Well just had my first accident with my 2k2 Gray lustre Max. I smashed in the rear corner of my back bumper. Anyone know what the damage will be? I just called Tustin for a price quote and they said the bumper alone is $164 not including shipping. Should I claim this on my insurance or do the work myself? $164 plus shipping and I will need the service of a body shop to paint the bumper. I live in the Central NJ area. Any suggestions or Ideas are welcome. Thanks all.

 

Get a quote or two from a body shop to find out for sure. They might need to paint the entire bumper. You may be better off just getting a new one.

 

Factors to consider:
1) Deductible on collision
2) Minor dents sometimes can be fixed without replacement. Use search inolder threats.
3) Deductible on comprehensive. However, I would have to lie (I don't like to) that it happened, so you are not at fault AND it was not caused by another moving vehicle.

 

Good job on the response...I totally agree...but

Revised 3) I parked my car at {place a busy Parking Lot}, went inside and came out to see this....I am ****ed at people who have no courtesy to acknowledge the damage they did to my car!

Remember act like you just can't believe it, it helps alot in having them calm you down... lol

 

Two years ago I parked near Costco before closing. After I returned home I found big dent on the left rear fender. There were no signs of dragging, no scratches, just a dent. When I loaded the stuff I did not notice it. Naturally, I claimed that somebody ran a heavy loaded shopping cart into my car. Geico people said may be it was another vehicle. I replied: "No dragging signs. It did not look like another car." They agreed. The difference for me was between $250 deductible on collision (if a vehicle hit and ran) and $100 deductible on comprehensive (act of vandalism of some kind).

The bottom line is: if there is a doubt, treat it in your own favor. However, if I would make the damage myself I will not claim non-existent "vandalism".

 

Thanks for the advice. First time this situation has happened to me.

 

I had someone hit my rear bumper on my 2k2 Max. It cost $500 to get repaired at a Nissan dealer. At least if you get it done by Nissan you 'should' be getting a decent job. I live in the Boston area.

They replaced the whole bumper which ran at $200 and then labor was about 6.5 hours and cost about $290.

Don't go through the insurance as it will cost you a lot more in the long run, decuctible and increased premiums in future years. I was lucky as I did it on the other persons insurance.

Good luck with the repairs.

 

Ok, I had this same problem but with a little hit and run incident (Yes, I chased down the girl and got the info, made her pay for it as well). Don't claim it on insurance, it will hurt you in the long run. My quote for my bumper in the end was a hefty $468.53, but you should factor in that I didn't have to pay for it so I wasn't trying to find the "best" price. I did go to two different places though and they were both the same. I say if you can get that price of $164, DO IT RIGHT AWAY!!! But, just remember, painting and ect. is the part that costs the most. Good luck with everything and get back to us on how everything went...

 

Just be glad that the Maxima bumper is so cheap. I just had to get a rear bumper for my Trooper and it was more than twice as much. Painting the bumper itself should be less than $300 and that should include installation. I would definitely not deal with the insurance company over such a minor repair. FYI, the dealer is not always the best place to take the car. I have used an independent body shop that the local Acura and Infiniti dealers are using and feel comfortable with the quality of their work.

 

Thanks guys for all your help I think that I will take the hit on this and do the repair myself. I'll find a local autobody shop so that they can do this repair. Also I think I will have my grill painted the same color. This hurts so close to the Holidays but what can you do. Happy Thanksgiving to all, we all have a lot to be greatful for.