My IS250 just got rear ended. Need advice urgently.
03-03-11, 07:33 AM
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My IS250 just got rear ended. Need advice urgently.
Hi all, I am not sure if this is the right forum, but I urgently need some advise to fix the car.
I was waiting for the red light to turn in my '07 IS250 and a Honda Accord slammed right into my car from behind at around 20-30m/h. The worst thing is the guy got off the car for a minute, got back in and took off... Luckily, I was able to snap some pictures. Below are 2 pictures to show the damage.
My question is how do I go about fixing the bumper? I imagine the bumper needs to be replaced, the trunk needs to be fixed and the insurance would pay for it. Should it be done in the dealership or independent shop? The reason I don't want it to be done in dealership is that I don't want it to show on Carfax for such a minor accident. Do you think there's internal damage that I can't see? Should I pursue Diminished Value for an 2007 car?
This is my first car accident and I am getting physical therapy for whiplash from the accident so I am little overwhelmed. Your advice is highly appreciated!
Kevin
I was waiting for the red light to turn in my '07 IS250 and a Honda Accord slammed right into my car from behind at around 20-30m/h. The worst thing is the guy got off the car for a minute, got back in and took off... Luckily, I was able to snap some pictures. Below are 2 pictures to show the damage.
My question is how do I go about fixing the bumper? I imagine the bumper needs to be replaced, the trunk needs to be fixed and the insurance would pay for it. Should it be done in the dealership or independent shop? The reason I don't want it to be done in dealership is that I don't want it to show on Carfax for such a minor accident. Do you think there's internal damage that I can't see? Should I pursue Diminished Value for an 2007 car?
This is my first car accident and I am getting physical therapy for whiplash from the accident so I am little overwhelmed. Your advice is highly appreciated!
Kevin
03-03-11, 08:47 AM
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take it to the dealership... In all honesty I would rather have it show up on carfax and be able to say that it was fixed properly than have a 3rd party shop put on the wrong bumper (like a 2009 or 2010 which is different than the 2007) and have it look messed up... btw that has happened to me before.
03-03-11, 09:10 AM
#7
That sux... sorry to hear about that. I bet that @hole doesn't have any insurance. Hopefully, they police will help get this guy off the street.
Just to let you know, dealers usually don't do body work. They don't have a body shop on site so most will contract out. My suggestion is do a yelp search for a really high rated body shop.
I took mine to a perfect score (5 Star) body shop and they repair my car back to the way it was.
I'm not sure how NY Law works, but in CA you have a right to bring your car to ANY body shop you want. I took mine in got an estimate and then the insurance will also want to get an estimate for their adjustor. Usually the adjustor will low ball you.
A good shop can take care that for you. Also, if you have loaner car coverage, they'll pay for the cost of rental as well.
Good Luck....
Just to let you know, dealers usually don't do body work. They don't have a body shop on site so most will contract out. My suggestion is do a yelp search for a really high rated body shop.
I took mine to a perfect score (5 Star) body shop and they repair my car back to the way it was.
I'm not sure how NY Law works, but in CA you have a right to bring your car to ANY body shop you want. I took mine in got an estimate and then the insurance will also want to get an estimate for their adjustor. Usually the adjustor will low ball you.A good shop can take care that for you. Also, if you have loaner car coverage, they'll pay for the cost of rental as well.
Good Luck....
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03-03-11, 09:16 AM
#8
I was rear ended in Nov of 2009. (I was also hit by a Honda Accord WTF!!) Here is what I did. I called the dealership and asked them about a Auto Collision shop they send out their cars to. They sent me to a nearby shop that was Lexus Certified and had really good reviews. They did an estimate on the car which came out to be the same estimate made by the insurance claimer so they weren't trying to rob anyone. It was about a $15,000 repair BUT they did an upgrade for me and i bought a F-sport exhaust which they reimbursed me about $980 for since that's how much the stock ehaust would have costed, so I ended up only paying for about $200 for the exhaust
Anyway, my advice is ask the dealership what body shops around the area are Lexus certified and do you're own research for shops and read reviews and all that jazz. IMHO, I don't care about what happens to the carfax because the bottomline is I want a car that I know was repaired with best quality of work. It may not be as good as before, but the closer the better
Goodluck!
Anyway, my advice is ask the dealership what body shops around the area are Lexus certified and do you're own research for shops and read reviews and all that jazz. IMHO, I don't care about what happens to the carfax because the bottomline is I want a car that I know was repaired with best quality of work. It may not be as good as before, but the closer the better
Goodluck!
03-03-11, 09:20 AM
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Yeah, I did get the licence plate. Hope the police would do something.
Is it worthwhile to pursue Diminished Value from the insurance? Does the dealership give you an estimate for that?
Thanks.
Is it worthwhile to pursue Diminished Value from the insurance? Does the dealership give you an estimate for that?
Thanks.
03-03-11, 09:27 AM
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take it to the dealership... In all honesty I would rather have it show up on carfax and be able to say that it was fixed properly than have a 3rd party shop put on the wrong bumper (like a 2009 or 2010 which is different than the 2007) and have it look messed up... btw that has happened to me before.
