Stupid Guy Wants a New Bumper

[Xenon]

So I\'m waiting at a red light to turn right, and the car in front of me lurches forward as if she\'s going to go and then hits the brakes... I bump into her at no more than 3-5 KM/h. Oops. Ya I know it was my fault.

My front plate cover gets a little crushed and leaves a small impression on her bumper. I offered her $100 for the bumper (and avoid insurance), he refuses, so I up it to $200. Still no deal. We agree to go to a body shop and see how bad the damage is. Because it\'s a 1992 escort, parts are hard to find, and the bumper costs $1100 to replace.

Here\'s the kicker tho, The body shop clearly said that The bumper\'s integrity has been compromised, but only because the bumper has been hit at least once before. There are clear screwmarks and scuffs on the other side of the bumper. He told us, right out that it is his opinion that the bumper has been hit twice before I hit it. So I asked him how much of the bumper\'s damage was caused by my hit, and he told me no more than half.

So I told the guy that I\'ll pay for $550 of the bumper and he has to take care of the rest. He decides that he doesn\'t like that and says he\'ll go through insurance.

My only regret is that I didn\'t take photos at the scene of the accident (I didn\'t have my camera). My insurance company has a one accident forgiveness policy, and this being my first, I don\'t think they will raise the rate. At the same time though, I am definately inform them, that if this guy does submit a claim, that the body shop told me the loss of the bumper isn\'t entirely my fault, if it even mine at all. And I have a written statement from the body shop to that affect.

What do you guys think? If he submits a claim, won\'t his insurance up too anyways? I\'ve heard of that happening. Any opinions would be appreciated.


P.S. If I were in his position, I would have taken the $200 and not repaired the bumper :p. The car is a POS 1992 Ford Escort ZX2 Coupe. He\'s obviously been hit before and not fixed it.

[justin]

This guy is obviously trying to run a scam on you. If you are going to pay for the repairs, you have a right to request 3 quotes and from that, choose the cheapest, of course. I have a body shop I deal with in case of situations like this, I will post the info when I find it.

If he files a claim to have this fixed, his rates will go up, that much I can assure you. Frankly, it doesn\'t surprise me that this guy tried to pull a stunt like this. He sounds like a real winner.

I had a woman run something like this on me. I rear ended her at 5km/h, she tried to intimidate into paying for a brand new bumper on her Mercedes. She even said she would have me arrested and charged for careless driving when I refused to pay for her repairs, car rental, gas, etc etc etc. I told her to go fark herself and that she should call her insurance company.

Anyways.... Good luck, I\'m sure it will work out ok for you. :)

[Broli]

sorry to hear it man!

yeah, don\'t let these people be pushy!
they just want to intimidate u into saying or doing the wrong thing!

ur offer was more than fair

i hope it all works out for you!

[bluntman]

I\'d go ahead and let the guy file a claim. You have two things working in your favour, the statement from the auto body shop and the \"forgiveness clause\" in your insurance policy. Tell your insurance company of the statement, I\'m pretty sure that they would be interested in having a copy of that too, just make a copy for yourself first.

But now that you\'ve played your \"Get Ouf Of Jail\" card, stay far away from the car ahead of you.

[midnightfxgt]

Originally posted by justin
If you are going to pay for the repairs, you have a right to request 3 quotes

You can ask for three, but its not a right, and the person does not have to comply. If your car gets hit, you choose what shop you want to deal with.

-John

[3GFX]

That really sux!! Maybe a written note from the shop you went to about the car being previously hit might help you out??

[bubba1983]

^^ read the thread more closely...country boy!

[Shat2]

Originally posted by Xenon


So I\'m waiting at a red light to turn right, and the car in front of me lurches forward as if she\'s going to go and then hits the brakes... I bump into her at no more than 3-5 KM/h. Oops. Ya I know it was my fault.

My front plate cover gets a little crushed and leaves a small impression on her bumper. I offered her $100 for the bumper (and avoid insurance), he refuses, so I up it to $200. Still no deal. We agree to go to a body shop and see how bad the damage is. Because it\'s a 1992 escort, parts are hard to find, and the bumper costs $1100 to replace.

Here\'s the kicker tho, The body shop clearly said that The bumper\'s integrity has been compromised, but only because the bumper has been hit at least once before. There are clear screwmarks and scuffs on the other side of the bumper. He told us, right out that it is his opinion that the bumper has been hit twice before I hit it. So I asked him how much of the bumper\'s damage was caused by my hit, and he told me no more than half.

So I told the guy that I\'ll pay for $550 of the bumper and he has to take care of the rest. He decides that he doesn\'t like that and says he\'ll go through insurance.

My only regret is that I didn\'t take photos at the scene of the accident (I didn\'t have my camera). My insurance company has a one accident forgiveness policy, and this being my first, I don\'t think they will raise the rate. At the same time though, I am definately inform them, that if this guy does submit a claim, that the body shop told me the loss of the bumper isn\'t entirely my fault, if it even mine at all. And I have a written statement from the body shop to that affect.

What do you guys think? If he submits a claim, won\'t his insurance up too anyways? I\'ve heard of that happening. Any opinions would be appreciated.


P.S. If I were in his position, I would have taken the $200 and not repaired the bumper :p. The car is a POS 1992 Ford Escort ZX2 Coupe. He\'s obviously been hit before and not fixed it.
hey that sounds like what happened to me, except the one i tapped was a shitty corolla and the driver was mainland chinese.

