k7baixo

In traffic, a Nissan Altima decided to jump into my lane. No warning, slammed on the brakes and she (literally) scraped by the front right bumper.

You can see her left bumper - appears to be pushed in on the left side.



Here's my bumper - the damage stopped literally millimeters from metal:



Her response to my extremely irrirtated "What the f* were you doing?" as I exited by vehicle?

"I had my turn signals on." My sarcastic response, "I guess everyone better watch out for you since you had your signals on."

Never saw a turn signal for what it's worth.

I was fearful it would turn into a he-said-she-said thing but she stuck to her story and I believe she told the insurance company that she was merging onto the interstate when she was in fact already in the first lane and jumped into me - I was in the second lane and had been there for some time.

Despite the small damage, I called the DPS non-emergency number and they had an officer on the scene in literally minutes. He moved us off of the next exit, took our info and gave us a contact information sheet explaining that he had put her in vehicle number 1 and in "99.9....well... 100% of the time", liability goes with the vehicle in that position.

Luckily, both insurance companies came to the same conclusion - she was liable. The RDX was dropped off yesterday and should be finished by Friday.

I hate it happened but it happen so quickly, I couldn't avoid her. I did manage to mitigate the damages though - it was only a scrape. My only real regret this that the insurance company gave me an Altima for a rental. It only has 14,000 miles - not impressed by it but again, that may not be fair since it's a rental mule.

CybrRdr

Wow for a rental, you got to drive the model that hit you?? Talk about irony.

CoachRick

Sorry to hear of your encounter

DW performed similar custom work on our white '13 by dragging the garage door framing while pulling in too quickly. A year later, I'm still driving with it adorned with sandstone colored paint and nasty scraping. Compounded what I could and now have 10 months to decide if I'll fix it before turning in the lease or go for another Acura lease and see how 'forgiving' they are if I stay with the family. About a 33% chance I'll buy the RDX at lease end, depending on many factors.

It will be interesting to see what the estimate is for your repair.

Hmmm....how about a flat black PlastiCoat bumper skin? The two-tone look is all the rage!

Carazy

I made a blind spot mirror that uses a suction cup and it works excellent, because it is big.


The blind spot mirror that sticks onto the side mirror don't work for me.

Joe Las Vegas

Dumb broad, and let's not forget, women are always right. I hope she learned about situational awareness.

k7baixo

Maybe I'll purchase one and mail it to her.

Comfy

Then she might sue you for the accident she caused because she was busy watching the two mirrors and forgot to see the stopped car in front of her. Some things you can't help.

5 Acuras

iTrader: (1)

And now that your Carfax report will show an accident, you should make sure you get compensated for "diminished value" from her insurance company.

k7baixo

One part of me agrees with you but I'm guessing that a) the insurance company will note that the damage was minimal and b) when I sell the car, I can show any potential buyers a photo of the damage and the cost to repair. I just received those costs this morning. It was $0.74 in replacement parts and the rest was all labor. Total: ~ $681. Add in several days of rental car and we're looking at a total of less than $900.

The other part says that we tend to own our cars for 6.25 years on average. (Three of the last four went for 7 years and the fourth was traded at 4 years old.)

Given the age and the minimal amount of damage, I'm not sure I've got a lot to gain.

I'm open to further input and it could be 'nothing ventured/nothing gained'. Thoughts?

Comfy

The market value of a car involved in an accident as evidenced by car fax will be much lesser even if the damage is minimal in monetary terms. Just imagine if you were shopping for a car and this thing shows up. Would you be willing to buy the car with only $900 off (per the insurance report)...??? I doubt it. You may try to bargain for 4-5 K off or look for a car with unblemished record... Just my 2 cents.

5 Acuras

iTrader: (1)

I would definitely hold on to that information. That shouldn't impact the value of the car at trade in time.

k7baixo

No consensus there guys. I think maybe I'll run it up the pole and see what happens. Talk to the dealer - ask their opinion, etc. Certainly can't hurt.

ceb

ALWAYS ask for diminished value. Many dealers on trade-in will use their paint meter to test panels and will offer far less because of a respray - but you cant paintmeter a bumper cover.

I got about $5k on dimval when my TSX was rearended on about $15k worth of repairs and $1500 in dimval on a $500 repair when my Audi what whacked. It all depends on the damage.

Worst case is that you ask and get nothing. It is unlikely that this shows up in CARFAX. If it does then it'll be a bumper respray.

What is more important is finding a good bodyshop.

5 Acuras

iTrader: (1)

When I traded in my '11 RDX that was rear ended, the dealer mentioned the Carfax report and asked how bad the damage was. I told him it was as bad as he planned on telling prospective buyers it was.

Comfy

That was funny.

ceb

My dealer gave me more for my rear-ended TSX if I traded it within a week of getting it repaired.

I found out later he wanted to flip it before anything hit carfax

ossaguy

When I traded my Toyota Tacoma in on the RDX,they made a point to make a fuss that it had a Carfax that stated I was in a rear-end collision.Several years ago,I had been,but the only damage was a bash bumper,which was replaced with a new one.I'd forgot all about it.

So they used that as a way to negotiate the value way lower than I was asking for.


Steve

Comfy

That's exactly why the OP should ask for diminished value. As CEB suggested the worst that can happen is they won't give you anything.

AXMACD

When I traded in my Toyota Highlander the Acura dealer asked me if it had any claims on it, I said "I put a bird through the front of it 2 years ago ~ roughly $2000, needed a headlight and front fender repaired" he said oh that's nothing major and offered me MORE than what I wanted for it privately when I tried to sell it on my own.

k7baixo

We'll see what happens. I noted that on the claim with the insurance company last week and they acknowledged it. The person who handles that area will contact me this week. Nothing ventured/nothing gained.