Hey guys, I'm not too savvy when it comes to insurance so I'm really hoping someone who knows the inner workings can provide me with some input/feedback.

A few months ago, I was involved in an accident because a woman didn't notice the traffic light in front of her and I ended up tboning her with my G, which I'd had for only a few months . The woman was covered by Geico insurance, so I filed a claim and had my G fixed up at Geico's recommended shop in town.

I wasn't particularly happy with the job they did, but at the time I was way too busy with other things going on that I didn't have the time or energy to really commit much effort towards it. The job they did was good enough that I could live with it. One thing that really pissed me off though was that they slapped an aftermarket front bumper on my car and the mechanic told me to think of it as "the Target brand of the Corn Flakes."

Anyhow, it's 3 months later and the blistering heat from Florida summers is causing this aftermarket bumper to deform slightly. I have an area under my headlights where the bumper literally bulges out and I can see into the inside of the bumper.

I took my car back to the shop, as they have a lifetime guarantee on their work and told them what was going on. Their Geico representative came outside and looked at it. His response was simply that black cars get really hot during the summer and some warping is expected. I called him on this BS and told him that I never had any issues with this before. I told him that it was probably the crappy aftermarket bumper they put on my car. His response to that was that aftermarket bumpers are just as good, if not better than OEM bumpers and that the bumper probably just wasn't sitting right because of the accident.

My response to this was that their shop should've repaired my vehicle back to the state it was in prior to the accident. He then suggested that my car had been in accidents prior to the accident in question. I have no clue what this had to do with anything, or how he would've known this considering my vehicle was in a crashed state when I brought it to their shop, but I told him that I had gotten a carfax for the car before buying it (which I still have and it shows 0 accidents) and that I also had the infiniti dealership check it out when I bought it. They reported absolutely nothing wrong with it.

Anyhow, he finally agreed to have the shop pull the bumper off (which is scheduled for next Monday) and determine whether they can do anything about it. He said that if it is indeed the bumper causing the issue, that they would replace it with an OEM bumper...otherwise, there is nothing they can do.

I have a strong hunch that whether it is the bumper's quality or not, that they'll tell me that it's not the bumper and that there's nothing they can do. This is simply the attitude I've gotten from the shop and the Geico representative the whole time I dealt with the accident.

My question is, is there any way I can gain more leverage in the situation? A coworker mentioned to me that I could notify my own insurance and that they would possibly do their own investigation and/or fix my vehicle and bill it to Geico. Should I call Geico directly and deal with someone with more authority? I'd greatly appreciate any thoughts or recommendations that anyone has.

 

I'd call your insurance and see what they can do.

Or get another body shop's opinion and take that to Geico.

Or get the insurance commissioner in your state involved. Write a letter explaining what you just did here and CC it to everyone involved.

Tell Geico that if black cars get hot and warp, then all black cars would have warped bumpers right now. Make sure there's another black car nearby when you have this discussion.

 

Legally, I cant give you advice persay.... but I can point out some things...

- Using aftermarket is common practice in most states, they must meet or exceed OEM specs. This means it should warp in heat if your OEM didnt

- You have the right to choose your own repair facility in most states (most people go to dealership body shops) whether the accident is your fault or not.

- If you are not at fault and your original bumper was OEM, you have the right to request an OEM replacement in most situations. Hey, youre not the one paying premiums to Geico and contracted to get aftermarket, right?

If you are having issues with resolving a claim or timely responses, ask for a supervisor at the Geico claims department or notify the states Department of Insurance. The DOI does take these kinds of issues seriously.

Also, if you have a premium insurance company (Farmers, State Farm etc) you may want to talk to your own claims department... When you pay for your insurance, you also pay for the services of their lawyers and they have some of the BEST legal teams...

If you have any questions, feel free to PM me...

 

Thanks for the responses!

I would've definitely liked to have taken it to an infiniti dealership body shop but unfortunately, the closest infiniti dealership is about 1.5 hours away. Being that this is my daily driver, it would've been very difficult for me to have it repaired by a dealership bodyshop

At the time, Geico made it very clear that they would only back the work of their recommended body shop. I figured that if this was the case, there couldn't possibly be any problems because if there were any issues, I'd simply take it back to their recommended shop. I guess that's where I messed up.

I guess for the time being, I'll just wait to see what this bodyshop decides on. I was just wondering if there is anything I could do to preemptively prepare before I bring my car back to them. If they deny me service, I'll take it up with my own insurance company, Geico's claims department and/or the DOI as you've suggested.

