a week. Then when the estimate came in it was so high, over 11,000 dollars the body shop had to run a valuation of my car. Just to make sure it didn't exceed the amount they would "total" the car out. After that was done the insurance company approved doing the repairs. Then they had to order the parts. If there is even a scratch on a perfectly usable part the insurance company is going to replace the part, not fix it. My parts total was over 9,000 dollars. That's a lot more than a bumper. 
Once the parts were in my car needed to get put on the list to get repaired. I needed a mechanic to disconnect the electronics. Then the body guy could start taking off the broken parts. They had to cradle my engine (I hope they sang a lullaby while this was happening) so that they engine mount could be replaced. Then they had to bolt everything back together. Apparently, I'm at the paint stage. 
This should be the home stretch for the car repair. It's been a long journey and if I was paying for the rental car or for the repair I could see getting frustrated. I'm just trying to be patient and hopefully, when I get my car back it will be as good as new.
​If you have any questions about your repair process you can always call your claims department. If you need a quote for some insurance give me a call at 951-395-0754