| rjmitche |
:3: :3: :3:
So.... I'm sitting at an "open house" at my son's school last night and this guy comes in and says there's been a slight accident with another car in the parking lot. First question out of everyone's mouth (after "is anyone hurt?") is "What kind of car?". He says "an MDX" and my heart sinks (and I feel the pit in my stomach starting to form). I know that there is (at least) one other MDXer in the room and we warily ask "What color?" (I know that the other one is silver). When the response is "blue" I hop up and announce that it's mine and I make the loooooooooong walk out to the parking lot with all kinds of images racing through my head. The guy is apologizing the whole way and saying it was just a stupid mistake (not usually driving the big van [uh oh!], in a hurry, late for something at the school, misjudged the space, etc.). Turns out he gave my rear bumper a pretty good whack (and then some) as he turned into the parking space next to me (see picture). Of course, I was pretty bummed but, what could I do? S**t happens. I'm thankful that the guy had enough integrity to come find me and own up to the accident. He could have easily backed up and parked somewhere else or just left altogether. He was almost as upset about it as I was (although not quite since his was a '94 Chevy conversion van and mine a '03 MDX!). He obviously took full responsibility and has already started the insurance claim process to cover the damage.
The damage appears, at first inspection, to be confined to the wraparound portion of the rear bumper cover and a bit on the taillight cover but, I won't know for sure until I get it thoroughly checked out - there could be damage to the actual bumper underneath. Now my decision is whether to:- take it to one of the body shops the dealer works with - they probably have decent experience working with Acuras and doing things like color matching (as I found out the bumper cover comes unpainted from the factory). But, since neither shop is a 'Priority' shop for the insurance company, I'd need to handle all the insurance stuff myself (go to drive-in assessment office, pay for repairs, get check from insurance, etc.).
- take it to a nearby body shop that I've worked with in the past for other cars - they have a decent reputation and do good work. They will also work directly with the insurance company (direct billing, car rental on premises, etc.).
- take it to the nearby body shop that is affiliated with (owned by?) the insurance carrier. This one scares me a bit. No hassles/haggles with insurance and all work is warranted by the insurance company for as long as I own the car - but will they do what's best for me/my car or what's cheapest for them?.
In the grand scheme of things, this is, at worst, an inconvenience. It will be dealt with and we'll move on. If my only experience with vehicle accidents in this life are a few minor fender benders (as is currently the case - knock on plood), then I'll consider myself lucky. Sure it sucks, and I had some brief moments of rage, but one look at my kids and everything is quickly put back into perspective... nobody was hurt and cars can be fixed. |
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| EXCALIBUR |
rjmitche,
Wow!:eek: A picture says a thousand words. Sorry to hear about your accident. Like you said, at least the offending driver owned up to the accident. I would go with option 2. Take your MDX, to the body shop you are familiar with. Insist to the insurance company that you want the work to be handled by them, and to your complete satisfaction. Good luck.:29: |
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| catzx6 |
rjmitche,
I feel for you. It's good to know you've got a positive outlook about this, that will help. Glad the other driver is not giving you grief over this. Hope the repair job is fast, and most of all, excellent workmanship.:4: Let us know how it turns out. |
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| hammermdx |
| Bummer, glad no one was hurt, and the responsible party is doing the honorable thing. Looks like it's just the bumper cover, so it should be easy to fix and as good as new. I agree with EXCALIBUR about going with option 2. Good luck! |
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| mdxxxx |
| rjmitche, I can empathize totally. You show you have perspective. I also agree with EXCALIBUR. Good luck, and don't forget to post the 'after' pictures. |
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| TheWorm |
quote:
Originally posted by rjmitche
[BI'm thankful that the guy had enough integrity to come find me and own up to the accident.[/B]
Yep. There are far too many instances of people just driving off instead of tracking down an owner and admitting the mistake. It's the right thing to do, but it's not done enough IMO.
