G needs to go to the body shop :(

[smockers83]

So my G just got f'ed in the mouth by a trailer hitch (for lack of a better phrase). Punctured the front bumper in case you need a better explanation. It's going to need a new one. What are my options? What will insurance do? Its my roommate who did it, should I just have him pay for it? Time for an aftermarket front end...what are the effects on value and what not? Advice to a distressed brother. Thanks.

[CYO44Baseball32]

Damn straight roommate pays for it

[all G'd up]

That sucks dude... If you have collision coverage on it, which I'm sure you do, you can put a claim in to your insurance company, then take it to a body shop for appraisal of the damage. The body shop will then contact your insurance company and they will give you a check for the appraised amount minus your deductible... If you can get your roommate to pay for it, that would be the best way to go. I would probably do aftermarket front, but I don't really know what's out there...

[telcoman]

So my G just got f'ed in the mouth by a trailer hitch (for lack of a better phrase). Punctured the front bumper in case you need a better explanation. It's going to need a new one. What are my options? What will insurance do? Its my roommate who did it, should I just have him pay for it? Time for an aftermarket front end...what are the effects on value and what not? Advice to a distressed brother. Thanks.

Sorry to hear what happened

Just be careful who you hire to paint.

A blonde teenager, wanting to earn some extra money for thesummer, decided to hire herself out as a 'handy-woman' and startedcanvassing a nearby well-to-do neighborhood.

She went to the front door of the first house, and asked the owner if he had any odd jobs for her to do.

'Well, I guess I could use somebody to paint my porch,' he said,'How much will you charge me?'

Delighted, the girl quickly responded, 'How about $50?'

The man agreed and told her that the paint brushes andeverything she would need were in the garage.

The man's wife, hearing the conversation said to her husband, 'Does she realize that our porch goes ALL the way around thehouse?'

He responded, 'That's a bit cynical, isn't it?'

The wife replied, 'You're right. I guess I'm starting to believeall those dumb blonde jokes we've been getting by e-mail lately.'

After a time, the blonde came to the door to collect hermoney. "You're finished already", the startled husband asked.

"Yes", the blonde replied, "and I even had paint left over, so Igave it two coats."

Impressed, the man reached into his pocket for the $50.00 andhanded it to her along with a ten dollar tip.

"And by the way", 'the blonde added, "it's not a Porch, it's aLexus."

At least it wasn't a G

Cheer up, it can only get better

Telcoman

[smockers83]

So having him pay for it is the way to go then? I have been looking at the Kuruma Z bumper...



Mine is red, too, so that's how it will look, minus the wheels. And I guess I'd have to go with the side skirts, too, although it wouldn't be those ones.

What a great day. I just got home from what's normally a 7 hour drive that turned into 8 hours and this is what I get. And I have a lot of work to do. Someone has it in for me today. I can't be mad at him, it just sucks that it happened.

*edit* I will admit, insurance isn't my specialty. My uncle is my agent, he just takes care of everything for me. But a police report is gonna be filed and he's going to decide how to cover it.
Modified by smockers83 at 7:22 PM 6/10/2008

[all G'd up]

If your roommate is the one that caused the damage, and he can pay for it, then yeah why not... There's always a possibility that your insurance may go up by putting a claim in depending on your insurance company. The insurance company will not pay to have an aftermarket bumper put on so you have to price the difference of a stock bumper and a aftermarket... You can get an aftermarket bumper and see if the body shop can try to get as much out of the ins company as possible, then you may not need to pay much more to get an aftermarket bumper... The problem is by getting a bumper like that one in the pic is that yes you will need side skirts otherwise it won't look right so that would all be extra $ that an ins company will not pay also.... I would suggest trying to find either a stock front bumper or an aftermarket bumper that is subtle enough that you can keep the rest of your car stock..... unless of course you have the extra $ to invest in a full body kit and want one..... Now would be the time to do it.

[smockers83]

Right. That's what I was thinking for the aftermarket bumper.

Just out of curiosity, anybody know how much it would cost to paint a new OEM bumper. I've determined the bumper itself is about $300 thanks to everythingg35.com.

[all G'd up]

If you can get the bumper for $300. then even after painted you'll probably be around $500. which is probably your collision deductible anyway... Whatever you do, go to a respectable body shop even if it costs you more, it'll be worth it to have it match exactly and not fade or peel in a couple years down the road... Unless your red paint is a special paint that is really expensive, I think you should be able to get it painted for around $200.

[pippen99]

Why isn't your roommate's insurance covering the damage? No deductible for you!

[smockers83]

Because here in MI we have no-fault insurance, one of only 2 states that do (just found that out). The only way I can claim on his is if my car is properly parked. Otherwise I have to file a claim with my company, pay my deductible and they go to his to recoup the money they pay and for my deductible. Since it happened on private property, I'm guessing it can't be determined if I was properly parked since if I have to file a report, we have to go down to the post and there isn't a designated parking spot or whatever like on a street. Anyone from MD wanna help me?
Modified by smockers83 at 10:28 PM 6/10/2008

[badutahboy]

Why isn't your roommate's insurance covering the damage? No deductible for you!

Ditto to this one... Although, if the damage really is only $500, your roommate should just pay it out of pocket and not involve insurance at all.. you never know what insurance is going to do, even if your car was parked, and he'll definitely get a rate hike for making the claim, even though he'll pay most of it out of pocket anyway.

I'd NEVER involve my insurance company unless damage was over $1500.... but that's just me.

[Tampa G35 Sedan 6MT]

I love that Bumper for sure!

DJ

[TeflonG35]

Yeah i love bumpers that have holes for intercoolers.

