Collision damage: Pay cash, or through insurance

[Sally.Simpson]

I'm a fairly new driver and rear ended a woman on the weekend. Little more than a scrape on her bumper, but she has gotten a quote for bumper replacement for $1200. Cops say that bumper replacement is preferred to repair, which is why it's so high.

She's given me the option to pay cash, or to pay via insurance.

Is there any way for me to dispute the $1200 price tag, which seems a bit high?

Will the increase in my insurance be more than $1200, making it worthwhile to pay her cash?

Is there a rule of thumb for this sort of thing?

[hampstor]

You're a new driver. Don't dispute it - if you do, she may just go thru insurance to fuck you over. My recommendation - pay the cash and get in writing that she will waive all rights to pursue any further action against you.

[ricosuave]

tell her to get at least 3 quotes, not just 1

[thetransporter]

Originally posted by Sally.Simpson
I'm a fairly new driver and rear ended a woman on the weekend. Little more than a scrape on her bumper, but she has gotten a quote for bumper replacement for $1200. Cops say that bumper replacement is preferred to repair, which is why it's so high.

She's given me the option to pay cash, or to pay via insurance.

Is there any way for me to dispute the $1200 price tag, which seems a bit high?

Will the increase in my insurance be more than $1200, making it worthwhile to pay her cash?

Is there a rule of thumb for this sort of thing?

is it a new car? is the car even worth 1200? is it an old car? make a contract that you will supply the bumper and she installs it herself. if you feel shes defrauding you for extra cash, tell her you have US insurance, she has to pay to bring in the agents

[TomcoPDR]

Originally posted by hampstor
You're a new driver. Don't dispute it - if you do, she may just go thru insurance to fuck you over. My recommendation - pay the cash and get in writing that she will waive all rights to pursue any further action against you.

Originally posted by ricosuave
tell her to get at least 3 quotes, not just 1

Both very useful and true comments OP... yea, get 3 quotes and if they're within range of each other... best thing to do is let her choose (cuz if you choose the shop and it doesn't turn out right, you won't stop hearing about it)

And then once you pay cash, have her sign a waiver (no more future claims, no personal injuries, etc...) And everybody go on to live their lives.

[Xtrema]

Unless it's a 20 year old civic, if will cost that much to fix a bumper cover out of insurance. Body shops always quote more when insurance company isn't involved.

If you a new, I would just pay and may her sign the waiver just like Hampstor said.

Asking for 3 quotes may piss people off and go thru insurance instead. Because if I got hit, I don't want to waste time for 3 quotes. I can just go thru insurance and everything would be taken care of.

[Sally.Simpson]

Originally posted by thetransporter

is it a new car? is the car even worth 1200? is it an old car? make a contract that you will supply the bumper and she installs it herself. if you feel shes defrauding you for extra cash, tell her you have US insurance, she has to pay to bring in the agents

Both vehicles are current model, and are (were?) in great shape.

I don't know much about cars, but her car looked expensive.

[Sally.Simpson]

Originally posted by Xtrema

Asking for 3 quotes may piss people off and go thru insurance instead. Because if I got hit, I don't want to waste time for 3 quotes. I can just go thru insurance and everything would be taken care of.

Good point. If I go through insurance, they will force a more fair price for the repair, but I may end up paying it all through raised premiums anyhow.

I don't have enough idea about how much they would raise premiums to make a confident decision one way or the other.

[Kloubek]

Companies generally require 3 quotes. I think under the circumstances it would be reasonable to ask her to get 1 more quote. That should give you a pretty good idea if it is a reasonable quote or not.

If the bumper does indeed need to be replaced, $1200 is actually perfectly in line with some vehicles I have seen. My Sequoia cover was $800, and I found that surprisingly cheap.

At the end of the day, you don't want to piss her off... you don't want this going on your insurance, as a new driver.

[topmade]

Whatever route you take ALWAYS!! exchange information no matter who is at fault. Call the cops if the other party will not give you any info.

$1200 for a bumper replacement sounds about right for any car these days unless it's an old beater with a metal or plain plastic bumper. You can ask her nicely to get at least another quote for comparision, but unfortuantely you are at her mercy. I would just pay the $1200 and get her and a witness to sign a statement for what happened. Also keep in mind that you will have to pay a deductible $250-$500 depending on your insurance plan, so they will end up only covering $950-$700 which IMO is definatly not worth going through insurance for.

[signature7]

Sounds fairly accurate for a new bumper+paint. I would pay the cash and make sure she signs a waiver so no signs of future claims. Who cares if insurance would find a competitive price.

In the end even if her quote is higher than usual, you're still saving money on raised premiums plus deductible.

[GoChris]

Geez, odd replies here. IMO, you rear ended her, you are lucky to be able to pay outside of insurance. suck it up, pay the $ and be glad you aren't getting fucked over going through insurance.

go get 3 quotes, lol, if I were the other party, I'd tell you to get bent and I'd go through insurance if you didn't make it easy for me.

[rockanrepublic]

Originally posted by GoChris
Geez, odd replies here. IMO, you rear ended her, you are lucky to be able to pay outside of insurance. suck it up, pay the $ and be glad you aren't getting fucked over going through insurance.

go get 3 quotes, lol, if I were the other party, I'd tell you to get bent and I'd go through insurance if you didn't make it easy for me.

exactly you got lucky she didn't just call her insurance company don't dick around just pay for it get the waiver signed.

**EDIT**

Also "sally. Simpson" to better assist you i'm sure beyond could use some pics

[Neil4Speed]

I just got rear ended this week (anyone keeping count? 3rd time in 2 years). Again similar situation, limited damage, no cracks to the bumper, nothing pushed in, out of alignment etc, a square hit. But to repair and reinstall the bumper from Screaming paintwork is $1400.

[theken]

Pay the bodyshop. Not her. Just so she isn't going to take the money not fix it then come back on you for non payment

[hampstor]

You can't dictate terms to the person you hit if you want to avoid going thru insurance.

If someone rear ended me and said , "why dont you go and get 3 quotes, does it really cost that much to fix it? i'm going to pay the shop directly to fix your vehicle so you dont pocket the money", I'm not going to waste my time and claim it under their insurance.

If the person you hit offers a way to avoid an insurance claim, they are being either being nice or trying to make some money off of you. Either way, you're still in the wrong and will have to decide if you're willing to deal with a rate increase or not.

[Masked Bandit]

What has your broker said? They should be able to tell you what the increased premiums would be for the next six years (claims stay on your record for that long) and then you can decide whether it makes more sense to pay cash or go through insurance.

BTW, if you think you may want to pay cash, don't dick her around. She has ALL the control in this situation.

[Power_Of_Rotary]

1200 is a reasonable number already.
if u go thru insurance you will have to pay deductible, increase your premiums and it will be increased for the next couple years.

[kolumbo69]

I side swiped a yukon when I was 17, I payed the bill after the damage was repaired at the shop of her choice.

[gqmw]

If the person seems nice and doesn't mind getting 2-3 quotes, that's cool. But if they don't want to, I would just pay the 1200 and get her to sign a waiver so they doesn't come after you for more money.

Since you're a fairly new driver, I'd recommend not even bothering to ask them for 3 quotes because if you make them pissed...you're going to be paying premiums for awhile...