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Grrr . . . guy hit my car

XMan

XMan

Lifer
Some days it just doesn't pay to go to work . . . one of my coworkers backed his company car into my personal vehicle trying to leave the parking lot. I don't know how he missed it considering my Durango is BRIGHT STINKING RED. :| I walk out of the office and I see him standing by my car shaking his head . . .

So anyway, we went in and filed an insurance claim. They haven't contacted me yet, and I've been pondering a few things . . .

The front bumper is really scratched up, and the plastic lower facing is cracked so badly that the foglight on the bottom driver's side was popped out of its mount. At the least it's going to need to have the bumper re-painted and the lower facing replaced.

* If the bumper is painted, the rest of the car isn't going to match, is it? Considering that one piece will have new paint and the rest of the car will still be the factory paint, I have a bad feeling that it's going to look like ass. Should I demand for them to "blend" the paint job, or what?

* I was considering trading the 'rango in next winter after the hybrid Toyota Highlanders are released. Is this accident going to go on the Carfax report for my vehicle? If so, will it effect my trade in value? There doesn't seem to be any frame damage. I'm going to get an estimate tomorrow.

* If my trade in value is adversely effected, should I demand some sort of compensation to counter for the depreciation to my vehicle?

I've never had an accident before, sorry if some of these questions seem stupid. Any advice you can give me would be great, too. Thanks.
 
1. opinion there, blending the paint job will hide the color difference, but you will be painting other body panels also...which some buyers don't like

2. accidents have never shown up on any carfax reports I have done, even knowing the car has been in an accident.
carfax usually only shows if the title has been changed, and if there was a major accident, the car's title would have been switched to a salvage title. If it'l only minor damage, shouldn't effect the value much, unless the buyer is really picky about "no accidents".

 
As long as the paint on the rest of your vehicle isn't really faded or oxydized, I won't worry about the paint not matching. There are paint codes on your car to tell the repair shop what to mix, and it should match exactly your OEM paint color.

Be careful in thinking the fog-light issue is going to cheap. Depending on the type of damage it might be more expensive that you think. I have a 2000 Xtera, and I hit a piece of retread that the car in front of me hit. He sent the retread piece flying, and it smacked the front-passenger side of my bumper. It ended up cracking not only the housing of the fog light (light itself was fine), but also the plastic "filler" behind the bumper. I had to get the whole one-piece filler replaced (ran across entire front), and it cost me $180, minus labor.

I think it all boils down to who gets cited for the fender-bender. I'm not sure what info gets sent to Carfax, or how.
 
Quite honestly, havng the plastic facia replaced should not have any significant effect on the car's value. Just make sure that you go to a good body shop because some of the cut-rate bodyshops don't put elasticizers in the paint used on bumpers so it ends up chipping and peeling in short order. Any reputable body shop should be good.

ZV
 
a good body shop will blend nearby panels to match. I just had this done on my '99 mustang, it came out looking very good. and i'm a picky bastard.
 
If the damage was purely cosmetic, then there should be no Diminished Value as long as it is properly and professionally repaired.
And you would be shocked what good auto body shops can do. A lady backed into my car last month, I got it back from the shop last week and you can't even tell that it ever happened. Gorgeous work.

A couple of things... you are entitled to "restoration to pre-loss condition", regardless of cost. Once liability has been established (shouldn't take more than a week in this case), the insurance company is going to send their adjuster or appraiser out to do a low-ball quote, and then promptly send you a check for that amount. Do not cash that check. Take your car to the absolute best auto body shop in your area to have the work done. They will bill the insurance company for whatever the actual repair cost will be (the additional over their original low-ball is called a "supplement").

The adjuster initially said my car had only $1100 is damage. The final actual cost was a little of over $2000. My car is perfect and not one dime came out of my pocket, and there will be no mention of the accident on my car's title (as the damage was purely cosmetic).
 
If you plan on keeping your Durango for a long time I would not let them blend into the other body panels. They did that to my car 6 years ago and now it looks like CRAP. I'd have to get the whole freaking car repainted to make it look right.

Of course, YMMV.
 
Originally posted by: Vic
If the damage was purely cosmetic, then there should be no Diminished Value as long as it is properly and professionally repaired.
And you would be shocked what good auto body shops can do. A lady backed into my car last month, I got it back from the shop last week and you can't even tell that it ever happened. Gorgeous work.

A couple of things... you are entitled to "restoration to pre-loss condition", regardless of cost. Once liability has been established (shouldn't take more than a week in this case), the insurance company is going to send their adjuster or appraiser out to do a low-ball quote, and then promptly send you a check for that amount. Do not cash that check. Take your car to the absolute best auto body shop in your area to have the work done. They will bill the insurance company for whatever the actual repair cost will be (the additional over their original low-ball is called a "supplement").

The adjuster initially said my car had only $1100 is damage. The final actual cost was a little of over $2000. My car is perfect and not one dime came out of my pocket, and there will be no mention of the accident on my car's title (as the damage was purely cosmetic).
Click to expand...

Hmm, they said they would contact me with claim information, and to take it to the body shop of my choice . . . no need for estimates?!?

I wonder if it's because it's through a "self insured" company rather than a typical insurance company.

 
  • A good body shop will match the paint, no matter what.
  • If there's no police report, CarFAX won't see it. They list accidents as minor and otherwise.
  • It should be YOUR CHOICE where you have the work done.
 
Even if there is a police report carfax might not see it. I've been in 3 wrecks and none of them show up. And there's plenty of other ppl out there who have said the same thing...
 
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