Got into a fender bender!! What do i do?

[Kingoheartz69]

Hey guys, im in quite a predicament, i got into a minor fender bender about 3 days ago, i was pulling out of a parking lot into a pretty heavy traffic street, and a van hit me right on the front left part of my car. My bumper is pretty much destroyed on the left side, so im going to need a brand new 1, the fender is pretty crushed too, but after speaking to a body shop they said it could be fixed without replacing the entire fender, and my windshield cracked in the whole process, well....after speaking to a body shop they told me that a brand new bumper from honda, a brand new fender, windshield, and headlight from honda, all parts and labor, would be done for $2200.00. im not sure if this is alot or if its a good deal for all the parts and labor? if anybody knows if i can get it cheaper if i order the parts myself, or if im better off the body shop ordering all the parts needed, bolts, and screws and all that good crap. input would be appreciated guys!!! thanks!!

P.S i cant go through insurance, cause the guy sped off, and my insurance is pretty crappy anyways so if i report it, it might end up skyrocketing my premium.

[SiLVER Surfer]

wow that really sucks! you should post pics.
you could check college hills honda for the parts...i hear they have good deals.

[07mugencivic]

thats sucks.........got any pics

[Kingoheartz69]

I'll post up pics asap

[NIGHTHAWKSI]

Originally Posted by Kingoheartz69

Hey guys, im in quite a predicament, i got into a minor fender bender about 3 days ago, i was pulling out of a parking lot into a pretty heavy traffic street, and a van hit me right on the front left part of my car. My bumper is pretty much destroyed on the left side, so im going to need a brand new 1, the fender is pretty crushed too, but after speaking to a body shop they said it could be fixed without replacing the entire fender, and my windshield cracked in the whole process, well....after speaking to a body shop they told me that a brand new bumper from honda, a brand new fender, windshield, and headlight from honda, all parts and labor, would be done for $2200.00. im not sure if this is alot or if its a good deal for all the parts and labor? if anybody knows if i can get it cheaper if i order the parts myself, or if im better off the body shop ordering all the parts needed, bolts, and screws and all that good crap. input would be appreciated guys!!! thanks!!

P.S i cant go through insurance, cause the guy sped off, and my insurance is pretty crappy anyways so if i report it, it might end up skyrocketing my premium.

since it was a hit and run accident, you cna claim whatever you want. there is no one there to argue with what happened. the other person is automitically at fault in this case. hopefully you got a police report to prove this....go through insurance.

[ronin]

People would have to see the damage in order to make a proper assement. However, there are a lot of bodyshops that can cut corners to fix something to fit a specific dollar figure. But in the long run the work usually doesn't hold up.

[Celcius]

Originally Posted by ronin

People would have to see the damage in order to make a proper assement. However, there are a lot of bodyshops that can cut corners to fix something to fit a specific dollar figure. But in the long run the work usually doesn't hold up.

QFT

[Duce2k]

I say buy the parts yourself aand just pay for the labor.

[NIGHTHAWKSI]

why is everyone saying to buy parts and fix it? i dont think it effects your insurance if your involved in a hit and run. it is automatically the other guys fault....let your insurance do their thing.

[babaki]

it doesnt matter whose fault it is. if you get in an accident, your premium will go up. but, its still better than paying for damages yourself.

[NIGHTHAWKSI]

^since when? i was under the impression that if your found 100% not at fault, your rates dont go up. by the other car fleeing the scene of an accident it 100% admits guilt and therefore the OP wins the case....

[Zeuceone]

That's actually a real cheap price. My rear bumper and shock absorber cost about 1k to fix.

[babaki]

Originally Posted by NIGHTHAWKSI

^since when? i was under the impression that if your found 100% not at fault, your rates dont go up. by the other car fleeing the scene of an accident it 100% admits guilt and therefore the OP wins the case....

it doesnt matter. the more times the insurance company has to pay out for you, the more your gonna have to pay it back somehow. this is just the way it is. believe it or not, you get insurance points for accidents that were not your fault. accidents make you a risk, fault or no fault.

*edit: at least, its this way in NJ.

[jumboshrimp23]

ya, Im pretty sure his rates will go up if he gets his insurance involved because they will be paying for the damages. if he had the other person's info, then that would be a different story. sorry to hear bout that tho. Im dealing with insurance right now for a fender bender that wasnt my fault, but the other guy claims he didnt hit me. I was sitting in my car in a parking lot and he reversed into me. how isnt that his fault? hes crazy!!!

[Kingoheartz69]

Originally Posted by NIGHTHAWKSI

^since when? i was under the impression that if your found 100% not at fault, your rates dont go up. by the other car fleeing the scene of an accident it 100% admits guilt and therefore the OP wins the case....

yeah man unfortunately this is true in NY, and the main reason i dont want to go through insurance is that im under my fathers insurance right now, as the driver of the car, so i already get enough crap from him about me riskin his rates going up so i might as well pay the damage out myself and i did alot of research and 2200 for a bumper, fender, windshield headlight, including paint, install and labor, its not bad. but now im wondering if i should jus take advantage of this situation and get a whole new body kit, yeah im sure its going to be a significant price increase but does it make sense for me to buy a stock bumper when eventually im going to get a full body kit, and then get rid of it???

[strutking]

new windshield? sounds bad

[vincentek9]

so you were pulling out of a parking lot, you and a guy hit, and he took off? i would say if you want to save money.. i think you should find the parts yourself. then go to a paint shop and ask them if they can paint it. painting my front bumper and lips only costed me $500.

[Kingoheartz69]

Originally Posted by vincentek9

so you were pulling out of a parking lot, you and a guy hit, and he took off? i would say if you want to save money.. i think you should find the parts yourself. then go to a paint shop and ask them if they can paint it. painting my front bumper and lips only costed me $500.

heres the thing though, i looked on college hills honda site, and i thought it was only the bumper id have to replace, but then i realized that it wasnt only the bumper that needed to be replaced, the brackets, bolts, impact absorber, and a bunch of other crap needed to be replaced, and im not sure exactly everything i need to get, plus im sure that there needs to be some work done on the actual framing and structure of the fender.

[projek7]

If going through insurance is out of the question, go back to the body shop and tell them to find generic honda parts. It'll be alot cheaper to fix and its the exact same quality as OEM honda parts. Bumper, fender, headlight, windshield should all be available non-OEM. When I was backed into in my 01 Toyota Celica, I had to get the bumper, fender and right headlights replaced and the body shop found generic oem parts. As far as I could see, I wasn't able to tell the difference.