This will be one of the only posts I have really made on this forum since taking ownership of my '05 MCS last June.

Today after leaving with a perfect A in my last college class I was going home, I get to a light and stop. the traffic begins to move in front of me, and then suddenly stops, so I hit the brake and was about a car length behine the peson in front of me... Thats when I see it, a Ford Explorer bearing down at me in my rearview mirror at 15 MPH.... BAM!!!, I get rear ended so hard I get sandwiched beween the car in front of me and the Explorer.

What really pisses me off is I don't drive my car that far, I live close to my school, and my work is about the equal distance the other direction. I park in the far corner of both parking lots to avoid dings and I wax my car every other week, and just had it detailed inside and out. It has 5300 miles on it after a year, and was perfect until now.

Anyway... I call the cops, the give her a ticket for following to close, and I stumble home in my beat up Mini. I called the insurance company, and was told to get a quote for repairs... well luckily, I know the owner of a VERY presigious body shop locally, they work on Benleys, Porsche, Rolls Royce.. etc., I recieved a quote of $1500.00.

I guess my question is... do any of you think this quote is high for two bumper covers? I dont feel bad about it, and they owe me, but I thought I would like to hear others thoughts on the subject.

 

I did not read the story (will tomorrow, no time now) but we need pics!

-Cody

 

It's probably not a good idea to admit to anything even resembling insurance fraud on a public forum.

I think it's shady -- I mean, yes: they owe you. They owe you for the bits that were damaged in the accident. They don't owe you improvements.

Can you pursue a diminished value claim and use the potential payout from that to fund your improvements? I assume that the aero bumpers are more expensive than what you had.

 

If the parts cost the same, what difference does it make?

If they cost more, then it's wrong. Don't do it.

 

I don't know what you read but I did not see any implication of insurance fraud or intent to improve the car in Nate's post. I think your response is a bit harsh. I'm not naive, so this assumes that Nate's post has not been edited.

 

I would take it to the dealer for a quote and also plan to have the dealer do the repairs to make sure the repair are done correctly with OEM parts....also, they will put it up on a lift and check it out thoroughly to make sure that there was no further hidden damage

 

Sounds like there's more than just bumper covers.

$1,500 doesn't sound too bad (w/o images).

Besides, this isn't your money nor YOUR insurance company's money. It's the explorer's fault so they (and their insurance company) to pay.

 

The quote doesn't sound high at all for two bumper covers. You're talking $750.00 per cover and that includes the cost of the cover, taking off the old cover, installing the new ones, as well as prepping and painting the new covers. Plus, there might be hidden damage that won't be revealed until the bumpers are removed. That price sounds very normal here in Atlanta. For reference, I had a piece of highway shrapnel pierce my front bumper of my former Honda Accord. Honda of Roswell said it would be a tad over $500.00 to replace. MINI parts ain't cheap.

 

I'm not familar with just what the cost for bumper repair is, or how extesive your damage was. If you had the aero kit that retails at 1280 last I looked, then it needs to be painted. I don't know the cost of the standard bumpers. I'll leave that for other to comment on.

From talking to others many ins. co. will ask for multiple quotes; take the MINI to two or three reputable shops (dealers tend to be good for this or at least know the top quality local body shops, that will treat your MINI with the same care they give a 70+k BMW) that you would trust to do the job right the fist time, get a quote from each and be sure that they check for any damage behind the bumper anything from pinched wires to sub-frame damage. Also as was previouly recommended investigate diminished value claims, etc. One thing to be aware of is what the other person is going through, I'm not saying you should feel bad about asking them to pay for the damage they did; but be responsible like you were in the first post and make sure they don't get scammed, it keeps everybody's rates down.

Also I'd say get checked out by a doctor now and then go back if anything develops as some injuries can take time before they make themselves known. Everything should work itself out soon. feel free to post more otfen, let us hear about the good times with your MINI as well.

Also a little FYI, get your oil changed annually if you travel less than 10k miles in a year, it will keep and be covered under warranty.

