by knichewah » Thu Nov 15, 2007 04:03 am
Hi, my son went to take his drivers test, and when backing out of his parking spot, hit the car next to him. The damage appeared to be just paint transfer from our left front bumper to the other cars rear right bumper. There is no deformation on either bumper, and both feel smooth to the touch. We exchanged information and thought that would be the end of it. Today we received 4 quotes, all in the $600-$800 dollar range for a bumper replacement. The car my son hit was a 96 Alantra with 175K miles on it (not sure why, but the owner sent us their registration information). We checked blue book and the car has a trade in value of less than the damages. Any suggestions?
Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 07:09 am Post Subject: Crossbreed007
You exchanged information - do you have any witnesses to it ? Any pics of the aftermath ? (That would have helped you establish the real damage).
Crossbreed007
Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 08:33 am Post Subject:
Hi knichewah,
You do often come across a good number of such cases in the recent times & believe me its wiser to pursue these cases after informing your insurance co. This way you'd be able to achieve a better guidance & a better evaluation of the worth of the damage.
PCarl
Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 12:03 pm Post Subject:
Good morning knichewah, and welcome to the community!
Well, unfortunately this does happen all the time...And as an adjuster with extensive PD (property damage) experience I hear this all the time...
The damage appeared to be just paint transfer from our left front bumper to the other cars rear right bumper.
The problem is you don't have experience with vehicle repair...What the laymen see as just a little paint transfer, isn't that simply...there more than likely was a spidering of the paint on cover, which you wouldn't have been able to feel, there may have even been damage to the absorber under the cover, these are usually just a long piece of styrofoam, that crack with a small bump...and possibly even into the rebar.....I ran some numbers, and clearly they are writing to not only replace the cover, but likely the foam and the rebar, which would mean there was a pretty good wack! You say the 'right' rear bumper, it is possible for the cover to collapse (and pop back out so you wouldn't have seen this) and to have left substantial damage to the 1/4 or rear body panel on this side....again you wouldn't have seen this unless you got under the car...also could've cracked the BACK SIDE of the tail lamp, again you wouldn't have seen this...It is also possible the guy has inflated his damage...If that IS the case, brace yourself if he was in the vehicle when your boy hit it...
I'll assume you are talking about a Hyundai Elantra? You're right they aren't worth much, but no insurance company will use the trade in value to ascertain the vehicles ACV (Actual Cash Value)...The ACV (without knowing if it has a sunroof, a.c. or automatic) is about 1675.00, salvage bid on this vehicle will be about 150.00 which means you can spend aproximently 1525.00 in repair... And honestly, what difference does it make? If the vehicle is a 2k beater or a 200k benz...your boy hit the car and he/you owe to put them back in the same position they were in prior to the impact. No better no worse... And NO the owner doesn't have to repair it they only have to be compensated for their loss...
If you haven't you should turn this claim into your carrier IMMEDIATELY! If the guy is trying to scam you, (and he may very well be) they will find out and put a stop to it. They will (hopefully) have an adjuster inspect the vehicle to see the full scope of damage.
Please let us know...if the accident was as you said, then the damage being claimed is much higher than you let on. Or more correctly were aware of...Please let us know.
Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2007 03:17 am Post Subject:
Maybe you can go with the car owner to check the car with an authorised auto testing company, see if the bumper is nessery to be replaced. If so, I think you should pay it, but the bumper should be replaced with the same model, which I guess not so expensive?
Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 01:58 pm Post Subject:
I had a similar experience last week. Someone hit my car while it was parked. It appeared if it just needs the bumper to be removed and mounted again, because it was displaced. When I took the car for repair it turned out I have broken pieces from one of the headlights, broken clamps on the fender and the bumper. So the 2 hour remove/mount job turned out to be a five day serious work.
Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2007 01:35 pm Post Subject:
I agree with Lori, if you think the guy is just trying to scam you, let your adjuster take care of it. that is what they are paid for and they have a professional nose for scammers. Please keep us updated on what happens here. goodluck.
Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2007 08:30 am Post Subject:
Did you get a picture of the bumper? Nothing stops him taking a hammer to it and saying that your son plowed into it like the Devil himself was after him.
A tiny little splint of paint is hardly something worth pursuing. He just wants the money.
Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2020 04:44 pm Post Subject:
It's a big price that you are claiming. If possible then you should settle down this matter out of coverages. In this regard, you can talk with other car owners and request them to allow you all fixations.
If you have some expertise in vehicle DIY paint subject then you can easily fix it. Better to use a hot gun or other paint removers from here https://chemicalwiki.com/best-paint-remover-top-5/. In this way, you can remove the paint transfer with great care. On the other hand, you can also get services of car expert to fix these issues.
Withal, you must have good convincing skills in this regard. Best of Luck!
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