I got hit in the back today on the way to work.

It is very minor, just the guys license plate put some grooves and marks on my bumper.

The question is, my car is two weeks old. What should I do?

I went to my insurance company and they said they can have one of their shops fix it or I can pick my shop.

Any advice? Also I don't want the car painted like someone else said. I would just like to have the bumper repainted. I mean the bumpers don't match now. My color is Blue, 06 TL

 

go to the dealer

 

Why did you contact your insurance company? Why not his?

Reason being that even if it's not your fault. The fact that you were involved in an accident will stay on your insurance record.

As for repainting the bumper, I assume you can just ask whichever bodyshop you chose not to "blend" the area. They should have no problem with that since it's less work for them.

 

I would not go to the dealer for bodywork. Dealers are not known for having top notch body shops. I'd much rather to go an independant over the dealer.

Last time I was rear ended and the guys SUV plate scratch my bumper I contacted him directly and asked if he wanted to pay for this out of his pocket to not involve his insurance company. I got a quote from my body shop which was around $1200 to refinish my bumper and I got a quote from Enterprise and two day low end car rental and sent the guy my quotes and he sent me a check.

 

My insurance doesn't go up since it was not my fault.

So one person says the dealer. But the dealer doesn't do the work they just sub it out to another body shop.

I had work done before at this one body shop that my insurance company recomended they did a good job.

I am just worried about the paint peeling, or fading or something. My insurance company gives me a lifetime warranty against all that they said if I use their shop.

Its not a big deal, I am sure it will be ok.

Anyone get their bumper or any part painted on a Blue TL? Did it match well?

I appreciate everyones help.

 

Dealers aren't in the body work business, why anyone would have body work done at a dealer is beyond my comprehension. If the dealer doesn't have a little small body shop area they just farm the work out to somebody else. Why cut the dealer in on the profit? Go and deal directly with the people that do body work 100% of the time.

 

I've had specialty paint work on my bumper that was excellent. There is a dent specialist where I get my car service and they have a guy who can paint and match anything on a plastic, polyurethane bumper. It was done in one day and how and exactly what he uses is beyond me, but it was outstanding. Perfect match, for bumpers that don't match anyway.

 

Got another question.

I filed a claim with my insurance company Allstate. I brought it to their shop and they said 405 dollars. They will sand the bumper, patch, and repaint.
Its less then my deductable so Allstate will not handle it and told me to file it against the other guys insurance.

I got another estimate from a high-end body shop. They really only do high-end cars. He said u cannot patch my bumper and it isn't worth it. He said he will get a brand new factory bumper, paint it, then I will bring my car in and he will remove and install the new one. His quote was 870. I have had work done from him before and so has a friend and the guy is really good. He does everythign the right way and takes no short cuts. Thats how he got his reputation and thats why he can charge top dollar and get it.

So I called the guy who hit me and he said that he was thinking around 1-200 dollars. I told him I got the estimate and thats its 870. He said since its xmas time money is tight but he will try and gather it since he doesn't want his insurance to go up. I told him I understand and that I can give him to the 1st to come up with the money.

So if he doesn't pay I have to file against his insurance. The guy at the body shop said the insurance company will estimate the car and I have to fight with them to pay the 870. He said they will try and get it patched or covered up for like 300 dollars. He said I will win 99 percent of the time, because in the end the car is 3 weeks old, and they guy hit me in the back.

So anyone have experience with dealing with insurance companies? Is it a big pain in the $@@? He told me he has AutoOne.

I appreciate it!

 

my car was 1 mo old in oct. i was stopped in traffic on the way to the lincoln tunnel. some idiot guy hitz me. not much damage except for 2 screw indentationz from his license plate. i found his insurance company(allstate) and they looked at it and they gave me a check for 420 dollarz on the spot last week, but this is just to fix it and not to replace the bumper. im gonna go to my own body shop and get an estimate to see how much it cost to replace it. i assumed the price would be around 800-1000 which u have verified, but i dont know if itz worth the hassle to fight his insurance co for more money to fix it. keep us updated on your situation.

 

I backed into my neighbor's car this summer and gouged my rear bumper a bit. I didn't report it to the insurance company since I have a 1k deductible. I told the repair shop that I want a whole new bumper cover, even though they could fix the existing one. The whole thing with paint and new fastners cost $600.

I must say that I was sick about it when I did it.

 

FYI, just because your insurance wont go up doesnt mean you're not being negatively affected by it.

All the major insurance companies keep track of the 'number' of claims you have, regardless of fault. Go over their limit, regardless of fault, and you're gone.

Just an FYI.

 

You need to file a police report on the damage, and get his insurance company involved, if you want this handled right, and if you don't want to end up paying for it yourself.

 

I called the police when it happened, I am just waiting the 3-5 days till its ready.

But in the mean time I got the estimate, now I am giving him a chance to pay in cash since he wanted to try and pay out of pocket. If he cannot come up with the money then I will file it with his insurance.

I just didn't want to since I heard they are a pain in the ass and you have to fight for every penny. Since there are two ways to fix something, easy way or correct way. They like the cheap way.

 

replace the bumper cover... The bumper is plastic and they are never perfect after they get marked up. I am sure someone can do a decent job in many cases, but plastic gets distorted very easily. Get another bumper it runs about 600 bills.

