[Flacht3]

Long story short and Geico is covering my bumper/fender/wheel and tie-rod BUT won't cover the steering rack because they seem to think there's no proof it's damaged. The kicker is there's a BMW bulletin that whenever there's steering damage and you replace the tie-rod you need to also replace the rack no matter what. I could be taking this too literally from my service advisor but that's how he positioned it. Any thoughts on pushing Geico to pony up and replace it?

[Ultimate Driving Giraffe]

How much is the cost of the rack? You could sue them in small claims court.

[RickFLM4]

Get a repair estimate from the dealer (or wherever it will be fixed). Assuming they believe the steering rack needs replacing and include it in the estimate, ask Geico to explain in writing why they do not believe it needs replacing when a third party indicates it is needed. Explain to them you don't feel safe if it is not repaired properly based on the third party estimate and you wouldn't be comfortable selling the car to someone else without a written explanation. See where it goes from there.

[F80 ZCP]

Originally Posted by ItIsChrisM

Long story short and Geico is covering my bumper/fender/wheel and tie-rod BUT won't cover the steering rack because they seem to think there's no proof it's damaged. The kicker is there's a BMW bulletin that whenever there's steering damage and you replace the tie-rod you need to also replace the rack no matter what. I could be taking this too literally from my service advisor but that's how he positioned it. Any thoughts on pushing Geico to pony up and replace it?

Did Geico replace your parts with OEM?

[Flacht3]

Originally Posted by AngeloGabriel

Did Geico replace your parts with OEM?

So far, yes. The explanation from BMW (so their word, not GEICO's) is if the car is new enough they'll only use OEM but if it's a few years old they'll try to get away with re-furbished or "used" parts and justify it by saying if the BMW parts damaged were 3-4 years old then a re-furbished or aftermarket part is more comparable than a brand new OEM part. I see both sides of it, but hopefully I won't ever have to deal with it.

I have a PDF of the bulletin regarding steering repair if anyone is interested in seeing it.

[EJT86]

A good repair shop will get this done for you. Stress this to the repair shop and let them know you'll go somewhere else if they can't get this covered

[oolas3]

Like the OP said, take it to a shop that is aggressive with insurance companies. They will go to bat for you. If that doesn't work, file a complaint with your state department of insurance.

[Jaghave]

I got a local body shop that very aggressive with the insurance company in central jersey

[Flacht3]

Thanks all. Printed out the bulletin and told GEICO I felt unsafe if they didn't repair exactly to BMWs standards and it looks like they're playing ball now. They tried to play it off like they didn't know it was a mandate but my SA was pretty clear about it.

[roccy_miyagi]

pretty much, they'll try to get away with whatever you'll let them get away with. you just have to be aggressive & not let up. the mention of a laywer & the dept. of insurance usually gets the ball rolling.

[eseny]

Originally Posted by ItIsChrisM

So far, yes. The explanation from BMW (so their word, not GEICO's) is if the car is new enough they'll only use OEM but if it's a few years old they'll try to get away with re-furbished or "used" parts and justify it by saying if the BMW parts damaged were 3-4 years old then a re-furbished or aftermarket part is more comparable than a brand new OEM part. I see both sides of it, but hopefully I won't ever have to deal with it.

I have a PDF of the bulletin regarding steering repair if anyone is interested in seeing it.

I realize this is an old thread but I would like a copy of the SB.