Not sure how to approach this issue...

The Waco Kid

The Waco Kid

New member
1e feel free to move this to the general section or a more appropriate section if this isn't the right place.

So to keep things short, I had some road debris that was kicked up on the freeway into my bumper, punching a hole right beneath the driver side headlight (headlight is fine). Sounds similar to a few other posts that have been made in the past, but this may have a bit of a curve ball with it. I'll explain later...

My question is what would be the best route to repairing this and paying for it?

1. Should I make an insurance claim ($500 deductible, plus the increased premiums on future renewals)?

2. Should I save up the money to fix it? I don't really have a need for an offroad bumper at this time, but I can't help but think now would be a good time to make the jump. (est. $2,000+)

3. Anyone got a silver 2014+ bumper they're willing to part with or have for sale? ($???)

4. Other??/Suck it up

It's not a bad break and is pretty unnoticeable, but I know it's there, and it'll nag me to no end. And to top it off, it's in a pretty crummy spot for a break to happen if I plan to go the aftermarket route.

UCHubd7l.jpg


I'm hesitant to make a claim due to the fact that Hurricane Harvey flew through the area a week ago (probably the main reason the debris was on the road) and I'm not really sure how all this will affect my rate (it's low pretty low and I like it that way) or how the claim would be handled, but maybe someone might have a better idea of how it could affect me.

What would you do, and if you have any advice, and/or have gone through a similar situation, I'd like to hear what you did, and what you'd have done differently.
 
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The Waco Kid said:
1e feel free to move this to the general section or a more appropriate section if this isn't the right place.

So to keep things short, I had some road debris that was kicked up on the freeway into my bumper, punching a hole right beneath the driver side headlight (headlight is fine). Sounds similar to a few other posts that have been made in the past, but this may have a bit of a curve ball with it. I'll explain later...

My question is what would be the best route to repairing this and paying for it?

1. Should I make an insurance claim ($500 deductible, plus the increased premiums on future renewals)?

2. Should I save up the money to fix it? I don't really have a need for an offroad bumper at this time, but I can't help but think now would be a good time to make the jump. (est. $2,000+)

3. Anyone got a silver 2014+ bumper they're willing to part with or have for sale? ($???)

4. Other??/Suck it up

It's not a bad break and is pretty unnoticeable, but I know it's there, and it'll nag me to no end. And to top it off, it's in a pretty crummy spot for a break to happen if I plan to go the aftermarket route.

UCHubd7l.jpg


I'm hesitant to make a claim due to the fact that Hurricane Harvey flew through the area a week ago (probably the main reason the debris was on the road) and I'm not really sure how all this will affect my rate (it's low pretty low and I like it that way) or how the claim would be handled, but maybe someone might have a better idea of how it could affect me.

What would you do, and if you have any advice, and/or have gone through a similar situation, I'd like to hear what you did, and what you'd have done differently.
Click to expand...

If you make a claim, your rates will most likely go up. If it were me I'd see how much it would cost to replace the bumper cover, then weigh the cost of a one time charge vs. a rate increase for x number of years.
 
I vote #4. It would bug me too but i would opt for the low budget fix. I would remove it and epoxy it from the back of the bumper and align the crack as much as possible. Then in the meantime I would shop for a new bumper with a winch
 
The Waco Kid said:
1e feel free to move this to the general section or a more appropriate section if this isn't the right place.

So to keep things short, I had some road debris that was kicked up on the freeway into my bumper, punching a hole right beneath the driver side headlight (headlight is fine). Sounds similar to a few other posts that have been made in the past, but this may have a bit of a curve ball with it. I'll explain later...

My question is what would be the best route to repairing this and paying for it?

1. Should I make an insurance claim ($500 deductible, plus the increased premiums on future renewals)?

2. Should I save up the money to fix it? I don't really have a need for an offroad bumper at this time, but I can't help but think now would be a good time to make the jump. (est. $2,000+)

3. Anyone got a silver 2014+ bumper they're willing to part with or have for sale? ($???)

4. Other??/Suck it up

It's not a bad break and is pretty unnoticeable, but I know it's there, and it'll nag me to no end. And to top it off, it's in a pretty crummy spot for a break to happen if I plan to go the aftermarket route.

