Another one rear ended...

[NotSerious]

Just received an estimate - 500$ for parts and labor. They want to fix the bumper and replace shiny plastic part. I wonder how the heck they would fix the plastic bumper???

The bumper is supposed to absorb some of the shock in a collision.
If they "fix" the existing bumper, it likely would not have the same absorption qualities as a new one.
I would insist on a new one.

If this is the other guy's insurance Company that is trying to screw you around, make sure that you get your own estimates. Start with your own dealer. The other guy's insurance company has no interest is treating you fairly. You will have to fight for your rights. Your dealer is more likely to look out for your interests since you are their customer.

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[parshisa]

The bumper is supposed to absorb some of the shock in a collision.
If they "fix" the existing bumper, it likely would not have the same absorption qualities as a new one.
I would insist on a new one.

If this is the other guy's insurance Company that is trying to screw you around, make sure that you get your own estimates. Start with your own dealer. The other guy's insurance company has no interest is treating you fairly. You will have to fight for your rights. Your dealer is more likely to look out for your interests since you are their customer.

I don’t have a dealer. In 18K of my car ownership it has been to the dealer once for recall work. And i can assure you that dealer can care less about the guy who bought base trim civic for cash. I’ll definitely get another quote from honda certified shop and use it for negotiation.

As far as bumper replacement, i’m not sure if i’ll go for it. Or any repairs at all. Damage is minimal. Also, i can’t afford the body shop to mess up my paint that i spent countless hours correcting, ceramic coating and maintaining. Too much money ans effort being involved. We shall see

 

[BrianDevin]

Sorry mate, wheels are essential for the car to movable lol

Nah man just drive on the rotors. Wheels and tires are so last year.

 

[aquaman]

Do NOT FILE A CLAIM with your own insturance company. This is a convenience option a lot of insurers offer, just so you get paid right away, instead of waiting for the other party. If you DO however, even if you are not at fault, the record of "a claim" will still be on your file. My insurance company kept messing with me for years over this. (I naively made the mistake that OP is making.) Every time I tried to negotiate a better rate, they just said "but you have a claim on your history". I kept saying No, it was the other party's fault, you told me you were taking care of me.

 

[parshisa]

Do NOT FILE A CLAIM with your own insturance company. This is a convenience option a lot of insurers offer, just so you get paid right away, instead of waiting for the other party. If you DO however, even if you are not at fault, the record of "a claim" will still be on your file. My insurance company kept messing with me for years over this. (I naively made the mistake that OP is making.) Every time I tried to negotiate a better rate, they just said "but you have a claim on your history". I kept saying No, it was the other party's fault, you told me you were taking care of me.

I haven’t. I’m going through his insurance, they are paying for repairs

 

[aquaman]

I haven’t. I’m going through his insurance, they are paying for repairs

Great. That is the right approach. It will take some time but your car is running fine so shouldn't be a big deal.

 

[parshisa]

Great. That is the right approach. It will take some time but your car is running fine so shouldn't be a big deal.

I actually already dropped the car off in the shop this morning. Insurance came back with an estimate and gave me a green light to choose the shop. Now, depending on the damage we shall how long it takes..

 

[justinjspog]

In case you didnt know, this will go into your carfax report as "minor accident" if you filed with the insurance. Something similar happened to my old Accord and i filed with the insurance. When i sold my car, the dealer used this to lowball my trade-in. Some private buyers also afraid of this on the report. If you willing to keep the car forever and dont mind the tiny crack, file the insurance and pocket that extra money. Otherwise, be aware how it will affect your re-selling value later down the road once Carfax chalked it up.

Just fully document the damage if you intend to resell the car down the road. I’ve had minor damage like this and went through my insurance. I extensively documented the damage done and kept all the body shop estimates, explanations, and invoice and was able to effectively explain it to my buyer who was initially worried by the CarFax report.

There are different levels of reporting to CarFax. This will be “under $1200” or something like that. Almost anything costs about a grand, so you’re good.

You also shouldn’t have to pay the deductible. I don’t know which jurisdiction you’re in, but usually if you’re not at fault (there’s assignation of fault even in zero-fault jurisdictions. I know, confusion.) then you generally don’t pay the deductible, because your insurance pays for it and gets reimbursed by the other party’s insurance.

 

[parshisa]

Update.

Got my car fixed and back now. Bumper was repaired, partially painted, blended in and whole cover clearcoated. As expected, adjacent panels are jacked and covered with marring and swirls. Although the rest of the car looks ok - never been washed. With that said, I'll have to remove CQUK, repolish and re-apply. Sucks, but oh well.

I'll to get back to the shop though. Believe it or not, but they didn't install the bumper correctly - there's a huge gap between the hatch rubber seal and bumper. I've noticed it at pick up but it was 6pm and I told service advisor I'll come back another day and he agreed to get it fixed at no charge. Funny, he said yeah, we just need to remove these screws and push the bumper up. Fuck no, bumper needs to be removed and re-aligned. Unreal. None of the car related experience have been smooth for me. All the time techs would do something stupid and I'd have to go back to get it fixed. Tired of this shit

 

[parshisa]

But, I have to give it service advisor - he is a nice guy and was very helpful all the way through the process. Kudos to at fault's driver insurance as well - got it all approved really quickly, took care of the rental. Next step - try to get diminished value mailed in check from to me.

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