Just had my Sterling Mist 2002 SE rear ended by some idiot teenager driving mommy's loaner SUV. Hit was about 5 - 10 mph and resulted in gouging and deformation of the bumper cover. The bumper cover arches up a bit relative to the bottom lip of the trunk, so there looks like damage to the bumper structure itself. Trunk lid alignment seems OK by my eye relative to the rear quarter panels.

This being NJ, it may not make sense to claim this even though the officer stated it was clearly the other driver's fault (I had stopped at an intersection to allow a pedestrian to cross) and given my $500 deductible.

I'd appreciate hearing the repair costs from anybody in the org who has had to have a rear bumper replaced. I'll probably have this done by the body shop owned by my selling dealer. I've seen their work and its very good.

PS - Lets hope the new paint matches the original better than Nissan's touch up paint does.

 

$400-$500 for just the bumper cover replaced + paint

 

I'm confused....if he hit you and was ticketed why isn't he paying. You don't need to file a claim, his insurance should cover it.

If you don't want to file a claim talk to the other driver and get them to pay you cash so they don't have to file either.

 

If you want it done right your looking at about $500-$650 in the NJ area to have it fixed. I went the ghetto route to save $200 and after 5 months the paint is starting to flake off. To repair that the quote was $400 so do it right the first time. This was only to replace damaged bumper cover and paint.

 

Mine was around $600 with no structual damage - just remove,repair and put back on. Quality shop should have no trouble matching paint. I agree that his insurance should be paying. Good luck with the repairs.

 

He wasn't ticketed. The cop said that "these happen all the time" and didn't bother ticketing him. The cop did say that it was "clearly the other driver's fault" because I was stopped at an intersection to allow a pedestrian to cross the street. As long as this is what actually appears on the accident report, I'm OK. I didn't want to press it because the cop appeared to be siding with me. The bad part is that he told me I could leave but he was still sorting out the paperwork on the SUV. Who know what they told him, but I think I was more credible (and I was telling the truth.) I'll get the report on Friday or next Monday.

My street sense told me that I'd never see this punk again - he was pushing too hard to do a streetside cash settlement and (even while the cop was there) began to tell me that it would just buff out. Of course, the bumper cover was gouged out and scuffed. It was a group of 4 kids in their late teens - early 20's driving mommie's loaner SUV for a ride to the beach. SUV was plated in NY, this was in NJ. Based on his age, his attitude, and out of state plates, I made the decision to get the accident report. I also suspect mommie's loaner agreement did not allow for other drivers (my dealer loaners don't) which made him so anxious to settle on the street.

Called my insurance company who advised me to file with the other driver's company. If I did it through my own, they pay the damage and then attempt to recover all monies (including my deductible) through the other insurance company. Here's what sucks. If this isn't settled by the time my policy renews, its shown as a loss payout and up go my rates. On the other hand, I was told that the insurance cos may just agree to share liability to get it settled - of course, then my rates go up.

I did get an estimate from my dealer's body shop (Acme in Highland Park, NJ). The cost for a new bumper cover with paint is $569.14. The foam and the metal parts of the bumper seemed to be OK, but they can't tell until they get the cover off. The body shop manager advised me not to be in a rush to get this fixed and to file a claim with the other guys insurance company to better protect myself in case there is hidden damage.

 

i had a run in with a piece of plywood last week on the highway, flew off a guys truck. it put a small crack on my front bumper, scuffed my headlight, and put a small dent on the front of the hood. 1700 bucks for a new bumper, headlight, fix the dent in the hood, and paint for the new bumper that they will blend into the fenders and hood. gotta love comprehensive!!

 

Did your rates go up?

I spoke to my agent later today and got some more information. She stated that the other driver not being ticketed was really meaningless in terms of liability. As long as I was hit square from the rear, the liability is completely on the driver who hit me, reagardless of why I was stopped. She suggested that to avoid the potential for rate increases, I file a claim with the other driver's insurance and keep my own company out of it. She graciously offered to help me through the process.

The one good thing was that I was coming home from a state park where I was giving my new digital camera a trial run, so I have nice high resolution digital photos showing my paint evenly across the lower grill of the SUV and the marks on my bumper that match up with the SUV grill. Gotta love that Canon Powershot S400. In the meantime, I have to wait until the end of the week at the earliest for a trip "down the shore" to pick up the police report. Good excuse for a sick day at the beach.

 

my rates did not go up since there was nothing i could do about it. it was unavoidable. anything that you cant avoid or act of god, comprehensive will cover you and rates wont go up. my insurance company just wrote me a check for 1700.

as far as your situation goes i would go get three different estimates from three different places and get the quotes. they will be free. then call the guy and tell him the estimates and tell him he can either pay you cash or check or you will call his insurance company and go through them. if he is smart he will just give you the money for the estimate that you got or else his insurance will go up. do not go through your insurance company!

 

My insurance agent gave the same advice regarding skipping my own insurance company. We did discuss the issue of getting a cash settlement, but both the insurance agent and dealer's body shop manager cautioned me to be sure an agreement is in writing and includes provisions to cover hidden damages if discovered after disassembly.

I look at it this way. Its to my benefit to go through his insurance rathter than a cash settlement. If I go through his insurance, then the issue of any hidden damages are less of a hassle to address. The body shop can handle it with the adjuster - a pretty typical situation. If I go for cash, then I have to go after additional money which may or may not be forthcoming.

To be perfectly honest, I don't care about this guy's insurance premiums and how they may change as a result of his negligence. I had a mint 2002 SE. He was busy talking to the girlfriend and drove into me -- he was at fault. I want my car back in its original condition (as close as possible) with the minimum of inconvenience to me. I'm not interested in talking to him.

 

Well a van here at the university of AL backed into my car. It barely dented the bumper and barely scratched my headlight and I"m getting all new ****. $1500 worth of damage since the headlight was $750 of that. I may either clear it out to make sure I can do it before clearing out the ones on my car or just sell it on ebay to get some cash. Because like I said it's barely scuffed, but it is damaged so I got another. Anyone wanna buy it?

 

Same thing happened to me. Cost $718 out the door. Paint, bumper, labor etc etc.
Oh, and they broke one of the back red lights! haha...so that had to get replaced to...so take $45 off my price.

 

Thanks for all the input on the original question.

Well the good news is that Enterprise is covering the repair with no out of pocket costs for me (it was their SUV that hit my Maxima). I have two options here from two local body shops that have good reputations.

1. The shop associated with my dealer wants to replace the bumper cover and paint it to match the car (sterling mist). The manager feels that they can get a very close match to the original paint. He did warn me that it may be slightly different due to the difference in material of the bumper cover vs. the sheet metal. If they can't achieve an acceptable match, they can blend the paint into the adjacent rear quarter panels and trunk lid.

2. The second shop wants to blend the paint into the adjacent rear quarter panels and trunk right from the start. This involves removal/reinstallation of the spoiler and tail lights and replacement of the emblems on the trunk lid.

Option 2 seems a little extreme, especially since I see Maximas and an Infinity FX45 in the lot here at work with slight differences between bumper and body colors (now that I'm looking that closely). I'm also very wary of repainting undamaged panels based on bad luck with clear coat repaint jobs (granted - 15 years ago).

Opinions?

 

Come see us for an estimate. We work directly with all insurance companys.

Proline Body & Chassis
545 River Drive
Elmwood Park, NJ 07407
201-398-1512

It's not always necessary to blend the panels when you do a bumper cover if the paint matches. We use spray down panels that help us get a very close if not perfect match. The less you need to paint, the better off you'll be.