Maertens

Hi,

Earlier today, as the traffic suddenly slowed down on the highway and I had to come quickly to a complete stop so a guy in the old VW from behind hit my rear bumper...too bad.

I've got a crack in the rear bumper, and the muffler's end is bent... His car is in much worse condition, at leas visually...

The guy asked not to take it to the insurance and that he would repare everything... in his bodyshop, he is a mechanic... I am hesitant what to do. Maybe I should first take it to my mechanic to assess the damage, if nothing serious just bumper replacement - will let the guy do it otherwice should be my mechanic, otherwice if the guy does not like it - my insurance will talk to his and - it will cost him fortune

Any advice?

10x.

autodriver

You probably are right. What happens if he delay repairing your RX and ends up doing a lousy job? Post your final result to us, even several months later, so that we learn something.

gsenthil

I can understand he doesnt want to go thro insurance but you should get a quote from a body shop YOU trust and have him pay for it. I had something similar happen to me when a Trailblazer rear ended me (not being able to stop as quickly as my RX) and the damage to the other car was much more than mine which was a few scratches on the rear bumper. The body shop quoted $750 and she paid for it from her pocket. I didnt get it repaired and have saved the $$ for a future repair or when the rear bumper REALLY needs the bumper change.

Dont have him work on your car- if its a ****ty repair you wouldnt be able to do much

rxdriver

My 2002 RX 300 was involved in a minor rear-end collision.
I was sitting at a stop light, and a car came up behind me that didn't realize the light was still red. The previous light, which was only about 100 feet back, was green. (Yes, poor road design.) He slammed on his brakes and the car nose-dived, but he still wound up bumping my rear bumper. I got a perfect impression of his front license plate in my bumper!
The only damage to my RX was cosmetic - the plastic cover on the rear bumper had to be replaced. That involved the bumper cover itself, painting it to match, and putting on a new "bumper pad" - the black strip with the Lexus logo on it. My insurance company missed the bumper pad in their estimate - the body shop had to hit them for some extra cash.
The total cost for the above parts and labor was about $750. I made sure I insisted on - and got - original Lexus (Toyota) parts.
The state of Illinois requires reports on all accidents with more than $500 in property damage. I wasn't sure what this would cost until I got an estimate, so as it turned out I had to get the paperwork taken care of. I can understand the other guy's position - insurance companies really stick it to you when you cause an accident. However, even something this minor couldn't fly under the state's radar, so there really wasn't any choice about how to deal with it.
After my very positive experience with my insurance company in this matter, I wouldn't hesitate to avoid messing around and just let your insurance company handle it. That's what you pay them big bucks for, and since this accident wasn't your fault, your premium won't go up. All I had to do was get an estimate from the insurance company, go to a body shop that concurred with the estimate (which was the first one I went to), make an appointment, and pay the deductible. It took a couple of months, but I finally got my deductible back after the insurance companies settled things.

Lil4X

On one hand you want to be a good guy and help the fellow out - besides if he can fix it, you both come out ahead.

On the other hand, he could botch the job, or worse, back out of the deal, or even disappear - in any of these cases you're left holding the bag.

You have to recognize you stand to lose a lot more than he does on this deal, maybe $1000 - $1200. He ran into you - his fault, no contest. He can beat the V-dub back into shape with a hammer - your repair will require a bit more skill and experience - especially in matching the paint.

I think he needs to be a stand-up guy, take responsibility for his mistake, and let the insurance companies work it out. That's what you pay them for. That way, everythings on the table and you can have some say in the quality/completeness of the repair.

Just my $.02....

Rx900

what i would do is, yeah, have a trusted body shop estimate the damage, then when u know what should be done, it's ur consent if u still will let him fix it or have him pay for the repair but the repair is done at a reliable body shop.