Shop disassembled my car for estimate, now I can't drive it home — is this normal??

Oh no, this is almost exactly what happened to me two years ago. I used an insurer-preferred shop after a side collision and they partially disassembled the door panel for their evaluation. When they totaled it, I was suddenly responsible for getting an undriveable car off their lot. What saved me was that my own insurance (even though I wasn't at fault) helped me push back on the at-fault carrier. Definitely loop in your own insurer if you haven't already — they can sometimes light a fire under the other side in ways you can't do solo.

I used to work on the carrier side and honestly the Thursday-afternoon-before-closing call is such a frustrating pattern. I don't think it's malicious every time, but it does conveniently give you less time to escalate or ask questions before fees start accruing.

On the reassembly charge — that's worth fighting. The shop disassembled the vehicle as part of their inspection process to produce their estimate for the insurer. The argument that you now owe them labor for putting it back to a driveable state is shaky. Push back in writing, and cc the at-fault insurer's claims adjuster on that email.

A few practical things worth knowing: in most states, if a vehicle is declared a total loss, the insurer takes on the responsibility of the vehicle once you sign over the title. Until you do that, yeah, there's a gray area. Don't sign anything or accept any settlement check until you're clear on who's paying for storage and the reassembly situation. Get everything in a written summary from the adjuster — not just verbal. And document every fee they try to charge you.

Short answer: yes, you probably should have gone to your own shop first. Long answer: you know that now, so let's deal with what's in front of you. Call the at-fault insurer's claims line Monday morning, be calm but firm, and specifically ask them to authorize the reassembly so the car is towable, and to pause storage fees while the total loss paperwork is sorted. Most adjusters can approve that kind of thing pretty quickly if you just ask directly.

I know this isn't a medical question but I just want to say — the stress of dealing with this stuff after an accident is so real and so underestimated. Even a "minor" crash puts your nervous system on alert and then having to fight bureaucratic nonsense on top of it is exhausting. Please make sure you're actually checking in with yourself physically too. Soft tissue stuff from rear-end impacts can show up delayed. Don't let the car drama distract you from making sure you're okay.

Not dismissing your frustration, but I'm curious — did you read the intake paperwork you signed when you dropped the car off? A lot of shops include language authorizing disassembly for diagnostic purposes in the standard drop-off agreement. If that's in there, your fight may be more with the insurer (for sending you to that shop) than with the shop itself. Not saying you're wrong, just that it might affect your strategy.

I know it doesn't feel like it right now, but a total loss payout on an older car can sometimes actually land you in a better position than a repaired one — especially since a repaired car with accident history can have diminished value anyway. Once you get the storage/reassembly situation sorted, it might be worth focusing energy on making sure you get a fair market value offer for the total loss rather than just accepting whatever number they throw at you first.