[ironranger]

I was recently in a low-speed accident where my FJ was rear-ended by a Nissan Xterra. Stop and go traffic, and this guy wasn't paying attention, let off the brake and crashed into me. The rear spare and trailer hitch took the brunt of the impact, with the rear bumper and trim pieces absorbing the remainder. I took the spare off and no visible damage to door. Doesn't look like the frame is bent where the hitch attaches to it, and no visible damage to hitch other than cosmetic.

The rear bumper and trim pieces are banged up and cracked, and the bumper is pushed in about an inch or two. Left sonar was hit, and the sonar only emits a constant beeping now when engaged.

QUESTION: Would I be a complete moron for suggesting to the other guy that we make a weekend project out of this and order the parts and install them ourselves? He wants to keep his insurance out of it (for now)

Pros:
(1) Would cost the other guy a lot less money, in terms of parts cost and especially labor. He seems like a nice guy and I don't want to be a dick unless I have to.
(2) It doesn't seem too complicated to remove the bumper cover and change out the sonar, although I can't quite tell how that harness works.
(3) It would be a fun project.
(4) One day vs 3 days without my FJ if I give it to the shop

Cons:
(1) Removing bumper cover could reveal more extensive damage that would best be covered by going through the proper channels with the insurance adjuster.
(2) What if the sonar still doesn't work after replacing the left one?
(3) This guy is a stranger, not my cousin, so I'm being too trusting?
(4) F*&# it, the guy has insurance.

Advice?

 

[RabidPooch]

sorry no advice from me, but sorry you were hit.....i was in the boat recently too....fortunately we couldn't find any visible damage.

 

[removed]

Personally, I'd fix it myself and ask for him to cash out for parts. If you do not have experience repairing cars, get insurance involved. Why buy insurance if you are not going to use it?? He hit your dmn car!!

I was recently in a low-speed accident where my FJ was rear-ended by a Nissan Xterra. Stop and go traffic, and this guy wasn't paying attention, let off the brake and crashed into me. The rear spare and trailer hitch took the brunt of the impact, with the rear bumper and trim pieces absorbing the remainder. I took the spare off and no visible damage to door. Doesn't look like the frame is bent where the hitch attaches to it, and no visible damage to hitch other than cosmetic.

The rear bumper and trim pieces are banged up and cracked, and the bumper is pushed in about an inch or two. Left sonar was hit, and the sonar only emits a constant beeping now when engaged.

QUESTION: Would I be a complete moron for suggesting to the other guy that we make a weekend project out of this and order the parts and install them ourselves? He wants to keep his insurance out of it (for now)

Pros:
(1) Would cost the other guy a lot less money, in terms of parts cost and especially labor. He seems like a nice guy and I don't want to be a dick unless I have to.
(2) It doesn't seem too complicated to remove the bumper cover and change out the sonar, although I can't quite tell how that harness works.
(3) It would be a fun project.
(4) One day vs 3 days without my FJ if I give it to the shop

Cons:
(1) Removing bumper cover could reveal more extensive damage that would best be covered by going through the proper channels with the insurance adjuster.
(2) What if the sonar still doesn't work after replacing the left one?
(3) This guy is a stranger, not my cousin, so I'm being too trusting?
(4) F*&# it, the guy has insurance.

Advice?

 

[crazywizard]

Hey iron get a apprasel done see what it costs. If you like woorking on things now go and see how much one of the rear off road bumpers cost if its lower have them pay you and get the off road can I say free upgrade.

 

[CommGuru]

^^^^^ That is what I would do. I would ask him to pay the money up front by a deadline or get insurance company involved. There have been many incidents where the other party says not to get the insurance involved then don't pay.

Pick a bumper and a shop to do the work and get the appraisal, one for OEM and another for aff-road.

 

[Mtbcoach]

Another in agreement for an appraisal at the very least, then everyone knows what they are dealing with.

I have just replace my stock bumper with an "aftermarket" one (Demello) and would say that it is a 1.5 out of 5 to do. The worst part is heaving the new steel into place. Replacing stock with another stock is even easier.

And, as you always see on your favorite "court TV show" (Judge Judy, People's Court, etc), GET IT IN WRITING...

 

[ironranger]

I did get two appraisals. One for $700, the other for $1000. $229 for the bumper, $79 for the silver trim piece, $195 for the hitch, and $186 to replace one of the sonars. The rest is labor to replace these items and then balance the spare. Oddly enough, the independent shop and the dealer were same prices on parts.

Since the labor component is so high, and so lengthy at 3 days, this is what prompts me to see if I can do it myself. The only thing that bothers me is the sonar, because I haven't dealt with that equipment before. I did my own sound system, but I'm no electrician.

 

[Mtbcoach]

I did get two appraisals. One for $700, the other for $1000. $229 for the bumper, $79 for the silver trim piece, $195 for the hitch, and $186 to replace one of the sonars. The rest is labor to replace these items and then balance the spare. Oddly enough, the independent shop and the dealer were same prices on parts.

Since the labor component is so high, and so lengthy at 3 days, this is what prompts me to see if I can do it myself. The only thing that bothers me is the sonar, because I haven't dealt with that equipment before. I did my own sound system, but I'm no electrician.

