fugazi

So here's the deal. I went shopping at Target today around 12:00. At 12:30 I'm driving away and I notice a note on my windshield. Immediately I think "Great, someone hit my car." Sure enough, my back bumper is jacked. The note is from a witness, not the person who hit my car.

Turns out, the person who hit my car was a Pepsi delivery guy in a truck, and the witness took a partial license plate number and full DOT number. I confirmed with Target that they received a Pepsi delivery at 12:20, and they gave me the Pepsi district manager's number.

District manager came and looked at my car and said that he "Probably knew who did it." and that they "Were in a truck and so they probably didn't notice." That's all fine, but still, I'm a little ticked off. At first I was angry, but now I just want my car fixed. He gave me his card and said he'd call me "Sometime next week if he couldn't resolve anything today." He also took my witness' phone number, which made me a little uneasy, as I imagine in a worst case scenario them trying to discredit or bribe my witness- unlikely I know, but I'm still a bit shook up.

The thing is, I don't really want a repainted bumper. I want my car to be in like new condition- I've had it for only about a month now, I don't even have my license plates yet. I've heard Acura has a really good paint process, and I want that for my whole car. I filed a police report and they said that if Pepsi doesn't cooperate, that they'll step in. I have a physical copy of my report and conversation with the police officer (issued by the police).

Any thoughts/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Hopefully my pictures will work. I can't tell if a new bumper will fix the problem, or if the whole mounting on it is screwed up. Anyone know what something like this would cost? It also pushed the bumper up a bit and scraped the bottom of my trunk door.
Here's the pics.

AcuraRLBlue

I would want this bumper to be replaced instead of repaired. There may be attachments bend/broken inside, and I doubte that the form of the bumper could be restored.

I would call the witness to thank him/her for stepping forward, and I would also alert the person that his/her phone number is known to the police and Pepsi. I hope with a good rapport with the witness, he/she would remain on your side.

fugazi

I left a message at the witness' home. She called me back just now, and she was SUPER nice. She said that Pepsi had called her, and that she felt bad that it's Christmas and the guy might lose his job, but that his behavior was unacceptable. Apparently the guy tried to back up too sharply and he hit my car. He kept trying to reverse, but could not figure out why his truck wouldn't move (it was stuck on my rear bumper). She was honking and pointing at my car, and writing down his license and DOT number, and she didn't think there was any way he could not have noticed. He ended up pulling forward, reversing again, and taking off; she thought he was gonna pull over, but he just kept going.

She then took the time to go to the neighboring stores to see if she could identify the owner. She went to the Jack in the Box, but didn't find anyone there, and she left a message with the head manager of Target. She was my Christmas miracle

vp911

Sorry to hear about that. At least pepsi will be willing to pay for the damages - and I would make them replace the bumper and have a good body shop do the work. It can and will look like new, even though it won't feel like it.

1HOT NSX

I feel really sorry about your loss - yes, a terrible loss when you have a brand new car that doesn't even have the permanent plates attached yet. You must feel like killing the so and so who was driving that truck! :angryfire

I would suggest you try to keep the paint to a minimum, perhaps just the bumper if you can avoid having the trunk lid also painted. Avoid the "blending" by painting adjacent panels that the "experts" will recommend, they will only paint your car of a different shade of color in their effort to "blend" for a perfect match. Spend the time finding a shop where they can really match the color - matching is an art, not a skill - you either have it or you don't. I'm going to guess a cost of between $1,800 and $3,000 for the fix depending on what kind of damage there is underneath the bumper. My guesstimate is just that, I'm not a body repairman, I'm only going from estimates I've seen for similar damage.

vp911

I completely agree with 1HOT NSX on the blending. I have had parts of cars repainted and then others blended, it looks OK, but I have seen others which have had a perfect match and it is just better.

fugazi

Does Acura sell bumpers pre-painted? For some reason I had that idea in my mind, but I'm thinking maybe I made that up. I guess I'll just make them buy me a new bumper and then have a good body shop paint it. I'll have them install my spoiler and rear mud-guards while they're at it. :-/ Should Pepsi be responsible for my rental car? I think I should get a rental car of RL luxury O:-)

vp911

They do not sell pre-painted bumpers. You should make sure they pay for a rental car that is equivalent to your RL.

medrxman

Sorry to see your damage. From a similar experience with my 2000 RL (now have a 2005 RL) I am pretty sure there will not be any under the bumper damage. The so called bumber is just a facia attached to a frame. My guess is no more than
$1100 and only the bumpber will need painting and the car being so new the match will be perfect.

