tsiripong

Damn salt truck threw salt and rock at my car this morning, left a pretty good size paint chip in my hood. It looks like the chip broke through the clear coat and paint, left a pretty odd looking quarter inch in diameter mark on my hood. I'm trying to decide to either put a claim through my insurance or try to touch it up or left it alone. What should i do????

XxGoKoUxX

touch up, shouldn't go through insurance, In the long run you end up paying more... Haggle with a local paint shop that you hear good things about. My whole front end (hood bumper and front lip) was a total of $500 to repair.

xRYD3Rx

Get a clear bra paint protection film

AudioBob

That stinks. I just purchased a new Mercedes last month and we literally just pulled out of the dealership and a salt truck threw debris and broke the windshield and left several marks in the paint on the hood. Insurance covered the windshield completely with no deductable, but I would have to put a claim in on for the paint work.

XxGoKoUxX

WTH bob?

Betraying us for a MB......

But in all seriousness.... I really hate wreckless work trucks..... I JUST got my car refinished after the incident with a work truck like a few months back already... I'll probably bump up the thread with updates since I finally got some parts installed.

I don't know if you should feel too bad, but a friend of my fiancé's who works at the MB dealership (she's a sales manager), just recently had a conversation with her about an old couple.... They walked in, paid cash for a $120k S550 (I'm sure it was loaded), drove it out of the lot, RIGHT in front of the dealership and someone ran a redlight and totaled the car.

They called insurance on the scene (this was not even within 1 hr of ownership yet) and they ended up coming back the next week for another S550, matching color and matching options.

BinaryJay

Lesson is don't drive behind or beside salt trucks.

AudioBob

I still have my Lexus and it stacks up nicely against the Mercedes. They have different personalities and there are things that I like about each car. My GS has 118,000 miles on it and still feels really solid, even after driving it back to back. I also have a 1988 Mustang convertible and a 1999 Regal GS and both of them will smoke the GS and Mercedes. The Ford guys call me a traitor because I own the GS!!! LOL.

XxGoKoUxX

LOL! It's all good, I've shamelessly owned a fun Honda civic hatchback (96), Toyota celica (86), Nissan 200sx turbo (86), Nissan Hardbody (95), Honda Odyssey (06), Ford Econoline (I forgot what year, it was UGLY outside), Acura Legend (93), and Mazda Miata (93). Of all the bunch, including my GS, the Miata would have smoked everything effortlessly, on only 280RWHP lol (imagine 280hp on a 1600lb chassis). I've since let all the fun cars go for my GS, as our new neighborhood probably wouldn't like 8 cars sitting all across the neighborhood lol.

Anywho, any goodies done on the 88 mustang and 99 Regal? It's hard to believe those cars would whomp your good ole lexus w/out some form of mods .

tsiripong

I ended up put caim through my insurance. I thought about touch it up, but the size of the chip is quite big and I want to get it fix before I install clear bra on it.... So.... The total cost for the job is $744. My part is $100.00 and insurance pay the rest.... My insurance claim agent verified that it's a comprehensive claim and it will not affect my rate.

Will update the outcome.

XxGoKoUxX

Wow, that's great tsiripong! I'll probably inquiry for my gf's car.... Someone hit her and ran in the parking lot at school, and it's a bit more than that.....

Thanks for the heads up on what you did! I find it intriguing how your insurance isn't affected though, usually ins rate will go up a bit, as what was told by MY agent a long time ago it's not worth claiming my synonymous damage someone left in the parking lot.

BinaryJay

Is there such a thing as a claim that doesn't affect insurance? NO WAY. Make another one or two claims over the next whole bunch of years and suddenly they may cancel your insurance and find yourself with nobody willing to insure you at all except for very expensive companies. Happens with home insurance too... even if the claims are legit. Once they feel you are making too many claims you're done.

XxGoKoUxX

Don't you hate that about insurance?

I mean, what if I was in an unlucky streak where IDIOTS kept running the redlight, ramming into me 3-4 times, costing thousands and thousands.....

In the US, you're required to have an insured motor vehicle license... It'd be very unfortunate for that to happen lol.

blue00

Some insurance offers a "first claim" forgiveness. Any claim under comprehensive is a claim that counts against you, so you basically used up your one free claim for $700. I personally would have saved it for a more serious claim.

As for insurance dropping you, it gets pretty damn expensive after just 1 claim, after they drop you, you have to go through High risk insurance, for the price of which you might as well be buying and totaling a car every year and a half and not claiming it (because here in Ontario you also need to be insured by law, so keep your cheap insurance and just buy a new car... it will cost you less if you plan on more than claim or two)

YaMomma

A lot of it is defensive driving, I can't tell you how many times I've avoided a wreck by anticipating what an idiot was going to do. I had an 18 wheeler flip on its side directly in front of me but I knew he wasn't going to make the next corner so I backed off and enjoyed the show.

Just last week I was trying to pass a lady on the expressway in heavy rain. As I'm about to pass her she looses the back end of her car. I moved from the middle lane to the far right lane to give her room to complete the slide. Unfortunately she didn't turn into the slide and when the car was completely sideways it griped and slammed her into the median going at least 65 MPH. It looked like the car exploded and parts went everywhere before the ping pong game began.

Her car went from the far left lane towards the right lane I moved into. I braked just enough for her car to slide in front of mine and she missed my GS by about 2 feet. I knew there was a median on the right so I hit the gas and moved towards the left lane just as her car bounced off the right median and came sliding back across the road. It scared the crap out of my wife and she was screaming obscenities the entire time. I need to put a camera in my car because something crazy like this happens to me at least 2-3 times a year.

chuckGS350

My sister in-law claimed the broken windshield due to rock on the road for her 12RX350 twice within a year.
First time, OEM windshield (~$2K), second time, after market.
Her car is still insured.