Well I kissed bumper of a Legacy Wagon about half an hour ago. She was at an intersection, in the left turn lane, fully stopped and signalled.

I was going to make a left as well so I proceeded to go behind her, as I engaged the brakes, i lost all my traction, DSC and traction both came on, I quickly knew I was screwd. I quickly let go of the brakes and downshifted to first and tried to regain traction, and I did gain a bit back, so I quickly veered to the right (No cars were there...). I slid probably 2 meters.

Well I still kissed her RIGHT side of the rear bumper with my LEFT side front bumper. Her bumper appeared to have no damage, maybe a slight scratch...(Legacy Wagon bumpers are those rubbery kind).

Here's the question: So, I need advice on what to do...I had told her to check the car and see if there's big damages, if not then we can deal with it privately. I'm pretty sure there is no structural damage because i hit her at a very low speed, under 10km/h. Insurance or not?

Another question: My 8's front bumper is cracked near the left foglight now, and cannot be seen, and also some of my paint had come off. How much is a replacement bumper?

 

I never understood why people pay for accidents out of their own pockets. That is why you carry and pay for insurance. As for her bumper if it were me I would want an entire new one. I would just submit it to my insurance and have them deal with it, it isnt worth the headache of handling it yourself.

 

You pay out of your own pocket because it can save you more money down the line. If you make a claim, your insurance will go up because you will have an at fault accident on your record. It's only worth while to claim through your insurance if it's a major loss.

 

also depending on the coverage and cost ... my deductible is 500 dollars. So if i cause 350 dollars in damage to someone why would I ever want to involve my insurance? It would cost more in the short AND long run.

now if i rear ended someone and cost them 3500 in damage, yeah thats why I have insurance.

 

Your deductable applies to the comp / collision for YOUR CAR. The deductible does NOT apply to liability. You only pay a deductible to the repairs of your own car not the other person.

 

some of us are already bleeding through the nose, (my insurance in my case is only $50 less then monthly payment) so out of pocket makes sence for some if its a reasonable amount, also keep the cops out of it they may charge you with some stupid **** like carless driving, and ur insurance is really not gonna like that, that's what happened to me.

 

Thanks for all the replies guys...I am still amidst in what to do, but I am leaning towards insurance. I would believe my deductible is less than buying a new bumper for my 8, regardless of if she needs any repairs or not.

As for the police report, they will not charge me for anything, because fender benders are the norm here in Calgary during winter. I was just wondering if I should file it if I were planning to settle it privately.

 

Sorry to hear about that. Just weight out the cost between your insurance and what you'd pay out of your pocket. As for your bumper. If it is very damaged, I have another Winning Blue bumper sitting in my garage. I've been trying to sell it for a year now, but maybe you'd want to take it off my hands? Its never been used as I got an MS kit right after I bought the car. Let me know!

 

Hey SlowLude,
It would be great if you could post/PM me an asking price, I will think about it once the lady contacts me about her damages.

I couldn't believe my first winter driving day this yr round would be an accident...I was fine for 6 months last year in the 8....

 

How much is a new bumper above your deductible? If it's like a 1000 to fix the bumper, you would still be paying your deductible. So if your deductible is 500, then you'd only be reimbursed 500. So you have to see if it's worth settling through your insurance

 

My deductible is $500, I had it checked out with my insurance just now...

I'm now awaiting for some response from the other party...If she wants a brand new bumper then I will probably go through insurance. Otherwise I may opt to fix it the 8 myself...

 

drive away like nothing happened

 

I dont see why letting go of the breaks would help you regain traction. Once lost traction you can not manually regain traction faster than the computer. Keep the breaks slammed down and let ABS/DSC/TCS sort it out. Much safer that way.

 

Are you in Van or Calgary? Snows or summers on, what was the temp and conditions?

 

In my understanding the best way to regain control is to let go of the brakes and rev slightly in a lower gear to allow the tires to spin again and hopefully regain traction again.
Generally speaking, loss of traction + ice + brakes = bad idea...
I may be wrong, however that's how I got past last winter...

The temperatures were -12 I think, and most of the bigger roads were actually clear of snow/ice already. I was just unlucky enough to drive into a less busy intersect where there was still snow and ice. I'm in Calgary at the moment and I had snows put on just the night before.

 

l

 

there was no way riding the brakes would have helped me as i was sliding forwards and the DSC/TCS was going crazy so I could not really steer out of the way.

at such a low speed and sliding, downshifting and trying to regain traction with slight revving is definitely my choice...I did gain control back by doing this and steered to the right...

I just wish I had done it sooner because I was riding the brakes like you had suggested for about a meter, hoping it would slow down, but it didn't.

You can't steer with no traction and the DSC/TCS going crazy does not help at all...I was not trying to use downshifting as engine braking...

 

I had to replace my bumper this summer and the cost is $370 + tx for the bumper and about $400 for the paint. you are loking at close to $900 tx in. I wouldn' rush and simply wait for a stock bumper to be available on here. I regret buying mine new since then I've seen plenty sell on here for anywhere from $100 USD to $250 painted. Add about $125-150 for shipping and you still save a bundle with the exchange at 1.12.

I would suggest that you go the insurance route if she wants a bumper replacement for sure. Call, find out and fill a police report. You don't have that much time to think about it. Unless you are prone to accidents and/or young, it would take a few before your rate would go up.

 

Your rate will go up if you file. It only takes one for your insurance to increase.

 

Good Luck.......

 

I understand where you're coming from about letting the ABS work, but you have to realize there is not much distance for it to help much. It is a left turn only lane so there is not much distance to do much.

 

Sorry to hear about the fender bender. If the person you hit is willing to work with you than take advantage of it, however most people I've delt with who are willing to pay, aren't willing to pay once they get the bill. Hopefully you aren't like one of them.

I always advise victims of an accident to contact their insurance to ensure payment of damage and coverage for late onset of possible injury(which doesn't sound like that is an issue in your case). If the victim contacts their insurance company yours will find out regardless if you've exchanged iformation properly.

She has nothing to gain by allowing you to pay her directly since someone who gets rear ended is never at fault regardless of what they have done. (Yeh some traffic laws suck). Also, you won't be charged with anything since there isn't any charging sections that apply to your situation. Good luck. Oh yeh, mine is in the garage right now, I'm not as brave as some of you guys!

 

When I hit a woman (it was her fault but NJ accident laws are not so friendly) we paid even though she claimed her damage was $1k. (BS). It just saves a lot of money down the line, esp since I'm a teenage driver so I'd say, if you can pay for it w/o insurance, then do it.

 

Even if they cut you off and brake?

 

Even if they throw the retrorockets into full reverse right in front of you.

Unless you have witnesses to prove that he/she cut you off and didn't leave you enough room, it comes down to he/she-said-you-said. Rear-ending someone is always a losing prospect in terms of assigning blame. Fortunately, most places in Canada are moving to no-fault insurance schemes.