Body Shops

Where do I go to get estimates for fixing the damage to my precious Prius? Where are the good body shops in this area? I have no idea. But The Man does. He says that The Guys At Work say to go to the body shop on Barker Rd, just south of where Gebhardt Road ends.

The Guys At Work know everything that is important to know. On all issues. Will Brett actually play for the Jets, or will they trade him? Ask The Guys At Work. Is a Jeep more reliable than a Chevy? The Guys At Work will know. Where is a good body shop around here? The Guys say I should go to Abra Auto Body on Barker Road and Gebhardt Roads.

“Body Shop?” I say. “There’s no body shop on Barker Road.” “Sure there is.” says The Man. Well, I know better than to bet on this kind of thing with the Man Who IS One Of The Guys At Work, but golly, I drive that way all the time.

“There’s a nursing home on Barker Road at the end of Gebhardt,” I say. “It’s got about a mile-long row of ugly red begonias planted right in the sun in front of the place. Can you believe it?" I say. "Begonias! In the sun!”

“I don’t know about any begonias on Barker,” The Man admits, “but there IS a body shop there.”

So, just to prove my point, I drive there. And of course he’s right. Again. It is called Abra Auto Body, and it is just one or two buildings to the south of the nursing home with the red begonias burning up in the sun.

So I get an estimate from Abra's Body Shop and one from a body shop called Marshall’s that is just east of that cool antique shop and restaurant on Hwy J, beyond Goerke’s Corners. Marshall’s is recommended by my walking companion and friend, Hilde. It turns out she is somewhat of an expert on auto body work. “If you’d raised sons instead of daughters, you’d be familiar with body shops, too,” she tells me. So I get two estimates.

Wouldn’t you think that car repair would be similar to having your oil changed -- there might be a slight difference in price from the car dealer to the BP station, but not so much as to cause you to drive an extra five miles to have it done? Well! It ain’t so. The estimate from Abra was $1771.99 and from Marshall’s it was $2729.77! And they are doing the identical work. I think. If I understood what they said. Anyway, there is a substantial difference.

The Man calls our auto insurance company, Farmer’s Insurance. They tell him they work with Marshall’s, and I should take the car there for repairs. Now I think we have an ethical dilemma. Do we pay for the repair ourselves at a cost of $1771.99? Or do we pay our $250 deductible and let the insurance company get ripped off? It wasn’t a dilemma for The Man With The Wallet. He says, “This is what we have paid insurance premiums for all these years.”

I guess I can live with the guilt. And the $1521.99. Maybe I’ll buy some more plants for my big, sunny garden.

But certainly not begonias.

Signed,
Stirring the Pot