I was sitting at a stop light when a van rear ended a honda accord behind me, which then proceeded to bump into me. There are a few one inch cracks inside of the recessed license plate housing in the bumper, along with a bunch of small scratches which can probably be polished out. The guy offered to pay out of his own pocket rather than go through his insurance. He was driving a company van, and said he did not have his insurance card with him, so I took down his address and phone numbers. My G35 is new, so I would prefer to take it to the dealer and have them fix at at whatever cost. Would the dealer simply replace the bumper, or would they attempt to patch the cracks? Any suggestions how I should proceed?

<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small"><EM>Edited by mvorion on 09/29/03 11:08 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

111012-accident.jpg

 

What "I" would do is take the car to the dealer and get the full estimate. The cracks and the blemishs look so minor that no one will notice or care.

Then tell the guy and show the estimate. Have his company write out a check to you for the estimate and then you go to the local strip club and blow it all away on the local hottie or buy nice VOLKS....

- Don't argue with idiots. They will bring you down to their level and beat you with experience.=P-

 

Or make him buy you a new bumper.. Take the money and spend it toward the hot Impul body kit. =)

Black / Black 2004 GcoupeMT. Premium. Splash Guardz.

 

Go to the dealer! The car is new and he probably will not pay to have it fixed properly.

2003.5 G35C BL/GR, NAV, PREM, AERO, TINT, SPORT, Valentine 1

 

Aligatoring can get nasty, I would take it to Infiniti and get the estimate. Get the money from the guy, then deposit the check as rainy day funds. He might want proof it was done, which in that case, get a new bumper.

Last time I was Mr Niceguy to a guy that "misplaced" his insurance card, I got fukked over real good. I hope you have better luck!


03.5 6spd DG/G aero pk/kit
He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man.

 

You didn't happen to get a police report I suppose. I got rear-ended TWICE since last December. First time a Tacoma slid on the snow/ice and rear-ended me as I was pulling over to take my chains off. He didn't have his insurance card "with him". No one hurt, so I didn't get a police report. Got his insurance info but he told his company that I purposely pulled out "right in front" of him and slammed on my brakes.

Second time (like four months after I got a new bumper from the first accident) was at the "buffer zone" in traffic where it goes from 65+ mph almost to a stop. I stopped. The girl behind me didn't. She admitted to having no insurance but her address was in a rich neighborhood. Took all her info. No one hurt, so I didn't get a police report (after some begging from her cuz she knew she'd be screwed if she got caught with no insurance). Her husband kept giving me the runaround when I sent him TWO estimates that were in teh same range. So I just went ahead and had my insurance company get on them.

Take home lesson -- ALWAYS get a police report, no matter how nice the person may seem.

 

Since a 5mph accident is a $2K min repair, I really dont care if they dont want a police report. Even if it looks minor. Tough **** for them. They should have been paying better attention to their driving.

Not only that, I will call my insurance company in the 24 hours they request of any accident. I've had to subrogate before, I'm glad I called them right away and had a police report. You only get burned with this once.

As far as my prems going up because it was someone elses fault? I've yet to experience that. I'm more concerned about covering my and my car's a$$.

----------------------------------------------------
bs g35c lth/prem - a poser with no lsd

 

Unfortunately, I didn't get a police report. My weakness is that I'm too kind and give people the benefit of the doubt.
He seemed to take responsibility, so hopefully it won't be a problem. I did get two estimates today, both were about $900 for a new bumper. It doesn't look like there is any hidden damage either, according to the body shop. I'm going to call the guy tonight and see what he says...

On a side note, when one of the body shops punched in my VIN, it came out as an Infiniti M45. That was odd...

 

Good luck. There are too many jerks on the road today waiting to take advantage that it's usually not worth it. That being said, some people come through. It happened to me when I was a kid. I tapped a lady and she let me pay out of my own pocket. I did too but I did it pretty quick (couple days). If the guy stalls, likely he's trying to screw you.

 

No police report... Hmm...that ain't gonna be good. He better be da kind ur thinking of...responsable. Even though we don't prefer to get in touch with p i g s at all but in that case they are useful! Just remember to do a piggy report the next time someone ended u. Good luck.