Advice needed

Hi All,

My Tacoma was recently rear ended and has been in the shop longer than I was anticipating. While the work is being done the other person's insurance company is paying for the work as well as the rental. As I was backing out of my driveway I accidentally scratched the rental bumper on my driveway wall. It goes without saying that I'm already frustrated but now this time it's my fault! So, I'm not sure what I should do. I've attached a picture of the bumper, I realize it's probably hard to see. The scratches are a bit deeper - paint missing, etc. Has anyone ever scratched a rental before? Should I try and get it fixed myself? I didn't buy the car rental's insurance because my own personal car insurance covers it, but I don't know if I should involve them - my rate is low and I'd rather not mess with it. The car rental company did need my credit card when I picked it up and put a $100 deposit on it, I"m not sure if that's just a security hold. I certainly don't want them to fix it b/c they'll charge me and arm and leg. Any advice? Sorry for the rant...

 

Hey bro. I've had my run in with this before as well. i took it to a shop and they appraised the damage (including dents) to $1200 so I tried to pay for it out of pocket to get it fixed. But the shop wouldn't accept the car because it was a rental. I ended up telling the rental company and they charged me $2000 to get it fixed (because I still wanted to leave it off my insurance record) so my recommendation is to find a shop that will get it fixed even though it's a rental.

 

Maybe sand it down a bit, mask it off and spray it with Duplicolor Nissan silver and call it a day.

 

Thanks, Captain Taco. That seems like quite a bit of money - was your damage way worse?

Hey Steves - thanks for the advise. I was thinking about sanding it down as well. It just feels like cheap plastic. Thing is I have 0 idea how to sand it down... any tips would be great. I don't have hundreds of dollars so a DIY fix would be best for me.

 

Don't sand it then. Mask it off and paint it.

 

It was a lot of money but it kept my insurance clean so I don't regret it.
Yes my damage was way worse and included dents paint scrapes (they ended up replacing the bumper)
Maybe just take it into a shop to see what they quote you at...

As far as sanding goes. I've never done it on a car before so someone else please chime in. But I do it on boats all the time. I wet sand with really high corse sand paper (the higher the number the less rough it is) and have a hose get the bumper wet sand away and keep adding water (look up wet sanding a car on google maybe) then once it's all smooth get some spray matching paint. Like I said the higher the number the more smooth. And the smoother the better. So it doesn't scratch it even more.

 

Thanks so much everyone. I can feel the scratches so while they're not terribly deep they are noticeable. I think I'll have to sand it down - Can I just use a regular dewalt orbital sander? Any suggestion on the # of grit to start with?

 

I honestly don't know... If you go to Home Depot and feel the sandpaper you want to get the smoothest. Maybe start at 600 grit. And use hand don't use orbital. Shouldn't take you long at all just enough to scratch the loose shit off.

 

Cool, man. I appreciate it. I think I'll try my luck with sanding it down, filling it if necessary, and then applying the duplicolor. Hopefully the rental company just gives a quick visual inspection and I can get the hell out of there

 

Agreed. Got my for you!

 

Well? Did you get away with it?

 

They just called me and said my truck was ready so I'll go swap out the cars in the next day or two. I'll post a pic of my paint job when I get home! Haha, thanks for the support!

 

Newbie here, waiting for my 16 TRDS to arrive.

I'm a claim adjuster, have been one for over 10 years. When you're in a rental due to a claim, your own insurance coverage from your vehicle transfers over to the rental car. The rental is considered a Temporary Substitute of your own car. So you can turn that claim in to your insurance.

I see you fixed it yourself. I would never recommend that without notifying the rental company. If they find out later, you are asking for legal issues. They own the vehicle, they have the right to pick the shop that fixes it.

 

Busted.

 

Haha... I will only chime in and offer advice regarding insurance matters. I used to be an underwriting manager before I swithed to claims so I have some insight into coverages and rates too.

 

oy vey, I'll stop talking now.

 

I agree with Cam 37, but on the other hand, sanding something out that is scratched and then painting it is no big deal. The problem comes with the touch up and controlling the overspray so it doesn't look like a bad repair job and worse than the original damage. Better get some good rubbing compound, and be prepared for lots of elbow grease if you want this not to be noticed.

 

I think it looks 100% better than the original damage. It actually wasn't that big of a scratch. I was also told by others that sometimes the rental companies might not even care since these cars go through a lot, I guess it just depends on who you're handing the car into. I would never try to fix something on my own, if say, it was seriously hindering the car from operating safely.

 

Deuce... I wasn't intending to judge you in any way. Just offering up some advice from my perspective as a claim adjuster. I deal with lots of rental agencies, of course. Some are very picky about their cars, others not so much. Hope it all works out fine for you.

 

no worries, CAM, I didn't take it the wrong way. Just a bit stressed with the holidays and the fact that I haven't had my taco in like two weeks! Thanks for your advice, I really appreciate it. We'll see how it goes.