 

Since your care is new, make sure do not back up and accept the cheap way from other insurance. Get your insurance involves since they might pursue to get the money from other insurance for you. Get repaint or use non-OEM will lower your car value unless you want to get body kits.
Go to the dealer and request an estimate of cost to fix your bumper. Since dealer is usually the place that cost the most, use that dealer's estimate price and claim on the other person's insurance. Get the check from the insurance, then you can find cheaper place to paint / replace new bumper / or just keep the money depends on what you want. Only go to dealer to fix if you concern about the new bumper paint match with the rest of your car since you can easily complaint if the new paint is not match. Go to independent shop might cause you much headage if the new paint is not match depends on the shop.

 

Ok so I need more help.

I got a brand new bumper. I went to this high end body shop that no insurance company likes because his prices are high but he is the best. The guy is 'anal' when it comes to his work and he treats every car like his own.

Ok so I got my new bumper ordered and he painted it and installed it on the car. He called me up and said he is not happy with it. He called the factory/paint and got 3-4 variances in it. He sprayed all 4 out and still does not like it. He said he is not happy with it but so he needs to blend the quarters. He said I know you don't want that so you can come look at tell me if its acceptable but I don't like it. I said I appreciate your honesty.

So I am going to look at it. Half of me wishes he just blended the quarters and never told me because now I am going to worry about it. I was also thinking, I am sure many body shops blend the quarters and don't tell you. After all you would never know.

I have an 06 Blue TL for everyones info. The bumpers were darker originally so I am going to check and see if thats what he is talking about.

Any comments/info/experiences?

 

I'd not want him to blend the quarters. Why? Because it's a body repaint that you'll have to explain to the future buyer of your car. Trust me, no matter how good a color match is, someone will be able to tell if a body panel has been repainted. Repainted body panel will have rougher edges 99% of the time.

If the bumper matches better or at least the same degree as the OEM, I'd accept it. It's much harder to determine if a bumper has been repainted.

I've been buying used cars lately and 95% of the time I can find the repainted panels correctly, just by touching the edges. I have been to a good body shop here in LA and I usually can tell which panels have been resprayed/blended.

If it were my car, I'd be pissed if they had to blend the quarter to mask the bumper color mismatch.

 

I'd go with whatever your body guy suggests. If he has a talented crew you might be better off with him working the paint in to the panels. You, yourself states that he's picky about his work, that should say something about about what you can expect.

 

I scraped my bumper up pretty decently a few weeks ago...I went to my local body shop (Leonia, NJ). Only the plastic part was damaged, it was slightly deformed and there was a streak of paint gone - down to the plastic. Black plastic (which was also scraped) was clearly visible. The body shop asked me if I wanted an entirely new bumper, or just to fix the damage. I asked him if I would be able to tell the difference if I didn't replace it..and he said he could fix it right up (please note it wasn't extremely deformed..but it was a little out of whack) I did not have high expectations, I won't lie....However - when I picked the car up, it really wasn't visible...I'm no professional but trust me when I say you cannot see a visible blend....and it is absolutley shaped correctly. I paid him 243.38, including tax. Pretty good deal... Would be glad to give you the body shop info if you're interested...not sure where you are.

 

If it were my car I'd not want the quarters blended. Blending on the rear quarters means that the whole quarter will get new clearcoat, both sides, right out to the edges of the panel. Bumper covers rarely match all that well, even when new. Go look at the car and see if it bothers you. If the mismatch is real bad, another option is to ask the painter to custom mix the colour and paint the cover again....painters do this all the time as the formulas only get close, not perfect. They usually start with a close match and add a bit of tint to get closer. Custom mixing is an art and is real time consuming, and even then you'll likely see a slight mis-match if you look carefully.

Bumper covers get damaged all the time. If it has to be repaired again some time down the road the next painter will tell you his mismatch was caused by the first painter blending into the quarters, and you won't have aleg to stand on. Best bet....live with a close match and forget about blending.

 

I have those same grooves from a Ford truck's front license plate cover. I just left it. Acura body shop quoted me almost $700 for a new bumper and paint. Dent Wizard said they could use the same bumper and sand down the grooves for about $300.

For me it wasn't that bad and the guys here on AZ convinced me it wasn't worth it. so I just left it like it is. It was painful since I had only had the car for a few months, but now, i don't even think about it.

 

Ok here is the update.

I went to the body shop with my father(for another eye). They guy came out and was like I am so sorry I cannot get this to match. He said I called the paint rep down here to help. I looked at it and was like that is perfect! He is like it is. I am like thats how it always was.

So he takes the bumper off since it was just on temporarly. He goes to the dumpster and pulls out the factory bumper cover. He puts that one on and what do you know, its also darker. I said don't worry about it since they are all like this.

He apoligized for not looking at the factory bumper before calling me. He didn't think Acura could be that far off.

Anyway I am happy with it, its not far off its just a little darker from the sides. If you look at the back of the car its perfect match.

Thats how it was when I bought it, he was just trying to get it perfect.

Bottom line I don't think you can get the two to match unless you custom mix the paint or blend the quarters. I think its fine how it is. I will post pics once I install my lip spoiler from trimking and clean her up.

Thanks for everyones help!

 

Glad that you're happy with the results.

 

It's your ride, your happy, that's all that needs to be said. Happy ending.

 

Damn wassup with all these drivers...about a week ago...i got rear ended too. My car had only 2000 miles on it. My bumper/ trunk and lights were all messed up. Right now my car is sitting in the Body Shop and it costs about $3200.

 

They like to come in to get a closer look at our TLs. Problem is, they forget about the front end of their car.