Thanks again for the input.

 

Take pictures of all the black car's bumpers you see and you can use that information if you need it.

Clearly that hot/black/bumper excuse was just a ploy to avoid having to take responsiblity. It was pretty weak. I'd be laughing my **** off if someone tried to use that on me.

 

your the 2nd person i know that's been doing the run around. The one i am w/ she told me that she does all the paper work where you don't have to worry about a thing. She was bragging that she is better then other insurance company b/c we started to talk for awhile and told me also that this one guy that was not apart of there insurance but was involved w/ them through an accident she helped that guy out big time.

 

When will people (members) learn? You have insurance on your coupe or sedan why would you want to deal with the other party's insurance? That's like dropping the soap in a shower full of ghay dudes! When you have an incident like this you gather all the information and turn it over to your insurance company, "That's what you pay them for!" Then you could have gone to any body shop for repairs you wanted to. It may not be too late, let your insurance rep know what's going on this shouldn't go against your record or make you premiums go up....
Gary

 

When you deal with your own, you have to shell out the deductible. Then you get funded that after it's determined that it wasn't your fault. And you can already go to any bodyshop regardless of who's insurance you go though. In fact, your own insurance will recommend you go to one of their shops at first.

 

I deal with insurance claims all day.. Things you can do.

1. File a claim with YOUR insurance company explain what happened and file a new claim. Your insurance company will send you to their recommended bodyshop (or for godsakes just do some research in the Florida section and go to that bodyshop). You will be charged a deductible but you can stop dealing with the douche from geico and let your insurance company duke it out - THIS is why you pay them.

2. Take your car to the bodyshop. Your entitled to have your vehicle returned to its previous state BEFORE the accident from the party at fault. Depending on the policy that women has with Geico it may be up to a certain amount but definitely more then enough to cover a front bumper cover.

So demand OEM parts to be used, OEM parts all come stickered with the part# from Nissan/Infiniti and will always be stamped NISSAN.

Oh and tell the moron from geico if aftermarket bumpers are 'better' then why are they warping when your OEM didnt.. and clearly the aftermarket bumper used did is not capable of handling the 'extreme heat' from black cars rofl..

If you have a 'real' insurance company (meaning you pay more then $10 a month) and have full coverage I'd go with option #1. Eat the deductible for now, you'll get your $$ back later. Do it right.. Get an OEM bumper on, **** get a 06-07 sport bumper on.. replace whatever foam supports and do it right.


In the future please do:
I'm sure there are good people out there.. But if the accident is more then a few hundred ALWAYS go through YOUR insurance company. You pay them monthy for a reason USE THEM. Unless you have AAA.. Do your research and look for a shop that handles collision, uses OEM parts, etc... use the forums (not your friends)... garyc put it the best..

 

Hey, thanks for the info. I have full coverage with Mercury insurance. The accident was more than just the front bumper cover...they had to replace grill, headlights, reinforcement bar, foam and the actual bumper cover.

I'm scheduled to bring my car back in to their shop tomorrow morning so I'll play it by ear. I wish I'd known more about insurance before this incident... I guess I never had a reason to go out of my way to gain knowledge in that area.

Thanks again for the info though. I'll take it up with my insurance if things don't go the way I want them to tomorrow.

 

Sorry, one more thing. They body shop mentioned that if they determined it to be a defective/faulty aftermarket bumper, then they would need to hold my car for about 3 days to get the OEM bumper in, painted and installed.

Being that this is my daily driver, it's a bit of an inconvenience to me. So my question is, how long should it take for a body shop to remove a front bumper cover or install a front bumper cover? If it is a short amount of time, I'd probably like to ask them to reinstall the aftermarket one even if they determine it's faulty and at least let me use my car during the days that they're waiting for the OEM one to come in and paint it.

I haven't ever had to take my front bumper cover off before but I imagine a body shop should be able to do it pretty quickly. Anyone have any idea?

Thanks.

 

Body shops are notorious for taking their sweet time with repairs. I don't know the answer to your question but it wouldn't hurt to ask them.

Also one more thing to consider, I pay an extra $10 a year for rental car coverage. If my car's down for repairs the insurance pays for a rental until I get mine back. At $.83 a month it's well worth the piece of mind even if I don't use it.

 

The other party should provide you with a rental if youre not at fault.

Or you can pay for the rental then have them reimburse you.

 

insurance companies are crooked

 

No they do not have to provide a rental. If thats the case just call your insurance company if your policy covers your rental get one through your insurance