UCHubd7l.jpg


I'm hesitant to make a claim due to the fact that Hurricane Harvey flew through the area a week ago (probably the main reason the debris was on the road) and I'm not really sure how all this will affect my rate (it's low pretty low and I like it that way) or how the claim would be handled, but maybe someone might have a better idea of how it could affect me.

What would you do, and if you have any advice, and/or have gone through a similar situation, I'd like to hear what you did, and what you'd have done differently.
Click to expand...
Typically, debris in the road is a comprehensive collision not a you are at fault it is like hitting a deer. Generally(atleast in my experience) it does not effect your rates. Now i will tell you the estimate you will be looking at is rediculously low, unless you damaged the headlight. i thought about turning in my wifes deer damage(we have 1000 deductible) and by the time insurance would have paid out it would have sent us 300 after our deductible. So for bumper, paint, labor, grill and a little shield that directs airflow over the radiator. It was a total of 1300 worth of damage. I really figured it would be close to 2500.

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Option 4.

If you have the money, sure, but that looks so trivial I doubt even if I had the money I would do anything about it, other than some very low cost band-aid fix or something.
 
I would wait to find a silver bumper. I paid $150 for a white one when one came up locally. I'm keeping it until I'm ready too sell. I kinda beat up my current one offroad.
 
If you do the labor a new front cover and paint will be around $500. Price it out and get a new cover. Fixing bumper covers is not easy to do without being able to tell it was fixed, especially by amateurs.
 
Thanks y'all.

I hadn't even considered waiting for a junker to come up. I'll put out a few feelers to the local yards and see if they'll set us some kind of notice.
 
#4... That is "come look at my cool hurricane scar" kind of damage, not a gaping hole in the side of a car that looks like garbage.

In the mean time put the $500 in an envelope, add a hundred every paycheck and in 6 months you'll have enough for a Pelfreybilt bumper (if you like that style)
 
1engineer said:
If you do the labor a new front cover and paint will be around $500. Price it out and get a new cover. Fixing bumper covers is not easy to do without being able to tell it was fixed, especially by amateurs.
Click to expand...

^^This^^

or option #4 will still look better than a huge $2000 front bumper. Once you add that much weight to the front then you are also going to be looking at suspension upgrades and it all starts adding up to way more than $2K

Insurance claim? No way.
 
I wouldn't bother with an insurance claim, keep your rates out of it. Like suggested, I'd look for a used front cover to clean up and have repainted, if you are staying stock. You could try to fix what you have, as a temp solution until you have it repaired right, but you'd still be able to see it. If you're anything like me, unless its going to disappear, it will still bug you.

If you ever think you might get a plate bumper, might save that ~$500 or so towards that. Sure would be a bummer to spend 500 now, then later down the line you drop another 1k on a plate bumper. Just my .02

Got a good body shop down in the round rock area if you're ever down here and decide you need one.
 
you have shit insurance if they raise your rates for one not a fault other than collision claim on a clean record.

i've made 5 claims in the last ~5 years (2 collision, 3 other than collision) items that are not my fault and geico hasn't changed my rate. when i had state farm they also didn't raise my rate after an other than collision claim.

the only reason it makes sense to avoid insurance is if the repair is less than your deductible (in this case it should be close if you do the labor yourself)

also, drop your other than collision deductible, it will probably just cost a couple bucks a month to drop it to $50
 
Your insurance is probably going to go up regardless, just based on where you live and what they have to pay out in the region for the storm damage from the hurricane. The insurance company has to recoup there expenses some way or another.
 
That would literally be an incredibly easy fix. Take off the bumper cover, use the gorilla clear tape on front to marry up the crack and epoxy from behind. A little clear super glue in the crack would also help, but be careful not to get any on the exterior paint as it can strip the color. I wouldn't think twice about attempting it as I think the crack looks worse than even a repair that only lines up partially. Its a $5 fix vs buying a new bumper cover. I would try it - you may be surprised
 
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