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Nothing major, just venting. Sitting at a red light today, guy behind me was clearly on his phone and his car must have started creeping forward without him noticing, and bumped into me. Got it all recorded on the dashcam. Bumper will have to be repaired and repainted...what a PITA...
I will say, I'm glad I have that dash cam video...
Hi Steve,
Sorry to hear about the mishap. Looks like the other car's license plate screws poked holes in your bumper. I don't see any deformation, but I bet there is some. Maybe you can get the insurance company to replace the bumper altogether (~$1500 to paint and install).
With these expensive cars, I am beginning to wonder if I should also be investing in the dash cams. Would have noticed these holes if the bump had happened in a parking lot when you were away. Does the dash cam warn you of a collision when the car is parked?
Good luck getting them to give you an OEM bumper unless you're in a state that requires OEM parts to be used. No, I'd rather have it repainted if it's this minor and doesn't require filling.
Those two holes below the parking sensors would need to be filled...
That can't be repaired, insist on having the bumper replaced. I had the same thing happen to me a couple years ago. The damage was slightly more than yours. The kind of material used to make those bumpers can't be filled in.
My incident was kind of funny, now at least. This car hit me from behind in a parking lot as I was letting my wife out of the car. Fortunately the other car was not going very fast. I got out of my car ready to yell at the other driver. When I got there it was an elderly woman who was already crying and apologizing. It was winter and she had these big clumsy boots on and she apparently was stepping on the brake and the accelerator at the same time.
So so instead of yelling at her I found myself consoling her and telling her everything was all right and nobody was hurt. She was disabled and I helped her get into the building. Like my wife she was headed into our HMO!
It’s really not that bad. He hit me very lightly and basically his screws for his license plate just sheared the paint off of those two spots. The one bigger one has a little indent, but other than that there’s no other indents in the cover.
I’ll upload the video. We had been sitting there for about a minute, and he must have been looking down at his phone and not noticed he was creeping forward. He was going maybe 1MPH. Super apologetic.
The shop I use is excellent, and has gotten me OEM bumper covers before. I agree I’d rather have this cover repaired or even a used cover vs a new aftermarket cover. It’s on the schedule to go in 9/23, which will work well since we’ll be in fl that week.
Diminished value claim doesn’t seem likely with that kind of damage. Glad it wasn’t anything too serious, it’s more of a nuisance having to deal with your insurance company and having to drive a rental.
Diminished value claim doesn’t seem likely with that kind of damage.
I'd disagree. This high value 2 year old luxury car is now flagged with "1 accident reported" for the rest of its life. It can no longer be "L-Certified." Most prospective buyers who would pay big bucks for a "perfect" new to them Lexus in mint condition as this one surely is will just skip over the listing and the only interested customers will be the low ballers and resellers. That is what a claim for diminished value is. Get a few estimates before you decide what shop to use. I'd recommend one certified by Toyota/Lexus and definitely nowhere the guys insurance company suggests!
Nospinzone, do you recall how much it cost to replace your bumper?
I think it might have been $1500. I'm not sure and I don't have any way of looking it up.
And Steve maybe you can get away with a repair. My bumper had about a one inch cut in it. At the time I was amazed that it couldn't be repaired because I would have gone for that.
That is damaged paint, not holes. That is an easy fix, even with minor indenting, and the quality of the OEM is going to be superior to whatever the insurance would offer. Unless you like fighting tooth and nail for something that you already have, I would sooner just repair that.
Agreed, all things considered I'd rather have it repaired than accept a new aftermarket cover. The other plus of that is the bumper won't be color coated up by where it meets other panels which will make the paint match easier.
Originally Posted by Benjam1n
I'd disagree. This high value 2 year old luxury car is now flagged with "1 accident reported" for the rest of its life. It can no longer be "L-Certified." Most prospective buyers who would pay big bucks for a "perfect" new to them Lexus in mint condition as this one surely is will just skip over the listing and the only interested customers will be the low ballers and resellers. That is what a claim for diminished value is. Get a few estimates before you decide what shop to use. I'd recommend one certified by Toyota/Lexus and definitely nowhere the guys insurance company suggests!
Thats actually not true. Cars with repainted bumpers can absolutely be L-Certified, in fact Lexus routinely repaints bumpers as part of their CPO prep process. I think cars can have 2-3 body panels repainted and that doesnt even include bumpers. I've got a good shop I've used for years, Lexus of Rockville sends cars there but thats just an added bonus...they do a great job.
I've had cars with repainted bumpers and I've never experienced any diminished value. I've also never had any of those incidents reported to a Carfax. The car is also a lease which complicates a diminished value claim. Bottom line is, when you daily drive a car regardless of how careful you are things like this happen. It sucks, but my attitude is just get it fixed right and move on.
Sometimes I miss the days of cars with steel bumpers. I'm surprised the guy was so apologetic. I could see him saying., "come on man, it's nothing. Here is $20 for some touch up paint." Too bad silver touch up paint doesn't seem to blend as well as black or most dark colors.
Now you have to drive around with those drive around with those front and rear parking bumper pads to be extra safe
Got rear ended...
