i thought i may sneak out of this snowy and icy weather we're having without damaging my truck, but on friday, this lady thought i pulled out from a stop sign, when in fact i had not. so she rolled her rx300 right into me.

she was very apologetic, and im not too concerned as its really just a ding in my rear bumper. my questions are as follows:

1) do they need to replace the entire rear bumper or just that middle piece?
2) what does that middle piece go for?
3) any other tips on how to handle this whole deal?

i'll post a pic tonight.

what im thinking is, if im just gonna get a check from her insurance co., why dont i attempt to get the part cheaper online and have it installed by my mechanic (who is THE MAN) and keep a tidy little profit?

thanks.

 

Glad to hear that you are o.k., and only got a ding.

The stock rear bumper is made of three pieces, so you can just replace the center section. Get a couple of written estimates from some independant body shops. These will be itemized as to what parts will need to be replaced and/or repaired. This will also give you piece of mind that nothing else was damaged. Remember, it is a good idea to have it checked out because the bumper attaches to the body right underneath the tailgate.

 

thanks. this is such an annoying thing to schedule into my already busy work week...

ill get her over to a shop tomorrow.

 

I just went through a lot of this with my hood when someone vandalized it. Insurance is going to be a pain. They made me give them a name to the shop I wanted it repaired at, then they took the estimate at the body shop, turned it into the insurance company, then the insurance company wrote the body shop a check for the repair. Now you can probably work out a deal with the body shop and let them know that you are going to be supplying the parts, and all they'll need to do is replace the piece ( this is what I did) I saved a lot of money here because I ordered my own parts from 1sttoyotaparts.com. which was vastly cheaper than from what the body shop quoted. Now if you tell insurance that you will be replacing the piece yourself they will write you a check for the price of the part, so if you can find the part cheaper than what the insurance company can, then you will make a little money. I believe what insurance will want to do in your situation is to just replace the center piece of the bumper, which probably doesn't cost that much especially because yours is chrome, so no painting will be involved, and they will probably use the same mounting brackets that are already there. You have a little more say in the matter since it wasn't your fault, but for such a minor accident I wouldn't expect to gain much money off of this.

 

Make sure the body shop bid includes OEM parts. Aftermarket parts are lower quality.

 

thanks for the info and link... they list that piece at $171.84... thats way cheaper than i expected.

 

No problem, those are OEM parts too, so fitment will not be an issue. I ordered everything for the inside of my hoodscoop from there. The only thing I didn't order from them was the hood because of shipping (which was still slightly cheaper than ordering the hood from my local dealership) and the fear of damage to such a big part (main reason).

 

get a badlands bumper!

 

how much are they?

i dont think ill be getting enough money for that to be cost effective...

 

The only proven 3rd gen aftermarket bolt-on rear bumper is Steve Schaefer/Sonoran Steel. You'll have to contact him for the current price.

 

Lee I would suggest you replace the stock bumper with an aftermarket one - that way whatever money your insurance gives you can be deducted from the aftermarket bumper cost....just find a shop that will put the aftermarket bumper on.

Then instead of a flimsy piece of tin - you have solid steel; so next time a lexus runs into you - your runner will obliterate it - and you will be left with nothing more than a scratch!

I messed up my front end and ordered a TJM - insurance gave me 250 or so for the bumper and the TJM was 400 - not a bad deal.


just my .02

 

LOL, you let your ins company bend you over like that? You are allowed to get three quotes from YOUR SHOPS OF CHOICE, then turn those in and the insurance company is REQUIRED to pay you directly for the ENTIRE COST of REPAIR INCLUDING LABOR. Don't take ˟˟˟˟ off of ins companies. They will tell you lies to keep a tight grip on their money... They are contractually obligated to pay for the PRICE of the repair, not the actual repair. Don't ever let them tell you different and don't EVER admit to doing the work yourself or somewhere other than the estimate that they pay for. Once you receive the check, it's none of their business. Only thing they can do is make the check out to you and your leinholder if you have one. Tell the leinholder you need funds released to have it fixed and that you'll show them the repairs after they are complete and they'll usually go along.

 

i just spoke with my ins. company. they asked if theres a shop i preferred, and i said yes, and gave them the name and number. they said thats just fine and to get it inspected soon so they can complete the transaction.

they gave me the name of an adjuster or whatever who will call me and give me the full rundown. the guy blantantly said to me that hes confident that i will not have a problem getting the money and will be able to get them to pay for a rental while its being serviced (as it is my means to get to work).

i have an appt to get it appraised on feb 12.

 

as far as going w/ an aftermarket bumper, i honestly dont have very much money right now. i just bought a pda/gps unit and paid for a ticket to visit a friend in florida at the end of feb, both of which were not cheap to say the least.

im also saving for a BL and new tires, so spending anything on a rear bumper which i dont care about, seems silly. so im just gonna go with stock and try to get the part online.

 

Really?



Andreas

 

 

sorry this took so long.

so it turns out my deductable was waived. all i have to do is take it to the appraisal, and i get a check right there on the spot.

once that happens, all i have to do is hunt down a cheaper new oem bumper and get it installed and keep the rest!

 

A small dent like that is like a "badge of Honnor" keep the cash for beer money in Florida and not worry abou the dent!

 

agreed. that dent is not bad. If it bothers you, i can understand, but just keep the $$ for some other mods

 

yea im considering it.

it looks less bad in that pic than in real life, i tried to capture it better, but couldnt. off camera on the far left side of that bumper piece there is another dent that was there when i bought it.

who knows what i'll do.... lets see how much cash i can angle out of it first.