The damage doesn't look too bad; I'd imagine it'll just be a new bumper w/paint; I don't think the angle-of-attack would have damaged anything beyond the bumper cover, but you'll find out as soon as they pull it off.
I'd opt for #1 or #2 myself. We've been fortunate in that our Honda and Jeep dealers both were direct-bill-to-insurance when we got hit once upon a time. I'd probably go for the latter just to save the hassle factor, especially if you've had good results from them in the past. |
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| vlam |
I don't know which Ins. company you have and how claims are doing in your State.
Are you going through his insurance or yours? You should be going through his. Did his insurance company contact you? Was there a police report done? I had a similiar situation happened before and I filed everything with the other person insurance company. They actually called me to set up an appointment for the adjuster to look at. They gave me two options.
1. Take a check from the adjuster and get repair done myself.
2. Go with one of their shop and I pay nothing. Car rentals. No out of pocket expensive.
The first one sounds good but in a situation like yours, you don't know what's behind the bumper. If you find that there are more damage behind the bumper cover, the bodyshop will have to submit another claim. The work is not going to be warranty either.
You are better off taking it to one of their recommended shop. What you do before visiting the shop is take a lot of pictures. Tell the shop that you are detailed oriented. You want them to fix things correctly and you always will not to accept the vehicle until it is done to your satisfaction. If you are on a rental car, this is important. They definitely don't want to lose money. |
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| alluu |
| Whoa, that looks like my bumper. I was just rear-ended last week and they have to replace the bumper. I went through the process of worrying about color matching. I wish the bumpers could come factory painted. Hopefully, everything works out well for you. I get my MDX fixed next week. My X was only 4 months old and in sage brush which I heard is harder to match. |
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| Lrpba300 |
OUCH! It always "hurts" to have your "baby hurt". At least other person came in to admit. Kudos to him......yes, go w/ Op. 2
You'll feel more confidence taht way. Good luck! |
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| Dale MDX |
All #3 choice work that I have ever seen has also been 3rd rate - not much better than Maaco or places like that. They are working to an agreed-upon price with the shop. The warranty doesn't mean much in my opinion. They are betting that you won't own the car longer than a few years, or that you are the typical owner who really won't notice a problem or won't bother to complain. It's probably a good bet for them even if a few customers have to have repaints.
I'm sure there are exceptions. |
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| HARDROCK |
| Option #1. IMHO, there are not enough MDX's on the road (and fewer yet needing body/paint work) for there to be many shops with experience working on them. Sure, it's really just another "car"..., well I don't think mine is!:2: |
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| rjmitche |
Thanks for all the supportive posts! It helps ease the pain a bit to hear from people that "understand". To answer a few of vlams questions:
We didn't call the police (which, in retrospect, could have been a mistake but things seem to be headed in the right direction to this point). Everything is being taken care of through the other guy's insurance. Actually, we have the same insurance company (and our agents happen to be brothers) - not that it really matters since my insurance isn't really involved at all. My biggest fear in all of this was that the other driver would have a 'change of heart' and want to take care of this 'outside of insurance' - which has proven to be nothing less than a big hassle based on past experience.
The insurance company probably would have called me but, I was about to call them this morning (just to get things started) when I got a message at work from the other driver with a claim number. So... I called them and got the info. They gave me three choices:
1. Go with one of THEIR (owned) shops (no hassles, etc., etc.). Of course, this is the option the insurance company prefers. I've been reading on the internet that there has been some controversy over this practice (insurance carrier controlling the entire approval/repair process) - who's looking out for the consumer?
2. Go to one of their "priority" shops - which means that these are shops they have worked with and have a 'relationship' with to do things like direct billing, etc. These shops are independently owned and operated (although I have no doubt there are still some 'incentives' being passed around so, not totally 'independent').
3. Make an appointment at one of their 'drive-in' offices to have an adjuster look at it and make an estimate. They said he could cut a check right there but, made it clear that this wouldn't be the end of the process. If further damage was found as the repair work was being performed, they would work with me and the body shop to make sure everything was taken car of.