 

It all depends on whether or not the aero bumpers cost the same as "regular". If they do, then everything is kosher. As I read it, he took it to a shop who estimated the damage based on the aero bumpers. If it's the insurance co. estimate that he references, then I wonder how all repair work is being done within the constraints of that estimate while simultaneously adding more expensive bumpers. If all things were equal, why would he post for opinions on his action?

Either way, if he's using the accident to add more expensive bits to his car than the ones damaged -- at the expense of the insurance company or at-fault party -- that's basically fraudulent.

 

i'd don't see anything in the original post about adding more expensive bits;
just an inquiry of whether this high end repair shop is quoting on the
high side for the repair.

 

Then it was edited. Because the question he asked initially referred to replacing the bumpers with aero bumpers. Thus my post, and post #4 stating that if the cost for the two parts was the same, there was no problem. 2 parts: regular bumpers and aero bumpers. He edited it which, frankly, was intelligent.

 

$1500 doesn't sound too high for 2 covers replaced. I was rear ended and they only repaired the bumper cover, not replaced it. If they replace both covers, the quote seems to be on target.

I agree w/Motor On... get yourself checked out asap. you probably should have gone to the hospital immediately after the accident so it would have appeared on the police report. You don't want to mess with your neck or back. Good luck with the repairs.

 

I got S bumper covers for my car for $200 shipped off of ebay. Not sure what they cost new, but it should be about an hour or two of labor plus parts.

 

I just had some repairs done on my Mazda3 last month - I also took it to the most reputable shop in town - a couple of Ferraris, and some classic cars and Benzes out front in need of repair. Anyway, they had the highest quote of the three I received but they worked it out with my insurance company. $1050 to repair two 10 inch scratches, one each on two doors (from being 'keyed'). All they had to do was send a fax to my insurance company showing what was different (more labor time on painting mostly) and they approved the difference. $1500 from being rear-ended by an Explorer doesn't surprise me at all.

The whole Aero kit thing is not clear to me at this point in the thread, but I don't see any problem with you paying the difference in costs to get the bumper you want.

 

First of all - sorry to hear about this...it stinks for sure - especially with such low mileage on a year old MINI.

Second, $1500 does not sound that high. We got rear ended several years back - and the total bill was $3K...It's probably not just the bumpers - there are obviously other little parts to be replaced....it's good you know of a good body shop that will hopefully take good care of your MINI and have it fixed right...

Donna

 

nate09565 -

$1,500 sounds down-right cheap in my book... Especially since you got plugged by an SUV. I'm surprised it's only the bumper covers, and not the hatch/trunk lid, the wiper and wiper motor as well. Then again I live in New Jersey and EVERYTHING here costs an arm and a leg, so maybe my perspective is skewed.

For example, my wife had a small (Aheeemm!!) "accident" in my last car (a '94 Acura) and while she was "only going 10 to 15mph" she did $4,500 worth of cosmetic damage and very nearly totalled the car - from an insurance company point of view, anyway.

- - m

 

About 2 months ago I was rear-ended and pushed into car in front - Ended up needing 2 new bumper covers. Quote was 1250 for original and 1500 upgraded (aero front and rear and new aero grille for hood). I am happy with it but need to get some larger exhaust tips now, the stock look anemic.

 

Thanks Om.....I re-read the first post a few times (before I found yours) and figured he had an "edit" attack. Thanks for clarifying.

...Les

 

a crunch at 15mph into another car...1500 sounds kinda cheap.

I think they may find more problems as they do the repair. i would assume more in the 2500+ range from your story.

 

I think you need more quotes. Go get 5. Turn in the top 2, especially if they're close to each other.

I'm amazed you're only at $1500. I was rear-ended in the GTI and she braked hard and slid into me. It was her license plate mounting hardware putting little divots and scrapes in my license plate, bumper cover and bottom skirt. Barely noticable. Her insurance company, STate Farm, drove their mobile claim van out to my office, took a look, typed it all in, and printed out a check for $1190.00 just like that. You are not obligated in any way to perform the repair. It is compensation for the damage to the vehicle.