Hey All Z Enthusiast!

So I'm a freelance digital artist here in the SF Bay and needed to meet a client in downtown SF last night. I decided to park at a Bart Station and take BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) into the city. I drove to the trains station's parking lot. So I THOUGHT that parking in a pretty wide space between two luxury cars (a nice benz and an Acura) would pretty much be safe. WRONG!

I came back to my car to find that the left side of the rear bumper of my Z had been damaged. And judging by the markings, I'm pretty sure it was a car backing out of the space next to me. To make it worse, the driver hit/ pushed the bumper pretty good enough to make my bumpers paint crack in different places. AND, they caused more damage right next to the light.

NO NOTE?! NO WITNESSES?! Oh you F@^#&CK'n DUMBSH&&@*TS! Yup people have the nerve. Sorry, no parking cameras at the Daly City BART station. I even called and they even stated that if there were any cameras, most cameras at BART are "real time use" only and don't record anything. BS.


I never had an accident since the first day I started driving, which is 11 years and counting now. My deductible is 500 and I'm a newbie in getting my car fixed. SO... I need advice to the following questions...

1) Any Z owner had a similar experience? I would like to know your story/experience.

2) Judging by the damage (see pics below), is it even worth it going through insurance?

3) Anyone in the Bay Area know any good and fairly low priced (but kickass) body shop that could fix my Z? That can re mold my Z's bumper to its original shape?

4) Will I ultimately have to get a new bumper?




Here are the pics I took this morning of the damage.


Anyone need Digital Artwork services? Please message me. My recent work is www.myspace.com/djjwsounds Yes, I do custom myspace page designs, motion graphics for digital video, web graphics, and 3D Art.

 

Just call your insurance agent. He will give you a correct, factual answer to all your questins.

Or...you can get 100 guesses from members who THINK they know the answers.

bill

 

+1, call him up, you will probably need a new bumper cover.

 

if your deductible is 500, i would just go fix it with money out of pocket. It should cost right at 500 to repair it back to stock. You will be paying more for insurance in the long run if you report it.

 

Sorry for ya man.

 

It is illegal for insurance companies to raise your rates for reporting claims that you are “not at fault” or if you are found 50% or less @ fault. Insurance companies can only raise your premiums if you are found primary @ fault involving a loss; that means 51% or more.

 

yes but they can drop you right there after repairing your car.

 

Not all the time. Always tread carefully when dealing with insurance agents and companies. There are sometimes great stories and then also there are sometimes horror stories dealing with insurance companies. Members here have been through it all so they can explain from personal experiences the nuisances involved in going through insurance or just getting it fixed yourself. With that said, call your insurance company and see what they have to say first. From the looks of it, it should not be that expensive to fix and if your deductible is $500, it might be worth it to just go get it fixed yourself.

 

Thanks for everyone who replied and expressed their opinions so far. I did make this thread because I wasn't too sure on reporting this for the sake that it was only damage to my bumper cover. Which seems pretty minor. I'm just still pissed that it had to happen to me and costs are coming out of my pocket either way.

For anyone wondering, my insurance company is AAA. I'm not sure how their reputation is for handling claims as small as this one.

 

that looks pretty bad. i think you should probably get an estimate first and see if it will be over your deductable. i dont think bumpers get repaired. they will probably put on a new replacement. i cant believe how people can be so reckless...

i would take it to bryantauto in san francisco... http://www.bryantautobody.com/ you might want to search the norcal forum for more local bodyshops.

 

Start getting quotes at body shops see what they say.

 

Ahh, that bites! Yep, go get some quotes. However, after going through this same B.S., but front bumper instead, they are going to tell you that you need a whole new rear bumper cover. So that's about $300 bucks right there, not to mention paint and labor charges. I bet you are looking close to $1000 bucks after those body shops get a hold of you. Your $500 deductible might be the best way to go here..Hope everything works out for you..

 

I bet that's over $500 damage. I would file a claim. That's why you have insurance, right?

 

I think it was Gavin Newsom. Since he hasn't "rammed" anyone's baby since his campaign manager pimp slapped him and quit for boinking his wife, he did the next best thing by violating someone else's property.

 

I have state farm and had a small no fault accident. They said they would cover up to $700 in damage without a deductible. Not sure if it was a 1 time thing or once a year, every few years... anyway I had another accident 2 years later and they used the combined 2 accidents as justification to drop my motorcycle insurance (neither of these accidents involved my motorcycle).

use insurance as a last resort. Even if it was 1k to fix it I would pay the 1k over the 500 claim. just my .02

 

Just took my Z to one body shop where my close friend knows the owner. And this is even with a 100 dollar discount... They quoted me about 950. It would have been lower and no bumper replacement needed if the damage was not so close to or practically on the signal light enclosure.

The cool thing was they showed me the flex paint they used for their bumpers. Showed me a freshly painted bumper and flexed the hell out of it without the paint cracking.

That was after he looked at my car and basically said...OH S#&$T. And told me whoever did the last paint job on this bumper sucks *** because of the way the paint cracked upon flexing.

Lesson learned so far? Make sure you get some flex additive on that paint!

I'll keep updating this thread during the next couple of days. Still planning to get other quotes, but I would rather pay more for quality work.

Thanks for you opinion and advice guys! I appreciate it.

 

 

sounds high I would have thought about 500...oh wait you are in cali 1k sounds about right hehehe

 

Cheapens your entire thread.

 

Wow... people do have enough time to be a hater... lol. There's one in every thread I guess.

But I appreciate the people that have been giving me useful feedback.