A rental car was included in all three of the above options (and I made sure it would be a 4-door at a minimum since I have a car seat and a booster to get in - this was no problem). In fact, I was supplied with a confirmation number by the claims person and there was a message on my answering machine when I got home from Enterprise telling me that all I had to do was call them and let them know when and where I needed a car.
I'm leaning toward the middle option as I've had pretty good luck going this route in the past... no hassles, nothing out of pocket, and good quality work. I've definitely got pictures (before and after the accident) and I won't let them get away with a less than perfect job. I do have some fear that color matching the midnight blue pearl color will be difficult but, I figure that a reputable body shop should be pretty good at this.
As mentioned above, unfortunately, I have a little experience with this (see this post). I've usually had decent luck when insurance is used as intended and nothing but hassles when insurance isn't involved. |
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| greatscot |
Sorry to hear about this incident. At least the guy affirmatively sought you out, fessed up and admitted responsibility. More often than not, some people would have taken off, and left you high and dry. I know a friend whose car was hit on the street. When he came back there was a note on it saying" sorry I hit your car. People are watching me write this note and think I'm leaving my info. for you. Not so."
Also, you are a guy with perspective and can see the bigger picture (which is hard to do under these circumstances) I wish you the best with this, you deserve it. |
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| ndahbar |
Attach motion-sensing laser beams to all 4 corners of the exterior of your car. Even innocent passerby's will be vaporized. Amen. :cool:
No seriously, that SUX with a capital X. :3: |
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| rjmitche |
For those of you that may still be interested ;), I got an estimate for the repair late last week. I wasn't sure what to expect (not that I was really concerned since insurance is handling everything).
Total for replacing/painting the bumper cover (incl. the "rubber" step pad) and the taillight assembly: $1,070.85. This was without pulling the bumper cover but the body shop guy didn't think there would be any damage behind it. They, of course, won't know for sure until they pull the cover.
I still haven't decided which repair route I'm going yet (likely #2). I've got a couple calls to make on Monday and then, I'll schedule the repairs (it is killing me to drive around with such a major blemish on my X!). |
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| EXCALIBUR |
rjmithche,
Glad to hear your are making progress. Keep us posted.:4: |
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| rjmitche |
| Just to close the loop on this... I finally got the X in a week or so ago for the repairs - I went with option #2 (for those keeping track). They had the X for three days. I'm happy with the work they did, you can't really tell there was work done. Here's a before/after shot: |
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| Captain MDX |
| How come I never heard of this thread before??? Anyways they did a good job rjmitche, glad you weren't in the car. |
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| rjmitche |
| And here's what the insurance company gave me for the three days that the X was in the shop - a relatively new (< 6500 miles) 2003 Toyota Corolla. Certainly no MDX but not a bad little car for the price: |
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| EXCALIBUR |
rjmitche,
The repair work looks excellent. Glad you and your MDX are back in service.:29: |
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| Captain MDX |
quote:
Originally posted by rjmitche
And here's what the insurance company gave me for the three days that the X was in the shop - a relatively new (< 6500 miles) 2003 Toyota Corolla. Certainly no MDX but not a bad little car for the price:
Damn!!! I had a 02 Corolla with no rim covers :3:!!!!
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| greatscot |
quote:
Originally posted by Captain MDX
Damn!!! I had a 02 Corolla with no rim covers :3:!!!!
Cap'n, I really feel for you man. Your rides are all in the past tense.
You HAD a Corolla, you, HAD an MDX, this keeps up and it'll be: you HAD a Volvo.
Hope things get better for you :) |
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| Captain MDX |
quote:
Originally posted by greatscot
Cap'n, I really feel for you man. Your rides are all in the past tense.
You HAD a Corolla, you, HAD an MDX, this keeps up and it'll be: you HAD a Volvo.
Hope things get better for you :)
Opps. Wasn't checking my tenses :D |
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| jswift2000 |
| Nice work and great color matching. You have a good body shop!!! |
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