[G_whizz]

Dayummmm... I just finished looking at all your pics of your shiny G and then read this!!

For sure he should pay for it. No questions asked.

And yes...that front bumper is stylish and classy... I love it! Gotta throw in some skirts while your at it too!

[smockers83]

I know. I thought about taking a pic of it and throwing it in my other thread, but that would have just ruined the whole thing. And that's why I got the G, too...stylish yet classy so this front end is me with my name on it. Just need to figure out if its worth it to do the whole kit and if I can get it covered up to OEM cost.

[joe603]

That's what I'm getting when I go FI....

[smockers83]

So I figured out how its actually going to work. Regardless of whether its private property or not, he's responsible since I was parked. That was really the only lingering issue I had since we have no-fault insurance here in MI. First estimate came out to $767.46. Need to get him a 2nd estimate and he takes care of the rest. But with that body shop, I can't get in until about a month...

[badutahboy]

So I figured out how its actually going to work. Regardless of whether its private property or not, he's responsible since I was parked. That was really the only lingering issue I had since we have no-fault insurance here in MI. First estimate came out to $767.46. Need to get him a 2nd estimate and he takes care of the rest. But with that body shop, I can't get in until about a month...

don't claim that on insurance, dude...

[all G'd up]

Oh so you were parked... Yes it's definitely not your fault. No fault states mean that PIP (personally injury protection) is no fault, so if you're injured in an accident, no matter who's car you are in, your ins comp pays for your injuries with whatever pip options you have on your policy... Even if you put the claim in through your ins comp, they will pay to get your car fixed minus your deductible, then they will go after his ins company for what they paid and your deductible. This won't raise your rates since your ins comp will get back what they paid.

[heliochrome85]

not worth it. it will jack your rates up. just have him cut you a check for the repairs and sign an affadavit or soemthing stateing that he was responsible and will be responsible for if any additional damage is found. keep the insurance out of it. Why? High risk age, gender, type of car, brand of car. All are bad in your case. If you were female, 65, driving a honda civic, youd be fine. But Thankfully, you arent.

OR

talk to your agent and have them guide you through it. if they say claim it, do it. I dont think you should though.

[smockers83]

I did talk to my agent. I'm not making the claim on my insurance. The only way my insurance company gets involved is if I run into problems. With no-fault insurance, the only way I'm not responsible for anything is when I'm parked and my car is hit. My car was parked. My agent/uncle told me to get two estimates, give them to my roommate and he takes it from there, talking with his agent about whether to claim it or not.

[Beancooker]

Wow, that sucks. I'd just ask him to pay out of pocket. I'd get a quote for the stock bumper, paint and installation. Then go buy the bumper you want, have it painted and installed. Then your roomate knows he paid out only what it costs to fix it to "normal" and doesn't get the feeling that he paid for you to upgrade your car.

When I was in Grand Rapids in January, the rental car guy advised me that their insurance is the way to go. That way, worst case scenario, I mail the keys back in an envelope. I had never heard of no fault insurance until I went there.

[smockers83]

Well, whether he pays out of pocket or not really depends on what his deductible is. I don't care how he does it, just as long as it gets done.

I've decided not to go with an aftermarket front. It would mean I'd have to get side skirts, rims, tires, the whole shebang, which I can't do right now. It saddens me that I can't take this opportunity to do it cheap.

[G_whizz]

I've decided not to go with an aftermarket front. It would mean I'd have to get side skirts, rims, tires, the whole shebang, which I can't do right now. It saddens me that I can't take this opportunity to do it cheap.

No it doesn't???!!! Do-eeeet!!!

[heliochrome85]

oh G, why so french?

[smockers83]

I just graduated from college without a full-time job. Knocking off the bumper from the kit is about $300 w/o paint, so that's still $700 I have to pay for the whole kit. And it would look goofy with my 17s. I'd rather just wait until I make a decent amount instead of squeezing myself. Could I do it? Definitely. Is it logical right now, sadly no.

[smockers83]

So an update on this stupid saga of mine. Me and the other party have gone back and forth in trying to work this out because the other party is incompetent and probably thinks I'm stupid and don't know insurance because I'm only 22. I finally got it through to them, with a threat of force, that they are completely liable for the damages. They said ok, we'll call the body shop and have it taken care of, which was strange in of itself. That was probably a week to a week-and-a-half ago and I called the body shop we agreed on today and they said no one ordered the parts. Looks like I'm going to have to act on my threat of force. This has been one really frustrating summer with the G (not the G itself but with people hitting me and what not). My G was all fine and dandy and pertty until right after I did my photo shoot. All that I have to remember the good ole days are my pictures.

[heliochrome85]

sounds like a job for the murder tank. ill be up soon if you need any casual violence to pursue your cause.

[Tampa G35 Sedan 6MT]

IM there... just say the work and all my cuban mafia family from Miami will be on the way... And they won't be drinking a couple of cream sotas if you know what I mean!

DJ

[smockers83]

Yeah, what they don't know or fail to realize is my uncle is my agent and he owns and runs the family agency. He'll do whatever is necessary and that's the way its looking its gonna go down--that was my threat of force. If the kid wasn't my roommate, I know I would have been screwed about a month ago. I can still get his info, have it fixed under my insurance and have my uncle go after his insurance. Now I've been pissed before, but I don't think I've ever been so mad at someone before for something. Its just ridiculous in how long this has taken. If I don't get a good explanation tonight, I'm taking my own course of action immediately.

I'll be callin on you guys shortly if the time comes, so start cleanin your guns and callin up your entourage.