I was traveling down the highway at night and hit a tire tread. It was quite a violent hit and ended up cracking my bumper and the plastic under and around the wheel. There was a trailer with a blown out tire up the road and I pulled over putting two and two together. I got the insurance information from them and they were cooperative. I thought it would be no problem filing a claim as I actually had the information of the person whose tire it was. Well, it turn out the insurance company (ICBC) said it was my fault because it is the motorists duty to dodge any objects on the road. (even though that would be impossible because it was dark out not to mention dangerous veering into the other lane.) They said it is not the fault of the guy with the trailer unless I could prove negligence but that is almost impossible after the fact. If I had known that then I would have gotten an inspection of the trailer right on the spot but not in my wildest dreams did I think the insurance company would be so difficult. I did take pictures however and I think they show that the trailer owner was negligent because of the condition of the trailer, in particular the fender. The fender is bent and that was what must have popped the tire when it went over a bump. It was also overloaded but I can't prove that.

I am going to fight it but most people say I don't have a good chance.
That leads me to the next item. My deductible is $1000 if I take the blame for hitting the tire so I was thinking maybe I should just upgrade to the new 2014 bumper (and buy the grill+ other parts) and pay for it out of pocket. It would probably be about $2000 but there are some threads on CL itemizing the exact cost and parts.

What do you guys think?

 

If you're gunna have to pay $1k already, I'd order a brand new bumper off Sewell. IIRC, it was ~$1.5k painted and shipped. You'll have to call to order, their number is floating around here somewhere.

 

I feel for you. I had an accident last year at night where I hit a metal cargo rack you see people install on the back pickup trucks. One evidently fell off a pickup truck and was in the middle of the road. 4 other cars had hit it and I couldn't avoid it as it slide into me. It tore off the outside 1/3 of driver side front bumper and buckled the driver's side fender. Slashed my driver's rear tire. Anyway total repair was around $12k. My insurance said it was my fault. But did say if it were an animal that I hit, then not my fault. So my premiums had gone up.

 

I can sympathize on both of your insurance ordeals. I too have a $1000 deductible. To me the logical solution is to let insurance handle it. It does suck that you have to pay the full 1k but you get a lot back for that 1k. Maybe you can work with a body shop to get all the newer upgraded parts you mention in your post. Good luck and maybe keep us updated with pictures of the repair process.

 

I ran over something a few years ago, and it knocked off my fog lamp. I had it replaced without insurance but there was a crack on the bumper just like yours except is on the side. The repair said I should just leave it as bumper is expansive and I will probably hit something else anyway. And true enough a few months later I hit something else on the freeway in the dark and punched a hole in the center of the bumper and torn off some covering at the bottom of the car. Years later it is still there but I have not hit anything else since then. I did start using Waze app which tell you when there is "object on the road" so I would slow down and look. One time it was a ladder and right in the middle of the lane and I would have to run right over it if the app didn't warn me.

 

I'm in BC as well, so I know how difficult ICBC can be. That's why I use a private insurance company for my collision and comprehensive coverage. Id fight this and see what happens. You could also kill two birds with one stone, by paying the deductible and working with your body shop to incorporate the aftermarket items you want to install. They'll bill ICBC the normal stuff and charge you the difference. Whereabouts in BC are you?

 

I live in Chilliwack too. Do you know of any good body shops here?
Right now I am waiting on the local CVSE (commercial vehicle safety inspector) officer to get back to me regarding the pictures. I talked to him on the phone and he said it will be really hard to prove that negligence it the sole reason for the tire blowing without a reasonable doubt however he said he would look at the pictures. I feel like if I could get any sort of statement from him that may help.

 

Thanks for all of your responses!

well, I seem out of luck on the insurance claim and I am too stubborn to pay the deductible so I am looking at a few options. I have wanted to get this carbon fiber front body kit for a while now and if I put it on my bumper it would cover the crack.

This is far from a perfect scenario because the bumper clips are also broken and I was originally wanting to get the bumper repainted before I put any kit on because the clear coat is coming off and there are a lot of rock chips. this would actually be the cheapest option though. at about $350USD

Another option is to buy an aftermarket bumper cover (OEM style) for only about $300 and then get it painted for about $500. (I would do the labor myself of assembling it.) Has anyone gone with an aftermarket bumper before? I hear some people say they don't fit quite as well, while others say they are almost as good.

I don't think upgrading to the 2014 bumper is a wise idea after thinking about it more because my car is pretty high mileage already and I have spent about $8-10,000 on it already in mods already so it would be a pretty bad investment.bumper.