Hi all...just a few questions i would like to ask. My 92 SC4 is in an accident today, and it's not my fault. The guy disobey his stop sign and pulled out on my main road. So my front right bumper is gone together with the headlight, foglights and the fender. Because of the impact, the airbag deployed and both doors can't be open wide.
Now, the unfortunate thing is i have liability coverage(due to too many speeding tickets in the past), so i guess it's up to the other party's insurance to pay for the damage. My question is i always wanted to put the 97 bumper on my car, so can i use this so call "opportunity" to have the body shop order the 97 bumper? Or they won't(due to policy perhaps?)If i wanted to do this, what should i do or say to the shop? Also, my HID is also gone. Do i get compensate for this since this isn't factory part? Thanks guys.

 

In my accidents I basically had 2 choices. The first was to take the check they offered me. That check could be cashed and spent any way I wanted and the second was to have the car taken to the body shop have them look at it and talk to the insurance company and have them adjust the costs around. Normally taking to the body shop and having them adjust the price gives the best coverage because if you tell the body shop to check things that may be broken regardless of the accident they will sometimes fix it and get the insurance to pay for it. If you get the money I think you can probably talk to the body shop and work something out and you might be able to order your own 97 bumper and have them do the job and pay them directly. If you choose to get the check it will probably be less than what the body shop will get for fixing it. The insurance company will try to find the cheapest way out. They wont consider the inside damange to engine and other parts. Its kind of a risk but its up to you.

I dont believe they pay for the broken HIDs. Well at least my insurance wouldnt. I HAD allstate but they cancelled the insurance a couple weeks back. Hope that helps.

 

It depends on the nature of your policy and the company you're insured with. I have AAA insurance, and they basically let me take the car to any shop I want and get an estimate. They issue me a check for the money, and it's up to me to spend it to fix the car.

But check with your insurance agent.

Ral

 

Ya sorry I forgot to mention that. Always check with your insurance company before you do anything because sometimes theres no going back. We were good friends with allstate so when they gave the check and we decided to get the body shop to adjust the price with the insurance company adjuster they were pretty understanding so before you do anything ask any questions. To be safe ask theses question you're asking us to your agent too. They will be able to answer them too. Companies vary so make sure you're clear with them before you take a check or take it to the body shop expecting them to pay for your HIDs too. Always ask I learned the hard way.

 

You only have liability insurance, which doesn't cover your own car, so the other guy's insurance IS covering you then? I always wondered about that because mine is liability only as well. Lucky for you he was insured too!

See if you can get a color change too, since they are repainting most of your car

 

The other persons insurance company should be held liable for damaging your HID's, just show them your receipt and make them pay for it.

The cost of 97 sc's are cheaper than the older models (i.e. tailights, bumpers, etc), so it shouldn't be a problem to buy newer parts. The only problem is, if the auto shop goes by the "book". Technically, they're suppose to repair your vehicle back to it's factory condition before the accident and not put newer parts on the car. Just work with the autoshop. When my car was in the shop, after an accident, I requested for newer parts as well and got a new paint job (different color). My deductible was $500, but I got that waived. I just had to pay $500 bucks to paint the doors to match my new paint job.

 

Your HID's will be covered - just show the insurance adjuster the reciept.

Contact the body shop where you will have the car repaired, discuss w/ them that you want the newer bumper, and explain you will pay any increase in price of the parts. The insurance company will only pay to replace the exact parts damaged. So if you want something else, you will just get a credit for the cost of the original bumper, then YOU pay the price of the new bumper (which is reduced from the cost of the original). Just ask, if not, have it repaired somewhere else. I have done this in the past and its not a problem. (not w/ a Lexus though).
Good luck.

Keith