Well 25 year record of not being in an accident ended Friday.

So my 2023 Tacoma Offroad with 1800 miles got hit.

Went to Cabellas with a buddy and he wanted to go to his bar. I didnt want to go. I dont drink but I havent seen the guy in a while so I went. Well Im sitting in the car and this woman with 3 friends walks out of the bar.. get in her 1990 Ford expedition.. and backs RIGHT into me. (To be fair she has no sensors cameras and it was a blind turn. You still should know where your bumpers are. (but I digress)



So yea.. hit me pretty good. I have front and back dashcam. She said she will pay cash for all the repairs.

So anyhow.. filed police report. (it wont be official unless I have a problem) I went and tore it apart. This is my first Toyota. I was NOT expecting that section of bumper to come off like that.



5 clips.. and boom it came off.

flipped it upside down and hit it with a dead blow 3 lb mallet.



Fixed it up pretty good.. almost perfect..

If I did this and the truck was 10 years old.. I would have been done.. since it has 1800 miles and is 4 months old.. and someone else hit me it is getting fixed with OEM parts.



Sensor clip also broke.. it is $223 for the damn sensor
However any of the ebay clones you can take the clip off the sensor and replace that for 10-15 dollars. I checked it.. it works. I now have 3 extra clips.

Pounded out.. This pic looks worse than it does in person.. but it looks almost good.



So yeah.. more to come.. I ordered a already painted OEM Toyota Bumper cap from Painted OEM parts out of Colorado. The OEM fender cap is ~150 and to paint it was another 90 dollars. So we will see how closely that matches. It should be here the end of this week and I get to put my baby back together.

The good part is nothing underneath got damaged. Hell the bumper didnt even move beause I have a coax wire for the antenna going through the bumper and the bed.. that cable didnt even have a crease in it. So..

nice job Toyota. This is my first Toyota and I dont think Im ever buying another manufacturers vehicle.


If this was my repair I would just replace it with two third party black bumper caps and call it a day (Those areas are going to get hit Im sure over the years) but for now.. i will restore it to OEM stock.

 

Sucks but you could go with a nice aftermarket bumper, now.

 

I hope for your sake that police report doesn't get forwarded to your department of motor vehicles. That could go bad for you.

 

"She said she will pay cash for all the repairs. "

Go through her insurance. Insist upon it. Out of pocket payment by the at-fault party rarely goes well. I've got 25+ years of experience in the auto insurance claims business. Please take my word for it.

 

Glad that the damage was minor and you’re able to keep the insurance companies out of it.

Good job with the repairs Dutch!

 

Why?

 

Also, they always say they will pay cash until the realize it's not the $100 they thought to fix it.

 

I might leave it out just in case somehow theres a record of the Tacoma being in a car accident. Albeit a minor accident/damage, it does depreciate value and turn off buyers

 

A reportable crash, regardless of fault is still on your record. It sounds like the dollar amount wouldn't qualify depending on your state and the correct box is checked.

 

There is nothing about filing a police report for a not-at-fault accident that will negatively affect you.

 

A few years ago a contractor backed into a wing of a 737 at the ATL airport. It looked minor, contractor actually said it doesn’t look bad will $700 make this go away? Of course it was much more, like a 1000 times more.

 

I wonder if it gets reported to carfax?

 

Nice write up and outcome, OP. Glad no one was hurt and the repair was so easy.

No one gives a shit about the "diminished value" because of a Carfax report.

The only one that will look for that is a dealer when you trade in. They gonna bend you over in your trade in value weather there is a Carfax report or not. If you are trading in your truck to a dealer and not selling outright, you are welcoming being bent over.

 

I’m confused you said you’ll go with oem parts .. and got filed a police report … yet you’re pounding your own bumper vs having someone professional do it. Who is actually estimating your damages ? And how will the expedition lady friend pay you for this ? Based on eBay receipts ?

 

My former '03 2500HD had about $5,500 damage to the front end and no entry into Carfax. Replaced that with an '06 Frontier. No accidents; but, "accident reported" showed up in Carfax.

 

"Accident reported" is almost always the result of an insurance claim. A police report, by itself, is not going to trigger a Carfax hit.

 

Except in my situation. Hit a deer at one point; but, I replaced the grill and right headlight on my own. No insurance claim for the Frontier. The 2500HD was an uninsured motorist claim.

 

Messing with those sensors can cause your BSM system to stop working and require them to be recalibrated by Toyota. I had similar damage once from off roading and has do replace the bracket the sensor mounts into, and it quit working even though it was in the proper position.

If you’re wanting OEM, I’d turn it in all day. The claim is minor and not a big deal, especially if you’re not trading your truck in anytime soon.

 

Some drunk bitch backed into your parked truck in a parking lot. I would say your 25 year no accident streak is still intact.

 

You have a record still intact. In 25 years you have never caused an accident. I have been rear-ends 3 times in all my years of driving and have learned you can’t do much about people behind you. Here is a link you might find interesting on the 3rd Gen rear bumper. Post #22 has a good write up on removal. Post #5 has an exploded view of parts.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/16-tacoma-bumper-cap-removal.404082/