Lord ET

so we were partyin' at the lake when a buddy of mine backed his truck (hitch in particular) into my car...heard a loud pop and when i went to see what it was...this is what i found










if you look closely you'll see the crack all across the tail light.

So if my buddy tells me that he'll pay for the repairs 'n whatnot...do i still file an insurance claim? I don't think i should have to...right? Also, does anybody know where i might be able to obtain a painted rear left quarter panel,
and a painted bumper for a good price? I'm in Denton Tx... thanks for any input.

MURDOCK

ouch!! I don't know who to feel more sorry for you or your buddy.

I hope things work out sorry I can't help.

snobird

iTrader: (1)

def file claim with insurance your firend may not have the money or he may bail out on you

whats the deductible?

InanimateCarbonRod

iTrader: (6)

Get some body shop quotes first. If it's close to the amount of your deductible then don't file a claim.

If it's significantly more than your deductible and your buddy will pay for it (for real, not "dude, I'll pay for it" then he dosn't pull through), don't file a claim.

If it's significantly more than your deductible and your buddy WON'T pay for it, file a claim with your insurance and they will go after his insurance to pay for it. You might want to find a new friend while you're at it.


You're not going to find a "painted" quarter panel. It's not something like a fender that'll just bolt up; Just look at it! The quarter is connected to the c-pillar/b-pillar/roof/rocker, etc. Besides, the body shop will probably just straighten out whats already there. The bumper looks like it's just cosmetic damage so they'll just repaint it the same time as the quarter.

04 Honda Civic

iTrader: (2)

whats wrong with that bumper? dont seem to be much damage on it?

modoman

iTrader: (6)

well, unless he is loaded or doing pretty darn well, you may want to talk to him about filing. pretty much, unless money is no problem, you never really know if someone will screw you over or not. i mean, a lot less has divided friends before, so you may want to make sure it is documented somehow.

greeen01civic4d

iTrader: (7)

plus, u cannot get a rear left quarter pannel, its a unibody, which means anything past the rear doors cannot be simply replaced, so its body work for you, id file, and have him pay the deductible, unless ur quote is less than ur deductible

joe6680

I wouldn't file just yet. Get some quotes and see if he can afford the repair. If you file it it is a chargeable accident to him and he will pay more in an insurance increase than that of the repair. He could always put it on a credit card if he can't pay right away. I'd do anything to avoid higher insurance rates. Make sure you get all his info as well. Like plate number, vin number, copy of insurance card, if he bails he will be in even more trouble. Take pics of his truck as well.

joe6680

Cut and weld my friend, cut and weld. A body shop will just cut that part off, goto a junk yard and find a car that doesn't have damage there and cut it off then weld it onto his car. A lot easier and cheaper to do.

chawski

iTrader: (1)

I think you and your buddy are gonna be surprised at how much thats gonna cost you. Considering this is on the unibody, fixing this is gonna be 90% labor. The only easy part is gonna be repacing the taillight. If you get out for under $1500 you got real lucky. That whole quarter is gonna have to be repainted

beadebaserr

iTrader: (7)

exactly. don't be a pushover in this situation either man, it sucks because it's your friend and all but hopefully he has some deep pockets because it's not gonna be that cheap. but i mean if he really can pay for it, it'll work out for both of you if you don't have to claim.

snobird

iTrader: (1)

after looking at it def file claim, i work at car lot on side and i would say atleast 2000 to 2500 worth of work. they will have to cut out rear quater and weld new one in, then prep it for paint and then paint it. also new taillight as well, also they will remove your rear bumper and fix the part thats a little damaged, prep it for paint then paint it. also being on gas tank side means the will have to take off the filler neck to the gas tank and a few more parts in that area as well. cause they will most likley cut below the rear window in front of the filler door since the damage is right next to it.

labor is gonna kill you on this cause its time consuming work but file the claim asap

MidnightCivic

iTrader: (11)

u live in denton and u coulda invite to party WTF!.....ok back on topic how good of a friend is he how long have u known him. Can he afford to pay for it and so on. I would at least give him a chance an get some quotes on the repairs and show them to him.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

lookin at least $2k for stock parts.

DsevenEm2

iTrader: (6)

ur friend is still alive...?