Best wishes

hondamore

The lady who left you the note should be made a saint!!! Without her going above and beyond the call of duty, you would be having one seriously crappy Christmas.
I agree with the gang suggesting that a new bumper be the method of repair. For a car as new as yours, replacement with new parts versus repairing the bumper should be non- negotiable. If just the bumper is damaged, the repair should be invisible if done by a decent body shop.
By the way, I always did prefer Coke over Pepsi.

1HOT NSX

I noticed you are in the Sacramento area. There are several shops that have a stellar reputation yet they cannot match paint as well as other smaller shops. I know of a shop in Woodland were I took my wife's Ruby Red Pearl Mercedes to get repaired after a rear end collision and they did a very, very good job matching the 6 year old paint.

One of the top shops in Sacramento can match pearl whites beautifully - they did a stellar job on my 2000 RL - but I saw them repaint almost completely a black NSX trying to "blend in" the match. I wouldn't trust them with anything but white. PM me if you are interested in learning about my experiences with a couple of shops around here.

Nabbs

Just go through your insurance, don't bother having Pepsi pay for it directly. Give the insurance all the info and let them try and recoup and money from Pepsi. This way you get your fixed to your satisfaction and do not have to wait for anything.

Your rates will not go up and more then likely your insurance company will waive any deductible.

If you go through Pepsi they may want to cap how much they pay, or they may refer you to thier insurance or whatever. If nothing else it is only adding more bureaucracy to your process.

As for the blending, don't sweat it -- a good repair shop will be able to blend no problem. Damage looks minor, find a shop you are comfortable with and just deal with your insurance and you'll be back on the road in no time at all.

-N

1HOT NSX

I couldn't disagree more. Blending is painting and keep painting into adjacent panels until you cannot tell that you car has been repainted of a different shade of the original color. Don't let them blend unless you don't care to have your car repainted over perfectly good and beautiful original paint.

fugazi

Yeah, I'm definitely keeping my original paint. I'm going to request a new bumper, and have them paint that to match my car. There is a smaller, highly reputable shop around here, and I'm gonna have them do it.

Nabbs

Uhm, how can you paint without blending? I mean you can, but it will look awful. You are forgetting that the paint on the rest of the car will be a different color from the new paint. Over time the paint fades from sunlight, washing, etc, as such the paint on the car is a different shade from when it came from the factory. As a result, it is next to impossible to get paint that will match the paint on the car. This is why it is imperitive that some blending is used.

In this case, repainting the *whole* bumper may actually mean that you will have to blend the trunk lid and both fenders and may require considerably more work and more chance that the new paint stands out from the old. Personally, I think if you just paint the immediately damaged area and then blend into the bumper you have less of a chance of making the damage stand out.

When my Z06 got hit in the rear I was lucky not to need blending because the entire rear is flat and joins the fenders at 90* angles. Because of this there was no new paint directly to old, so you cannot see the difference in paint. However I had a minor blemish on the nose fixed and they painted the afflicted area and then blended into the rest of the nose as opposed to painting the whole thing. Car looks mint. Oh, and my Corvette is silver metallic -- a color almost as tough as your NSX's yellow to match.

-N

Nabbs

Please let a professional determine what is needed. Unless you plan on painting the entire car, the paint will need to be blended. All blending is, is an optical illusion where one shade is slowly merged into the other so that you cannot see the different shades.

