Insurance Co Hassles

[Bmmerpilot@xxxxxxx]

Digesters-

I had a bicyclist run into the door of my E36 as I was opening it- the guy 
must have been pretty close, as it was only open about 4" when he hit it. The 
bicyclist is OK, though he took quite a spill.

The damage is confined to the outer inch or so of the door, but the body shop 
says they need to refinish the entire door, because they can't match and 
blend the clearcoated metallic (bronzit beige) paint closely enough.

My insurance company, State Farm, will only pay for "Blending and 
colorsanding" the outer edge of the door- the difference amounts to about 
$800.

Certainly a visible "patch" job like this will have a negative effect on the 
resale value of the car. I vaguely remember that there are companies that 
will inspect the car, and estimate the effect of the repair on the vehicle's 
value. Anybody know what these services are called, and/or have experience 
with one in the San Francisco area?

TIA for your help-

George W. Traminer

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