As I was driving down the street, a lady stopped at an intersection and decided to go for it and cut me off without looking. I slammed on my brakes but it was too late and my front bumper scraped on her black Toyota Matrix.

She admitted to being at fault and most people recommended I didn't file with my insurance because it would increase my premiums, even if it's her company that will pay. Most of the black stuff is paint that rubbed off her car except the solid black horizontal line at the top of the damage; that's paint that was ripped off.

I've been on-line and it seems that the #1 bumper part (called nose mask I believe) costs about 200-250$ from the dealer but I don't know if those parts come already painted or if there's an extra fee to have it painted (from the Honda dealer). If I call the lady, I might be able to get her to pay for it since she admitted she was at fault and doesn't want to have to deal with an expensive claim.

I've been able to scrape of some of the paint that has rubbed off on my bumper with my fingernail. What would you recommend to remove this without damaging my paintjob even more? Perhaps some rubbing alcohol and a rag? Polishing compound? I'm thinking I might just try and improve it and try and use touch up paint on the big scrape.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

Because she was at fault, you should file a claim through her insurance company. This way you can get that damage fixed the correct way.

 

I agree but in Quebec, there is "no fault insurance" where everyone pays for their own crap. Even if I pay 0$ for the repairs since she is at fault, the argument is that I might pay 200-300$ more next year when I renew my insurance contract since I have an accident claim on my file.

I know that I can repair it myself by changing the bumper cover and I'm sure the lady would rather pay me 250$ than pay her insurance company's deductible. Plus, settling privately is not illegal and I can keep the car's title clean. If not, there will be an accident on the carfax report.

Thanks for you suggestion though! I've never filed an insurance claim before so I'm open to any suggestion. I still might go through with the claim but friends have tried to convince me not to for the aforementioned reasons.

 

Rubbing compound will take most of the smeared on paint off. But it will not "fill in" any paint of yours that has been scrapped off.

 

I think you may be wrong. Her insurance may go up because of a claim, not yours. Call your agent.

Anyhow take the $250 and buff most of it out.

 

If the other driver's at fault in US and you file a claim via their insurance, your rates aren't affected. I wouldn't think that would be any different in Canada. Plus if you file through her insurance there is no deductible to deal with. Having said that, if she's willing to give you $250 do what Black3sr recommended.

 

I'm calling CAA (Canadian AAA) to ask for advice. Those guys are clutch and they even helped me shop for my GD!

As for the 250$, I don't know for a fact the lady will fork that over but she did say she was willing to do something to make up for the damages since she has a 500$ deductible. Asking her to pay that seems like a decent compromise and if she refuses well I can just go ahead and have the insurance make their bloated estimate.

Honestly, I couldn't care less about the money, I'd just rather have my ride looking like it did before she cut me off. That's why, I'm tempted to follow FitFan and try and see what the insurance claim route would be to get my baby lookin' nice again.

BTW when ordering parts from the dealers, do you know if the parts are sold already painted or do I have to pay extra for that? The markup on parts is crazy here in Montreal. Waaay more expensive than bernardi but then again, international shipping makes the savings null...

 

Hello. My worst fears were confirmed by CAA. In Quebec, there is a no fault insurance agreement between insurers. That means that no matter the damages, each person is responsible for insuring their own vehicle.

In the case of my accident, even though Mrs. genius decided to step on the accelerator as I was crossing an intersection, my insurer would pay for any damages to my car. I have a 300$ collision deductible which would mean that if the repair costs 400$, that's 100$ out of their pockets and 300$ out of mine anyway.

I guess that's the price to pay for all the pretty girls, good beer and a legal drinking age of 18 can't be total paradise...

 

BTW, I called Honda in Montreal. The price for the bumper (not painted) is 550+ dollars so a painted bumper would be 700$+. I looked at some online Honda parts resellers and they sell the #1 part for abou 150$. Thé Honda rep said the discrepancy is because its an aftermarket part but the website claims it to be OEM. I'm confused.

I called a few dealers and they all told quoted me the same price for the bumper.

Also, the lady informed herself with her insurer and basically told me to have a good life and she's not giving me diddly and doesn't even need to claim since her rear bumper is unscathed. If I can, I'll try and sue her in small claims court but I suspect she probably has immunity because of the no fault insurance laws.

 

DAm that happpen to me to bro yesterday : /


I called my insurance company they said go to there certificated body shop for inspection i got an quote of $600 in damages and my delectable is 500 : / so that sucks....


I also called the dealer as well they told me 256 OTD unpainted i got a good friend that paints so my cost would be 340 painted : / OEM paint

 

So you're telling me Honda quoted you 260$ for your bumper?! Here they are quoting me double for an unpainted part. If your bumper isn't cracked or bent, I'd try and sand it down and bondo the real deep gouges, then have your buddy repaint it. I'm sure you can do a good job!

This guy just sands the worst down with 800 grit, applies bondo, then smooths with finer grit. If you can make the surface perfectly smooth for the primer, why pay a body shop hundreds for that work?

 

unfortunately mine has dimples lol and a pinch in the middle : /

I found OEM bumper for 170 OTD unpainted

THanks to BMW ALPINA