I don't know where you got the impression that 3rd party body shop do not know how to put a proper bumper on. I have went to many different body shop in the past that does an excellent job matching paint and fitting aftermarket body kit that has terrible fitment.
03-03-11, 10:41 AM
#12
take it to the dealership... In all honesty I would rather have it show up on carfax and be able to say that it was fixed properly than have a 3rd party shop put on the wrong bumper (like a 2009 or 2010 which is different than the 2007) and have it look messed up... btw that has happened to me before.
03-03-11, 10:49 AM
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just because it's lexus certified, doesn't mean ****. i just got rear ended two weeks ago (06 gt). not only did this lexus certified body shop not paint the rear bumper correctly, they also did not fix damaged areas on my rear quarter panel. did i mention they ****ed up on the paint 2 times before getting it to match and prolonged my absence without my car?
point being, take your car to wherever YOU want. dealers might have connections with body shops that you don't know about which is why you need to do your own hw.
point being, take your car to wherever YOU want. dealers might have connections with body shops that you don't know about which is why you need to do your own hw.
03-03-11, 11:25 AM
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I hope that you got that guy's license plate. This is what I would do in case of an accident like this.
1. Call the police and get a police report (I assume that you did this already. In some cases, police does not show up for a minor damage like this. But it does not stop you from going to the police station and report hit and run).
2. Call you insurance company and report the incident.
3. Bring the car to at least 3 body shops to get the estimate. I would normally do dealership (or dealer recommended shop) to get the highest estimate and pick 2 more reputable ones. Some insurance company will send adjustor to estimate the damage, but it is in your best interest to get at least 3 quotes on your own. Bring it to the dealer to get estimate does not mean it will go onto carfax.
4. Reasonable argue with your insurance company to get best amount in your advantage, based on the multiple quotations that you have.
5. Once an agreed amount is decided between your insurance company and you, you can then decide where you want to have it repaired (or just not repair it and take the money or whatever). It is your right to have this option. The insurance company can not force you to go with their bodyshops.
6. Do not start the repair until you received the insurance money, regardless of what they promise you. I know for a fact that Farmers insurance actually deceive people for claims. I have seen many cases myself and from my friends.
7. Last, you need to make sure that you find a good paint shop for the work. From my experience, I can also tell the paint difference between factory paint and after-market paint. The main reason is that our car was painted in Japan where they use a different painting process which is not allowed in US due to environmental restrictions. Even if the after-market uses the exact same paint as factory, it will not be the same. And not to mention the change of color due to exposure to sun/rain/moisture etc which can also cause color difference.
Hopefully this will help and good luck.
- Howard
1. Call the police and get a police report (I assume that you did this already. In some cases, police does not show up for a minor damage like this. But it does not stop you from going to the police station and report hit and run).
2. Call you insurance company and report the incident.
3. Bring the car to at least 3 body shops to get the estimate. I would normally do dealership (or dealer recommended shop) to get the highest estimate and pick 2 more reputable ones. Some insurance company will send adjustor to estimate the damage, but it is in your best interest to get at least 3 quotes on your own. Bring it to the dealer to get estimate does not mean it will go onto carfax.
4. Reasonable argue with your insurance company to get best amount in your advantage, based on the multiple quotations that you have.
5. Once an agreed amount is decided between your insurance company and you, you can then decide where you want to have it repaired (or just not repair it and take the money or whatever). It is your right to have this option. The insurance company can not force you to go with their bodyshops.
6. Do not start the repair until you received the insurance money, regardless of what they promise you. I know for a fact that Farmers insurance actually deceive people for claims. I have seen many cases myself and from my friends.
7. Last, you need to make sure that you find a good paint shop for the work. From my experience, I can also tell the paint difference between factory paint and after-market paint. The main reason is that our car was painted in Japan where they use a different painting process which is not allowed in US due to environmental restrictions. Even if the after-market uses the exact same paint as factory, it will not be the same. And not to mention the change of color due to exposure to sun/rain/moisture etc which can also cause color difference.
Hopefully this will help and good luck.
- Howard
03-03-11, 12:41 PM
#15
Only other advice I would give that has not been mentioned is next time contact an attorney before contacting your insurance. You have to remember that insurance companies are looking to save themselves money and do not always have your best interest in mind. Then your attorney will notify the insurance company and they could argue over diminished value if that is a possible avenue.
I noticed you said you have whiplash, most likely your insurance company will try to pay you a small sum for the injury and you will have to sign something saying you absolve them from any future claims. So in 5 years if you start having back pain or something you have no recourse. This happened to a family member.
That being said, this should not be construed as legal advice and I am just giving my two cents.
I noticed you said you have whiplash, most likely your insurance company will try to pay you a small sum for the injury and you will have to sign something saying you absolve them from any future claims. So in 5 years if you start having back pain or something you have no recourse. This happened to a family member.
That being said, this should not be construed as legal advice and I am just giving my two cents.