Uh-Oh.... Fender bender. Need an estimate.

[Joe_M]

The wife was backing my car out of the driveway this morning so her brother could leave for work..... at the same time the guy across the street was backing his Chevy Behemoth out of his driveway. Long story short, I come outside and I have a nice new BIG dent in my drivers side fender and also a bit of damage to the door right where it meets the fender. I guess that is where the trailer hitch hit and scraped it up a bit too.

Obviously, his insurance is going to pay for it. And since it happend on a Saturday morning, not a single body shop is open until Monday. Has anyone had any damage like this before? Any idea on the repair estimate? The car needs....

Drivers fender
Door dent pulled and mudded
sanding
and of course paint.

I just want a rough estimate on how much this is going to cost. He offered to pay me out of his pocket just to keep the insurance companies out of it, which I don't blame him. I would hate to see my rates go up over a simple fender bender. Should I take him up on the offer of just paying me out of his pocket and fixing it on my own or just have the insurance companies battle it out? Thanks!

Joe

[96SEChick]

He's probably going to want to go through his insurance company. Because, even though you are his neighbor, you want the job done right and it's not going to be very cheap--especially not as cheap as he thinks it will be. Why are you wanting the door dent popped out and bondo'ed? A good bodyshop may be able to fix the door w/o bondo, but if it's going to need it, get the shell replaced. Do you want bondo on your car if somebody else did the damage?

I had an accident a few years ago in a '92 Olds 88. The guy wanted to pay out of pocket--thought it would be like $500. Here's what the repair entailed:
New DS front headlight
New DS front fender (plastic, not metal on this car)
Sand & repaint/clearcoat front bumper
Paint/clearcoat new fender
Blend paint/clearcoat to match existing 8-year-old paint
The cost: $1200!!!!

The only reason I mentioned the above repairs is that they are somewhat similar to your damage (except mine didn't have DS door damage & yours doesn't have front bumper damage--you didn't mention it anyway). The repairs to your car are going to be much more expensive than your neighbor thinks. Plus--he doesn't have to pay a deductible for the liability claim--the damage to your car (at least you don't have to in OK)

[elevator]

http://guitarhq.com/gallery/56stratc.jpg
The ONLY good Fender bender! :)

I hate that! About 3 months ago I parked in a local shopping area parking garage. I set the brake but it didn't catch and I didn't notice. I got out and walked away. The car rolled from the second floor down to the first floor and ino the attendant's office door. I was totally p1ssed (and embarrassed...Baka Gaijin!) ....new hood...new front bumper...new left front fender....new headlights...

The really upsetting thing was that all this had JUST been replaced. It was the first time really driving it since I had fixed it!

[Joe_M]

Bah! Gibson's own!

I guess I will wait to see what the bodyshops have to say on Monday then and call my insurance company to start the claim.

Joe

[elevator]

Originally posted by Joe_M
Bah! Gibson's own! :D
I agree, but a serious guitar man has at least one of both! :D

[96SEChick]

Originally posted by Joe_M
Bah! Gibson's own!

I guess I will wait to see what the bodyshops have to say on Monday then and call my insurance company to start the claim.

Joe

Why do you have to call your insurance company to start the claim? I thought his insurance company was going to pay for it?

[Joe_M]

Two years ago, coming home from NOPI, I ran over a truck axle in the middle of the road in EBF, Kentucky. When I got home, I called my insurance company to start a claim, and gave them all the information that I had from the truck driver and then let them go after his insurance company to get my money. It just worked out easier that way. Or I guess I could just call his insurance company to get my claim number.

Joe

[96SEChick]

I would get an estimate & talk to your neighbor. Keep him informed of every place you go and get written estimates w/ the parts, costs & labor listed thoroughly. Let him know also that it's an estimate--it may be more $$ or less $$--see if he still wants to pay out of pocket. If he complains about the amount, just tell him parts are expensive & so is paint & you want the job done right. If he wants to pay out of pocket--try to get him to sign something confirming that he will pay the full amount when the job is done. Don't take a check for the estimate amount unless he signs a statement saying he'll pay the remainder if it costs more. You don't want to have any $$ out of your pocket for this, unless you have some other work done. If he wants to go ahead and go through insurance, have him call his insurance company while you're still there--then you can call his ins co & get the claim # and stuff--if you don't trust him giving you the correct claim#. I know it's your neighbor and he may think you're being a prick--but he did damage your car and you do want it fixed correctly.

[Joe_M]

Welp.... Nissan wrote me out an estimate for 1350 dollars, so I guess that isn't too shabby.

I'm pleased :)

Joe

[96SEChick]

That's around where I figured. Have you showed or told your neighbor about the estimate yet?

[Joe_M]

Yeah, I called him today to tell him. He said it was a bit more than what he expected for the damage so he is just going to turn it in to the insurance company. I will call them tomorrow, get my claim number, and have their adjuster come out and look at the car and write me a check. And I am fully prepared to fight with them on their estimate, since I have them ranging from 1350 up to 1700 dollars.

Joe

[96SEChick]

Good job!! Who is his insurance company? I hope it goes smooth--make sure to let the ins.co. know you need a rental while yours is in the shop--it won't make his rates go up any more (it shouldn't anyway). Keep us posted!!

The bodyshop shouldn't do any "patchwork" with Bondo, but you may want to go ahead and tell them not to use it anyway, unless it's a tiny tiny spot and they absolutely have to use it. Your car didn't have bondo on it before the work, did it? So ya don't want any on it after it :D

[Joe_M]

If it was my coupe, I would DEMAND they fix it to the best of their abilities without bondo. But since it was in the fastback, it really doesn't matter to me if they mud it or not since I am selling it anyway. As long as it looks good, then that is all I need.

As for a rental car, I really don't need it. I have my coupe. But the last time an insurance company put me in a rental, I was in an 01 Camry for 6 weeks. I HATED that car. It was an underpowered POS.

Joe

[Travis240]

Hey, whatever you go to get the estimate, don't go to Leifs, I had a horrific experience w/ them and after they had my car for ten days they told me they couldn't fix it and tried to charge me 850.- for storage. Best advice: read the contract very carefully b/f you sign anything.
Good Luck,
Travis