BigD001

You're looking at any where from 1100 to 2000 grand. I have the same thing happen to me right now. Some shop will tell you to replace to whole thing and that will be about 1800 to 2000 that's what a shop in california the highest place for car repair. 1100 if you can find a old skool shop that know how to roll metal. Heres a site were you can get the panel. http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...artsSearch.jsp
But if I we're you I would file a clam. Good luck bro

DaMadScientist

iTrader: (10)

from what i can tell its going to be around $800 for parts....to the douche that said body shops go to junk yards and pull stuff...most body shops buy OEM parts. The paint labor is going to be around 6-700. To remove and replace that rear quater panel, putting it into my friends estimate software, takes about 11.2 hours, alone thats about $500 just for removal and replacement and with paint/labor at around $50, id say it'd be close to $3000+ with everything, its the little **** like removal of clips, and linings that add up really fast

Lord ET

alright well here's what's goin' down. My friend's dad convinced him to go ahead and file it with his insurance company so he will incur the rate increase.
On the bumper issue... it doesn't look like really any damage, but all of the little tabs on that exposed part broke in the middle, so they will either have to be glued back together or just a new bumper. Since its his insurance I don't really care too much. I need a new bumper anyways b/c my bike pedals have scratched the middle of mine to hell.
I took it to a couple shops around, one in Irving (Leezo Bros.,namedrop, my friend's uncle owns it and uses used parts unless told otherwise) and was quoted $1700. My friend wanted me to get another quote just to be sure so I went to a place much closer to Denton and they quoted me 3k I said no thanks to that....this being memorial day weekend though, the appraiser his insurance company is reffering me to has yet to get in contact with me. So I should hear from them Tuesday...hopefully. I'm also hoping to hear from a few companies about some internships tuesday, so i hope the two events don't conflict.

On a side note i took the left tail off to see just how far the damage went in, and when i pulled off the light the black gasket came with it and pissed this huge spider off royally. . . It was running around really fast spinnin' web like crazy....i flicked it away into the grass and watched it kill everything in sight....maybe not that last part..

mani_is_kool

DUde .. file an insurance claim BUT ON YOUR BUDDIES INSURANCE .. not on urs .. for real !!!

Honestly man ... thats a $1500 to $2500 job right there if you want your car to be back to its original condition.
If you get it done in lower than $1500 ... Expect some fading paint in the next 3 years !!! ... My 2 cents

Lord ET

^^^ that's what we ended up doing.

beadebaserr

iTrader: (7)

glad you got it all figured out. it would have been sweet if you had some friends with a little bit of welding skill and you could have cut that out yourself and tacked a new piece in then did everything. that's what i did when i totalled my first car. insurance gave me $3,100 to fix it, I spent 250 dollars on new body parts and did all of the body work in my garage. granted it took like a month, I still walked away with over 2 grand in my pocket.

burke420

iTrader: (4)

well after getting that exact spot replaced on my car, ABRA did a great job here in ATL. i paid $1000... and that was only cuz i know the shop men. and the manager knows my job and hooked me up. but you... get another set of tail off here... and youll might as well do the 04 rear as well.. and the rear bumper is trash, tail, and the 1/4 is gonna be some gnarly fees to fix! mine was a slight dent, that is hella huge! hope it all works well..

85gp4

iTrader: (1)

If your friends insurance is going to cover the claim, you may want to check out some of "their" preferred shops. Most insurance companies have body shops that they work with and the work is usually guaranteed for as long as you own the car. A buddy of mine took his car to a cheaper shop and he got cheaper quality work done. Since it was not done at one of the insurance preferred shops, he was **** outa luck. Just a suggestion... I mean it's no money outa your pocket regardless, but it could be the difference between good body work and a half *** job.

PaCiFiKbAllA

iTrader: (1)

9 times outta 10 when ur gettin' body work done to a SSM colored civic, the part they paint will be different than the rest of the body...don't ask....for some reason, body shops never quite get the same exact color as OEM...it happened to me and few peeps on here....but i would, file a claim, have ur friend pay the deduct, and take that car to a Honda Body Shop where u know it will be painted with the same color.....

Lord ET

^^i'll have to consider that. He offered to do all the work on my car himself, he has a bitchin twin turbo 300z that he does all the body work on, but he would only be able to work on it during the weekends, and that would take some time...

ClutchEm2

That's gonna cost a few g's to fix. Just report it to the insurance as a hit and run and have your buddy pay for the deductable.