[bluntman]

Originally posted by Shat2

the driver was mainland chinese.

???

Was that even necessary?

[Cardinal Fang]

Originally posted by bluntman



???

Was that even necessary?

It’s called “Foot in Mouth” syndrome. Common occurrence on Internet discussion boards.

[Broli]

Originally posted by Cardinal Fang



Originally posted by bluntman



???

Was that even necessary?

It’s called “Foot in Mouth” syndrome. Common occurrence on Internet discussion boards.

lol

i thought it was a disease from mainland china?

too soon?

lol

j/k

[bluntman]

I call it something else...

[justin]

Originally posted by bluntman


I call it something else...

LMAO... No greys here... just all black and white!

[KenYork]

Originally posted by Xenon


So I\'m waiting at a red light to turn right, and the car in front of me lurches forward as if she\'s going to go and then hits the brakes... I bump into her at no more than 3-5 KM/h. Oops. Ya I know it was my fault.

My front plate cover gets a little crushed and leaves a small impression on her bumper. I offered her $100 for the bumper (and avoid insurance), he refuses, so I up it to $200. Still no deal. We agree to go to a body shop and see how bad the damage is. Because it\'s a 1992 escort, parts are hard to find, and the bumper costs $1100 to replace.

Here\'s the kicker tho, The body shop clearly said that The bumper\'s integrity has been compromised, but only because the bumper has been hit at least once before. There are clear screwmarks and scuffs on the other side of the bumper. He told us, right out that it is his opinion that the bumper has been hit twice before I hit it. So I asked him how much of the bumper\'s damage was caused by my hit, and he told me no more than half.

So I told the guy that I\'ll pay for $550 of the bumper and he has to take care of the rest. He decides that he doesn\'t like that and says he\'ll go through insurance.

My only regret is that I didn\'t take photos at the scene of the accident (I didn\'t have my camera). My insurance company has a one accident forgiveness policy, and this being my first, I don\'t think they will raise the rate. At the same time though, I am definately inform them, that if this guy does submit a claim, that the body shop told me the loss of the bumper isn\'t entirely my fault, if it even mine at all. And I have a written statement from the body shop to that affect.

What do you guys think? If he submits a claim, won\'t his insurance up too anyways? I\'ve heard of that happening. Any opinions would be appreciated.


P.S. If I were in his position, I would have taken the $200 and not repaired the bumper :p. The car is a POS 1992 Ford Escort ZX2 Coupe. He\'s obviously been hit before and not fixed it.

You have the body shop as a professional witness, since seeing the damage and knowing more than one vehicle has hit the bumper. Plus you have an initial quote of \"no more than half.\" So you insurance company already has an idea of about $550.

edit: i only read the first post.

[justin]

Originally posted by midnightfxgt



Originally posted by justin
If you are going to pay for the repairs, you have a right to request 3 quotes

You can ask for three, but its not a right, and the person does not have to comply. If your car gets hit, you choose what shop you want to deal with.

-John

I\'ve been in this situation a few times already to know that I am entitled to ask for three quotes, you never who you are dealing with these days...

[majic]

Originally posted by justin



Originally posted by midnightfxgt



Originally posted by justin
If you are going to pay for the repairs, you have a right to request 3 quotes

You can ask for three, but its not a right, and the person does not have to comply. If your car gets hit, you choose what shop you want to deal with.

-John

I\'ve been in this situation a few times already to know that I am entitled to ask for three quotes, you never who you are dealing with these days...

once again.. you\'re right.. and you\'re entitled to ask what they choose to do is up to them :(

[midnightfxgt]

Originally posted by majic



Originally posted by justin



Originally posted by midnightfxgt



Originally posted by justin
If you are going to pay for the repairs, you have a right to request 3 quotes

You can ask for three, but its not a right, and the person does not have to comply. If your car gets hit, you choose what shop you want to deal with.

-John

I\'ve been in this situation a few times already to know that I am entitled to ask for three quotes, you never who you are dealing with these days...

once again.. you\'re right.. and you\'re entitled to ask what they choose to do is up to them :(

Your entitled to ask for 100 if you wish. You wont get it though. Fact is they have to provide one... thats it. Three is what I would ask for also, but like I said, it is NOT a right... nor something they have to do.

-John

[TheProfessor]

Sucks to hear.....I did the same thing to somebody at a light once (thought they were going then they quickly stopped). Thankfully the lady whom I tapped was super nice and since there was absolutely no damange (at least visibly) she just let it go!

Good luck.

[Xenon]

THank all for your reply....

I\'m calling his bluff about me doing all the damage to the bumper. I\'m letting him report it to his insurance. I have the letter from the body shop on my side, and if he\'s going to play dirty and twist his story around to get an $1100 bumper out of me for his crap ass car, then I\'m going to twist my story around too.

After speaking to my parents (my dad was in a similar situation before), I think I might be able to get out of this with little or no problems.

[majic]

Originally posted by Xenon


THank all for your reply....

I\'m calling his bluff about me doing all the damage to the bumper. I\'m letting him report it to his insurance. I have the letter from the body shop on my side, and if he\'s going to play dirty and twist his story around to get an $1100 bumper out of me for his crap ass car, then I\'m going to twist my story around too.

After speaking to my parents (my dad was in a similar situation before), I think I might be able to get out of this with little or no problems.

how? let us know :)

[torpedo20]

Yeah,
give us a tip ;)