Now before you read this, please note i dont want to hear the "you should have gotten more information" thing and that its all my fault.

okay, july fourth weekend, this guy in a pickup truck was tailgating me like crazy for a long while. it was a single lane residential area with stop signs at every stop. well at one block, i actually stopped for a long while (instead of a roll) to let this jogger pass, and he tapped my bumper. to be honest, the damage is negligible. If youve ever seen an RX bumper, its in the area where the bottom of the bumper cover is black plastic. and to be honest, there are some more major scratches on my bumper.

well we stopped and i took his information (phone number, license plate, drivers license number, and name and birth). thats it, no mention of insurance. he was super apologetic, like a different person than the crazy guy that was tailgating me super close. if im honest, it was like he was baked or just over acting. anyways, he looked at my bumper, and was adement that they can just replace the bottom black plastic portion and he told me to go to this body shop. anyways, as a lexus enthusiast, of course i know that the bumper cover is one piece, and you cant change the plastic portion only.

anyways, i left to vegas (see vegas thread) and its been close to two weeks now. I did a lot of mulling and my family and I decided to just let him go, with maybe a minor compensation of maybe $100. i thought it wouldnt be fair for him to pay for everything since its such a small scratch. but now that im back his phone constantly says "this message inbox is full" and there is no way of contacting him.

this really gets my blood pumping and now im angry and confused. should i just let him slide? google will not find me anything on the person, but i have some friends in high places that work in he police force. should i snoop around and eventually find him? should i report it to my insurance company and have them deal with it? though i think they may scold me because i didnt get his insurance.

 

In situations like these its really easy to just forget about even the bigger details like insurance. This exact thing happened to me a couple years ago in high school. Luckily it was someone I knew and although they were reluctant, I was persistent enough to get $250 eventually.

If I were you I'd go after that guy and get him to pay for a whole repaint of the bumper. But that's just IMO.

 

Depending on just where the scratches are and how much of the bumper they cover, if there is no other bumper damage, you might even be able to forget about a repaint, take a piece of wide automotive blackout trim tape, and apply it across the bumper where the scratches are to cover them up. If done correctly (and I've done this myself), and trimmed to match the ends of the bumper, it will look like (and mix in with) regular black factory trim, and people probably won't notice it.

 

I'd get him for closure...nothing makes you feel better than making another man feel small

 

MV accident 101. When you exchange info with the other driver, make sure you write down the vin number that is fastened to the vehicle (located on the bottom portion of the windshield on the drivers side). Never rely on the paper work exchanged. In addition, call the police! Whats done is done so what to do?
Get an estimate of the damage to determine if it exceeds your insurance deductable. If the repair exceeds your deductable and you truly want your vehicle repaired with out paying much out of your pocket, then report it to your insurance company. As far as obtaining the insurance carrier info of the truck driver, this info can be obtained via a DMV search conducted by your insurance carrier.. Your insurance carrier will attempt to recoup the monies for your repair from the truck driver's Ins. co. Let them iron that out.. If you do not want to go through the rigmarole then just get the vehicle repaired on your own and learn from this experience.

 

Contact your insurance company and let them handle it. With the information you've obtained from that guy, it's enough for them to get to work.

 

yep, the guy could have intentionally stuffed his mailbox so you couldn't leave a message....but I think insurance may require a police report as proof to proceed won't they? they can also do it as uninsured motorist if all else fails.

 

the thing im wondering is if its worth it to just go through all this trouble.




see the black part of the bottom of the bumper cover? its plastic and its really a scrape off there. plus, thers already more than that area.

 

dude, from this angle I think its pretty noticeable!!!!

J/K !!!!

 

Buddy I feel your pain.




I had bumper damage on my X3 due to the negligence of a parking attendant. Did not realize my bumper was damaged until I got out of the vehicle at home. No police report in this instance. My insurance company covered a portion of the repair bill. Repair included replacing the entire rear bumper and paint. Flawless repair when all was said and done My insurance did not go up as a result and yours should not either..

Here is my thread..
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...MAGE+ON+BMW+X3

 

I'm pretty sure you could buff that out. Might have to wet-sand though.