HJIN25

3days after picking up new TL, some lady rear ended me at the signal.
Fortunately all I had was small chipp in the bumper, but I think more than paint is gonna be needed.

She said that she didn't want to go through the insurance since both our insurance premiums will increase. She said either take it to the dealer or give her 3 quotes from different body shops....
I've heard that some dealers take it local, contracted body shops who does not do quality work..
any suggestions??? Think I should ask her for the rental car???

I was hoping to take it to 20/20 body shop. Also I've heard that the TL has polyurethene bumpers which can't be sanded and buffed, unlike fiber glass bumpers..

anthracite04TL

Sorry to hear about that. I actually just got keyed a few days ago and have a thread regarding SoCal bodyshop recommendations. I've taken my other car to Puente Hills autobody and MOB Works down in Orange, both of which are decent, but wanted other suggestions before returning to those places.

Anyways, I wanted to ask if you do get it done at 20/20 could you let me know how the paint matching goes due to the metallic paint your TL has. I also have an Anthracite colored TL. Hope you get everything resolved and your bumper taken care of.

Ron A

If she doesn't want to go through her insurance, tell her where you want to take it and you are not going to get 3 estimates, but don't push your luck with the loaner car thing.

Or, you can get 3 estimates and see how much they are, but then tell her you still want to take it to 20/20. Who knows, their quote may be the lowest, or within range of the others.

Road Rage

Nearly all flex bumpers are a form of polyurethane - no OEM that I know of uses glass reinforced plastic resins - GRP is for small outfits who cannot afford the scales of economy of a company like Honda, who orders 60,000 units.

There are poly-u repair kits available. The repair depends on the damage - when you say chip, do you mean just the paint is chipped? - peeps ask for advice but need to procide more info. Or is it dented in? Or is it torn through the poly completely? My last poly repair was on my outback, which i did myself. I just sanded down the chipped/crazed area, used body filler, sanded it down, primed, and painted. A pri shop would do the same, but completely remove the bumper cover, mix flex additive into the paint, and shoot the whole assembly. That will cost about $400-500. However, if it is just a opaint chip, many PDR companies can fix it for much less.

Why would your insurance go up if you do not file a claim? your insurance company will not subrogate such a small repair - go to a PDR, or get the 3 repair estimates.

Now, asking for a rental car might be pushing things a bit, so you may have to eat that, although you have a right to it. Sometimnes in this world you have to play the cards you have been dealt, even if it is not the hand you might like.

HJIN25

Thanks for the advice...

Puente autobody seems a bit high....they estimated 1200 for a chipped bumper..(paint and very small chip on the bumper). According to them, "You have to blend in the rear panels to minimize the difference of paint"

But I don't know if she will pay 1200 for a chipped bumper....also i feel a lil bad taking that much money just for a bumper......but then again, 5days old car, I want it to be perfect..
what a dilema...

20/20 seems to be slightly cheaper, plus they are very reputable shop, (appeared many times in magazines), so I'll probably have them fix it...

MaX800XT

I hope you at least got a police report. She might change her mind and pretend the whole thing never happened if it gets too expensive for her.

G

You need at least a signed statement from her that SHE WILL pay for the damages. Usually when peeps say that they want to take care of it on their own, and not throught their insurance means that they are NOT going to pay.

Do you have any pics of the "accident"?? Anything to rpove that she in fact did cause the damage?

HJIN25

Actually, the night of the accident, police came by, and my friends and I asked to file a report, but the cop said we didn't need to...

she seemed like a nice lady, but when she called her boyfriend to the scene of the accident, he was actin like a lil bit......ch, and wanted estimate from a dealer. i guess he was worried about the fraud, but then again,
when I took it to Puente Auto Body, I was actually surprised at the cost of repair...
$1200 for couple of chips on the bumper...


well, I'm faxing her the estimate today, so we'll see what happens.
Thanks for the advice guys.