-N

fugazi

My thought is that since the car is fairly new, there won't be too much of a difference caused by sun fading or what not. I of course will let a professional decide, I just really would hate to have more than my rear bumper painted. This is such a pain in the ass.

Nabbs

Nah, it's part of owning a car. Remember it is JUST a car. It could've been a ton worse. You can still drive the car, and it shouldn't be more then a week of work. Find a good body shop with a clean paint booth and let them take care of it. Don't micromanage them, just be aware of what they are doing. This is really very very minor in terms of work.

Even if your car is relatively new there it will be next to impossible to match paint out of a can to what is on your car. I bet that if you lined up all the 05 RLs with your color, most of them wouldn't be identical -- because even Acura has paint variations. Now who knows who mnfrs the paint and if the formula is the exact same as is used in the factory. There are so many variables that make it impossible to perfectly match paint out of a can. But I don't want to scare you or make you believe that your car will be 100% perfect when you get it back. I am merely contesting the NSX guys post about blending, additionally, I am saving you some embarrasment and trouble if you go to a body shop and demand that they don't blend it. This is such minord damage, and I've seen cars that had considerably more damage with much more difficult paint come out perfect. Just let a pro do their job. When they are done make sure you look at the bumper under all sorts of light, and don't accept the work till you're happy with it.

G'luck and keep us posted.

-N

Nabbs

Just one final reply and I am out:

When shopping for a body shop consider these things:

1- Make sure your insurance does not require you to visit only shops that they have pre-approved.

2- When talking with a shop let them know who your carrier and ask if they have any experience with them. A good shop will know your ins. co's adjuster, making processing your claim fast.

3- You should always keep in mind that there could be more damage then is visible. If your shop knows the adjuster, they will have no problem applying supplimental claims or filing for additional damage up front. In short, you want to make sure your company can fight for your car to be fixed, but not bilk the company out of un-needed money.

4- The shop should be relatively clean, with a completely sterile paint booth. Take a look at the cars and ask to see some of their finished work. Make sure they can blend AND add flex material to your bumper (so the paint won't crack).

5- Make sure they can get your car in and out QUICKLY. You don't want a place that will keep your car for a month for this kind of work. In such a case your car will sit, without being worked on. Some places are really good and may not be able to squeeze you in on such short notice, but if you like their work, it may be worth the wait.

6- At the end of the day, you should be 100% comfortable with the shop. If you are not, walk. period. Body shops are a dime a dozen, always remember that.

Again, I think you should file the claim with your insurance if you haven't done so -- it will make this much easier for you.

-N

fugazi

I filed a claim within 10 minutes of being hit. I drove to the insurance office I was so steamed.

1HOT NSX

Nabbs sounds like a true professional and his explanation is exactly what you are going to get from a professional body shop, they even write books about this blending procedure. The reality is that some people can match the color without blending into adjacent panels, and they can do it on the first try. Many shops simply cannot match the color unless they try more than once or twice, and perhaps never will, no matter how many times they try. The blending is done to save time and money when matching the color would require two or three applications. In my opinion there is nothing embarrasing about asking your shop to match the paint without painting adjacent panels, some may refuse to take your car if you don't allow them to blend but the one who does agree to do it will match the paint without repainting your whole car.
The shop I mentioned in Woodland will recommend not blending and they insist they can match anything, and they do. My wife's Mercedes bumper has two different tones on the bumper and the match is perfect with the exception of viewing the car under fluorescent lights where the match is not quite perfect - and only someone who knows the bumper has been repainted and is examining the paint for a match, can tell the difference.

There is another shop in the Bay Area where a friend had his 1997 yellow NSX repaired - they were able to match the color perfectly without blending. I can look it up for you and give you my friends contact info if you are interested.

fugazi

Yeah, I really want to go without blending at this point. The thing is, I'm about an hour and a half out of Sacramento, and 3+ hours out of the bay. I'm going to try and find a local shop, and tell them frankly what I expect. If I can't find someone around here that can do it, I'm gonna need your help if you're willing :-)