First off, Happy New Year to all. Unfortunately for me, I was hit on the highway while driving back home from my friend's New Year's party. The guy was obviously drunk and didn't even see me until it was too late. The damage isn't too bad, and the best thing was that no one from my car was hurt in the slightest. But it still obviously sucks. I tried to get the plate before he sped off, but I wasn't able to see it correctly, I only got perhaps a partial. It happened one freaking exit before my exit! I don't think I'll go through my insurance, because the cost of the repair will probably be close to or less than my deductible. It looks like most if not all of the black marks will come off. How much do you guys estimate for the repair?

 

just try popping it back out and buffing the black marks off. sorry it happened to you.

 

sucks man.... i didn't even get to drive my baby... parents took off with it to find a house in Riverside using my navi..... left me with a garage door opener... and my friends... anywho, best of luck man! doesn't look like any paint chipped off or cracked so i say wat desired_speeds said

 

that sucks.... the damage will cost about $500-600$. and its a good thing that you made a choice of paying the damage yourself because if you put it through your insurance company they would be charging you a $500 deductable plus insurance rate would go up possiblly.

 

heat up the part that ur going to pop out first. try using some scratch remover and if that doenst get it out buff.

 

Heat that area and pop it out. You may get it all with out having to bring it in. The black marks will buff off.

 

Talk to the insurance company - you should file a police report - albeit after the fact. The insurance company may work with you given your claims history and could assign an uninsured motorist claim for this, thereby costing you nothing but time. They will not do anything without a police report however. It could be worthwhile to at least talk to them about it - who says you have to file a claim afterwards if they will charge you the deductible.

 

ouch! popping it out would be the easy option but for one thing, its not gonna come out the same way, and not all the black marks would come out. Go file the report, and just get it repaired the right way.


where did you get hit? i 95 or merritt?

 

You should file a police report. A partial and make/model should be enough. I'm no cop but that should narrow things down.

 

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions guys. I called 911 right after it happened so they did send out a state trooper and he filed a report.

bfederov14: It happened on I-91 southbound.

 

Question: If I do try to pop it out and clean off the scuff marks, but then after that I don't like how it came out, can I still theoretically file an insurance claim even though it's not in its original state anymore? (But regardless I still probably won't claim it against my insurance).

 

wow sucks dude...

 

sorry to hear. It could have been much worse though.
good thing you filed that police report. Why didnt you chase after the guy to get the plate number whiline having a friend call 911? Thats definately what i would have done.

I hope they find this jerk and throw the book at him. A hit and run is a criminal offence here.

 

Dont chase crazed drunk drivers who may also be on speed and carrying a gun!!!
You are not the Police- call 911 is the right thing to do

A body shop will want to replace the whole cover and inner impact absorber foam and paint it to match, maybe blend the paint line up a bit into the trunk...... 500-750

Body shop wont care about your repair attempt- just tell them and show original pics.

Uninsured Motorist Coverage- If you have that- you paid for it to cover all the idiots, wont affect your rates if you use it.

 

true you americans are a little gun crazy.
still i would have got the plate number and backed off.

 

just a bumper cover if that, not biggie

 

I did try to speed up to get the plate, but I didn't want to go too crazy especially because he was drunk and I had other people in the car. He was ALL OVER the highway, I didn't want to get into a bigger accident.

 

For those of you who have used the uninsured motorist coverage, how does that work vs. regular incidental coverage? Would I still have to pay the deductible? And I don't know how it would work since they don't have an actual second party at fault since the guy drove off.

BIGTUFFGUY: Yeah I definitely hope they find him and take his license away. I believe it is a criminal offense here as well.

 

damn AM that sucks. the most important thing is that everyone is OK and hopefully that asshole didn't kill someone last nite


Good luck with the repair!

 

i got hit the exact same way by some hit and run fucker who cant navigate a parking lot. costed me 300 to have it popped out and repainted. what sucks about mine, is that it cracked the rear light so i gotta get that fixed too lol

 

Damn that sucks to hear man. At least you're alright and the damage isn't too bad, should just pop right out with.

 

go get a estimate before trying any work yourself. That way if you need to claim it you will have something to fall back on. Also contact your insurance co and tell them what happened and get the details from them Every ones policy is a little different.

 

That happened to me the first week I got my car in April and the kid was high. Luckily for him and me his uncle owned a auto body shop and they did a great job with my bumper.

 

Man. It pains me to see your baby in that condition. Hopefully everything isn't as bad as it looks and you're okay. I don't trust any driving (even myself) on New Years. I just got back from a New Years party and there's STILL crazy people on the roads the night after. I know this stuff happens every year. Life is too short. My 2 cents advice is to not go home after a New Years party. If at all possible, stay over night. >)

 

Sorry to hear about that. I bet it sucks. But dont worry, i have a fucked up trunk that i was able to pop back out but its still got ripples in it so its gona need body work eventually. Atleast u didnt get hurt.

 

hey atleast u saved your lip which is worth more than the bumper. give me a call we'll try to pop it out

 

Hit-and-run damage may reduce your insurance deductible. Mine was $500 originally, but was cut in half since the damage was caused by hit-and-run in the mall parking lot. Might want to ask your insurance company before you do anything.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions. I went to get estimates from two body shops, both said that the bumper needs to be replaced, which I assumed they would because it would be a lot of work to get it completely right even if they tried to salvage it, and also they can get more money this way. The lesser quote was $750-800. But I will call my insurance company tomorrow to explain what happened and see what they can do.

 

Damn...that sucks dude. Hope everything gets fixed. Don't stress it good thing the car is still drivable.

 

i'm surprised the paint didn't chip of scratch off

 

The paint is cracked, and a little bit of it got scratched off.