Texting and driving...f*cked my sh*t up.

Hello all, this is my first post so I cant wait to hear everything I did wrong.

Got rear ended by a guy in a Volvo C-30 the other day. Insurance came back with a claim for $2263.33. Photos of the damage are attached.

Obviously the whole rear left panel is fucked. Some of the metal underneath the plastic bumper is bent, and I cant open the tailgate. She drives just fine.

I am driving across country, does it look like any structural damage? No shops can do the work here because we had hail storms and they're booked until fucking December.

I would like to save money wherever I can. I have minimal experience but I can utilize youtube, and I'm not dumb. Tacoma world please tell me what I'd be able to do with my little to no experience to save money, and what I'll have no choice but to bring in to have fixed. Please.

FMR

 

Let the other drivers insurance cover everything since he rear ended you.

 

Yup, take it to the shop of your choice, give them all insurance info. It will be taken care of.

 

First, welcome to the forum, sorry about your bad luck. Now on to the details... Were you at fault? If it was the other guys fault then he should foot the bill to restore it to original condition and in some states get DV. If it's on you then I'd start stripping off the damaged pieces and get a new steel bumper from one of many suppliers here on TW.

 

My apologies I'm going to edit right now. I am driving across country, does it look like any structural damage? No shops can do the work here because we had hail storms and theyre booked until fucking december.

 

@Captqc thank you! the issue is i want to pocket as much of the insurance money myself, I have time over the next few weeks before I leave to work on it myself.

 

I leave cheap walmart wrenches in my truck to throw at other drives while they text and drive. People are oblivious and idiots. I hope you weren't the one texting and driving.

 

I think he is trying to repair it himself cheap and pocket the cash

 

Collision repair can be a tricky thing. Take it to a reputable professional. Sometime ago I tried to cut corners and do some DIY repairs and pocket some cash. It bit me in the ass...I thought I had it covered after looking closely at the damage but the deeper I got the more I discovered needed work and replacement.

 

From your pics it doesn't look too bad. I'd remove the bumper and see if there is any frame damage, but I wouldn't touch a thing if his insurance is responsible.

 

I would be upset

 

Looks like the bed and tailgate are tweaked. Definitely a lot more than 2300 to fix. Go get some of your own quotes. Even from the dealership.

 

@Limey1795 yeah thats exactly what I don't want to happen...

 

Does anyone know if a heavy off road bumper would have prevented this? and no the asshole who hit me was texting and driving. I do my best to use my bluetooth, but even that can get dangerous. The human brain can't handle two tasks simultaneously, once I learned that was a scientific fact i cut the bullshit

 

Instead of trying to get it fixed as cheaply as possible so you can make some money on this accident. I would repair it properly. My truck was rear ended recently. It now looks like nothing happened.

 

I did the same thing with a 2003 mustang (new at the time). Boy did I regret that for a long time, but then it got totaled after being rear ended ... then I was happy again.

Still though, lesson learned. I'd take it to the most anal shop I could find. Find somebody German.

 

Read this again and again and again.....

His insurance should be contacting you and then you can decide what you want to do. If the repairs have to wait til you finish your trip then so be it. Hell, ding them on a rental while your truck gets fixed.

 

It's gonna sucks trying to match and blend mgm paint

 

Every accident is a potential opportunity, and that is a steel plate bumper.

 

@jsinnard shit I might just do that haha, honestly she looks fine and drives fine. I don't think loading down the bed with all my shit is an option though. the bent fender is already pretty close to the tire.