mattzen

So the parking lot of the complex i live in is going to be re-striped tomorrow and the cars have to be moved out real early. So at about midnight i decided to move my car out to the street while there were still spots avaliable. Because i didn't want to risk a flodded engine i decided to take the car around the block first....

Come to a red light and stop to make a right turn. I was stopped for about 10 seconds.....Then bam. Hit from behind. My car is just over 3 weeks old. Got the guys tags and License number. He has no insurance. Pretty minor damage. But still. Arrgggg!

So I'm leasing the car. I need to decide how i'm going to handle this. This guy is uninsured. Do i want to make a claim? Am I required to make a claim because I'm leasing? How easily can this be fixed? I'd hate like hell to be without my 8 so soon. I'm worried that since this guy is uninsured will a claim by me be held in a negative light by my insurance company? The damage is minor but it's already driving me crazy that my 8 is now less than pristine!

Night pics are attached. If any of you folks out there can give me any helpful advice on how easy/cost of the fix or how to handle the situation I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks in advance!!

staticlag

That part of the car is plastic, not metal, I cant really see in the pic, but if the hard black plastic and the part above it is crimped then you may have to replace the whole rear bumper, you may be able to order just the black trim. Someone could pop that ding out of the silver surface of the bumper for about $100 im guessing. I'm not exactly sure of the price of the stock RX8 rear bumper but if you do need to buy the whole thing, a reasonable guess is in the $600-700 range for the bumper and then labor. That black trim is probably about $200 if they can just order that.

You should have called the police. Usually you need a copy of the police report to file a claim. Because it is the other person's insurance that pays for damages to your car, not your own.

Not calling the police, and just taking down his liscense number and tag number. Did you get his phone number, did he say he would pay for it?

By doing this you have set the wheels in motion for a private unreported settlement. Do you think this dude is going to cough up $800 when he sees the cost of that one bumper?

If you want your insurance to take care of it, tomorrow I suggest you call the police and report the accident. Then call the insurance company and tell them the story.

Or just let the guy take care of it, but not reporting it is going to come back to bite you in the *** later if the damage is greater than this little ding.

What kind of car was the guy driving? Did he look under the influence? How old was he?

mattzen

Thanks for the reply. In my experience, calling the police here in the Los Angeles area is usually futile unless there is an injury or the vehicle(s) are disabled. I may do it tomorrow however. I've had 3 previous accidents (none were my fault) and this is how each were handled. All through insurance.

Yea, i was worried about the plastic. it's slightly crimped and there's a scuff mark going off to the left. The silver part above the black has a little bump where the crimp is. looks like after a little time the paint would flake/peel there.

when i have some daylight i'll snap a few more pics. i do have his name and phone number as well. sigh. thanks again for the info. the cost is about what i was expecting.

staticlag

Yeah, that totally stinks that you got this rotten luck in your first month of ownership.

At least its not that bad, maximum your 8 will be out of service will be less than a day.

Did the other three people have insurance?

I can see being able to not file a report if the other person admits to being at fault and the insurance company info is transfered peacably. But since this guy has no insurance, I'm pretty sure that your company will want a report.

mattzen

Thanks again. I did call the police and they said that there is no report made unless there is an injury or a disabled vehicle. I mentioned that the driver that struck me was uninsured. The officer said that still doesn't require a report. The officer was very nice and sympathetic to the fact that my care is only 3 weeks old. I tried. The LAPD is just too understaffed to worry about these fender benders.

I filed a claim. At the scene the guy was admitting guilt but that I didn't have to do this through insurance cause the damage was so minor. Minor to him. I'm sure he has no idea the cost to fix a plastic bumper. Plus the car is leased. This has got to be fixed correctly. Even if I owned the car outright I couldn't live with the minor damage so early into my ownership.

I hope I've fufilled my accident quota for a while with this minor one! I'm completely bummed and can't f**kin sleeep now!

pcimino

If you have uninsured/underinsured coverage, and not your fault, your deductible should not go up. Then the company will go after him for the money.

fredw1

I was rear-ended two weeks after I bought my................Sunlight Silver. Cracked the bumper and bent the metal piece behind it. Fixed for $900---his insurance.

mattzen

Oh man. Sorry to hear....

I can't believe that this damn Silver crap might have something to it. I'm not a superstitious man.

Thanks everyone for th replies. My insurance is on it. It will be fixed good as new in no time.

RX8INCH

That is Freaking CRAZY... I see we got our cars both from Galpin.... I am leasing mine as well. The first day i had it some one sideswiped me.. Hit and run while i was in the car... I got his plate and turned him in... I hope his INS will cover the damage.. it is very minor just scraped bumper and cracked blinker lense... I am going to get clears anyways. I got an estimate.... $670 dollars!!!! FOR WHAT! jeez you cant even see the scratches unless i point them out... I think that $ is going towards gas!!! 108 miles on a 1/2 tank... does that sound right. the car has 240miles.

staticlag

Damage to any car is going to be expensive to take out.

108 miles on 1/2 a tank, yes sounds like you are getting the average 17 miles per gallon.

RX8INCH

Will the mileage get better once the engine is broken in? then again I go ahve let foot.. but my 4.0L ranger was getting 16-17mpg pisses me of that a 1.3L is geting 17mpg but what ever. If thats the cost of run then i guess its worth it.

BlueRenesis82

WHAT?

KYLiquid

post in the for sale/wanted section of the forum....if its just the black plastic that is damaged....that part is the same on ALL RX8s, it is removed and replaced when someone put the mazdaspeed rear bumper on....im sure you could find one for cheap/free that has removed it for the mazdaspeed (or other) rear bumper.

Its a simple clip/screw install, and since its not painted you just have to attach it and be done!

loco-8

I go ahve let foo, too.

Old thead, I know. But door ding, if by ding you mean 10 inch scrape with 1 inch dent.
500 dollars. Had to repaint whole door. And repaint the half-door on that side to match. Whatever.
Insurance gave me back 250 dollars because of "depreciation of car." Sweet.

youpey

i hit a tree stump and did 1200 dollars worth of damage in my silver...bah