They are a piece of cake. Look at the thread about installing the Demello rear bumper. Both sbechtold and I took pictures of the sensors and you will see them and how easy they are to replace.

I say go for it but he should still compensate you some for saving him so much on the labor...

 

[plnfixr320]

As far as the sonar goes, those sensors expect to be on the flat surface of the bumper cover. If the cover is pushed in and the sensor is shrouded then it will think that the cover is actually something behind or next to it and cause the beeping. If the sensor is not damaged its self then it could be the bent bumper causing the problem. Could save you a bit of cash there.

 

[vhram]

I did that once with my jeep I had after a "minor rear ending" and found out later the frame was bent to the tune of $4000.00 to fix. I will always have it go thru my insurance now. It may not be damaged that badly but cars now are designed with crumple zones to abzorb impact.

 

[ironranger]

Thanks for the advice. I'm going to remove the bumper cover tomorrow and take a better look at the frame where the hitch bolts on to see if there's any visible damage to frame or hitch. If not, I'll probably think about parting it out and having him pay me cash for the parts plus the tire balancing. However, I think he was expecting this to be maybe $200-300 dollars, so we'll probably end up going through his insurance anyway.

I don't see why he wouldn't go through insurance --- I should have taken a picture of his front end. He had a cheapy brush guard that folded backwards into the hood (sealing it shut for now), and the front grill work was destoryed. I actually spent a few minutes removing his front bumper and some trim piece that was pretending to be a front skid plate or a spoiler or something so that it wouldn't drag on the ground and rip out his exhaust.

All in all, I feel bad for the guy. Inattention for a few seconds caused some major damage to his car and $1000 to another guy. Nobody needs that.

 

[Cogen Man]

(4) F*&# it, the guy has insurance.

This is the option I'd have gone with. You sound like a very nice trusting person. There is a reason he didn't want to report this to his insurance.

 

[vhram]

sure is a good excuse to get a real bumper thou. I had to thank my son for wrecking my back bumper.

 

[blackseabk]

I make sure there is no damage to the frame behind the plastic if not than I would tell him to pay the cost of the bumper and labor to replace it than I would get after market one. One of the things I always remind on the forum is as longs as you have a way of inflating your tires, keep the spare inflated that way it will be less damaged from impact to your door or roof line. That is just my theory off course.

 

[ironranger]

Update:

I'm going to take it to the dealer's collision center, and he's going to pay cash. $700 baseline. Some people have really high deductibles, I guess.

My insurance agent says that he can always switch to having his insurance pays if this gets too expensive part-way through, like if they discover damage during the repair process.

But he's still acting cool about it, so I still have faith in humanity.

...hey, where's my wallet?

 

[vhram]

I think thats the smartest way to go, thats why we all pay for insurance.Plus if it stings a little maybe it will make him a better driver.

 

[TitaniumMPLS]

It sounds like a small accident and Minnesotans are still pretty nice to each other (but you did get the insurance info just in case... right?). I did the same thing about 15 yrs back to a Camry's bumper and paid for it out of pocket. Those days are pretty much gone! I can't believe he would think it would run anywhere near $200 -$300.

We run with a $500 deductible without any issue. So if you do ding someone it's just cheaper to just to pay cash out of pocket... nothing criminal or suspect about that. I always thought, and still do, that insurance is for large damage.

 

[Crotalus]

Update:

I'm going to take it to the dealer's collision center, and he's going to pay cash. $700 baseline. Some people have really high deductibles, I guess.

My insurance agent says that he can always switch to having his insurance pays if this gets too expensive part-way through, like if they discover damage during the repair process.

But he's still acting cool about it, so I still have faith in humanity.

...hey, where's my wallet?

Hmmm... I've never heard of a deductible for liability insurance before... I had a bad experience once being a nice guy in a similar situation. I'll never do it again. My recommendation to you would have been to go through the guy's insurance, take the cash, and then get the bumper that you wanted. The installs don't seem to be too difficult. Good luck!

 

[Layonnn]

I did get two appraisals. One for $700, the other for $1000. $229 for the bumper, $79 for the silver trim piece, $195 for the hitch, and $186 to replace one of the sonars. The rest is labor to replace these items and then balance the spare. Oddly enough, the independent shop and the dealer were same prices on parts.

Since the labor component is so high, and so lengthy at 3 days, this is what prompts me to see if I can do it myself. The only thing that bothers me is the sonar, because I haven't dealt with that equipment before. I did my own sound system, but I'm no electrician.

3 days!!!!!??????!!!!!!

I can remove and install the bumper, hitch and sonar in about 1.5 hours. What in the world are they doing that takes three days, making the plastic to make the bumper with???

 

[Layonnn]

One of the things I always remind on the forum is as longs as you have a way of inflating your tires, keep the spare inflated that way it will be less damaged from impact to your door or roof line. That is just my theory off course.

The only way i understand this is if the bold word was meant to be deflated. So that is someone hits you in the rear the tire gives with the hit. If it is fully inflated then it seems more damage would result.