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Good Morning all,
Was rear-ended this past Thursday sitting at a red light and still waiting for the insurance estimate as my insurance co is attempting to contact the other ins co, etc. I haven't attempted to open the hatch so not sure what additional damage has been done. Looks like the hatch and bumper will need to be replaced, and the right rear quarter panel has some scratches. Other than that everything else 'seems' ok. It's a 2014 with 36k so I'm pretty sure they will fix it. Anyone have a similar experience and if so anything I need to look for or watch out for? My insurance company guarantees work for as long as I own the vehicle which is a good thing. As for me, banged up a bit and have a few appointments but at least I'm still above ground! Any insight is appreciated-thanks!
If your state permits it, be sure to file a Diminished Value claim against the other driver's insurance company in addition to whatever they have to pay for your repairs. If the insurance company challenges your Diminished Value claim, it is quite easy to take them to small claims court and win your case with no need for an attorney. I was hit in 2009 and my wife was hit in 2014. The other driver was at fault both times. I filed Diminished Value claims both times and won them both. The 2009 claim (against Geico) went to small claims court because they refused to meet my documented award amount. I served as my own attorney and won after less than 30 minutes of court time in front of the judge. The 2014 claim (against Allstate) was settled for my documented award amount without having to take them to court once they learned I had won my 2009 case in full.
My response is based on my personal experience; which is definitely very limited.
If you have not gone through the process [claims/repair], first familiarize with it.
I would start at the insurance companies involved. If you have full coverage [including un/under-insured] I would lean on my insurance company to deal with the other insurance company. Although your insurance company may steer you to the 3rd party insurance. You will soon find out how good each insurance company is. I have spent hours on phone with them and the only thing that worked was filing the claim in small claims court and then settlement was reached quickly. [lesson do no in vest in more than 3 phone calls].
The insurance company will do its best to get away with minimum. They will test your patience and steer you to, not the best quality repair and paint shop. Since I would not be happy with the paint and dent or even replace and paint, I would opt to get a color matching rear hatch from a salvage yard and DIY [you can pay the labor]. The same is the case with the bumper. There may be hidden damage behind the skin [bent aluminum and broken tabs]. So locate and price the items and ask for appropriate amount for settlement.
If you are not the DIY type of hands on person, call Lexus for couple of repair shop names and take it there for estimate(s) and final repair. There is a 90% chance that the shop will not accept insurance and you will have to pay for the repairs and deal with the claim [again use your insurance company as they are beholden to you vs third party insurance].
Diminished value claims are good but then you have to be able to come up with a $$$ number. I would highly recommend that way for a new(er) vehicle and even involve an attorney ..[you may be advised to flat bed the repaired vehicle to a used car lot for sale ... this is a good option if you intend not to keep the vehicle post accident].
So far my insurance company has been pretty good, but I will know more tomorrow. They have a couple of what they call preferred repair shops that I have checked out and they are highly rated, and my insurance company also will guarantee the work as long as I own the car. I'm not too worried about this as others that have the same insurance have had good results so I'm hoping for the same.
Use a Lexus dealer-owned repair shop. I’ve tried one of the insurance-referred shop in one of my accidents and the paint started peeling after a few years.
I was rear ended and the other car went under my car, destroying my trailer hitch but stopping the car from going further under mine. The exhaust was also bent.
I recently discovered an oil leak and from that discovered the dip stick won't come out. I doubt this has happened to you but is a very simple thing to check to make sure its ok
I still have to go back to the garage that fixed it to find out what can be done and why of all things the dipstick is stuck!
I had almost the exact same damage on my LX a couple times while backing into the garage. Never back into your garage with the liftgate up!This is a basic repair. They order a new liftgate, paint it and transfer the glass and lights from the old liftgate to the new liftgate. One of the more expensive items is the $750 backup camera. All told your probably looking at about 4 K. Make sure you get a lifetime warranty on paint. Penske did a very nice job on my repairs. Good Luck!
Thanks. Yes, both the shop and my insurance company provide a lifetime warranty on repair services. Looks like a new hatch and they will reuse the spoiler, glass,etc. Also may get a new rear bumper, right now in wait-and-see mode.
Any quality body shop if paid for the service will get the color match to pass the eye ball test. The color will never be a one hundred percent match but they will paint into the rear quarter panels and blend it in so that you won’t be able to tell the difference.
Your SUV is still a very nice one especially with that mileage, I definitely would not go the used route. Paint fades overtime the one you buy at the salvage yard isn’t guaranteed to be an exact match to your paint. I went this route on a beater Celica that was my first car and surprise surprise the match was way off but on a beater it was better than the dented hood it had before!
03-28-21, 06:12 AM
Rear-ended-what to watch out for re repairs?
This is a basic repair. They order a new liftgate, paint it and transfer the glass and lights from the old liftgate to the new liftgate. One of the more expensive items is the $750 backup camera. All told your probably looking at about 4 K. Make sure you get a lifetime warranty on paint. Penske did a very nice job on my repairs. Good Luck!
