Hi all,

Big Question I need help with:

My fiancee just got in a wreck a week ago where a girl smashed her rear bumper. She drives a white 1995 2D Honda Civic (about 140K miles on it) and now the bumper is pretty smashed up but the rest of the car (tunk, side) area housing the bumper looks ok. Basically just needs a new bumper thing and the foam shit that goes inside....it looks like it is a pretty simple mounting mechanism with bolts and what not. It's still hanging there and it's drivable...although 3/4 of it is hanging down.

Anyhow, she just got the quote from the insurance company that is paying her for the damage, and they sent a guy out and said the car is 'totaled'...not sure why, especially considering that you can just replace the bumper. They quoted sending her a check for $3800 if we let them take the car away, or $3100 and we can keep the car. A 700 dollar difference seems ridiculous to let a car that would otherwise sill work fine, so this leads me to the question?

Does anyone know how hard it would be to get a used or new honda civic rear bumper, rather purchased online parts store or from a junkyard? And then, how hard would you estimate it would be to get it on? I refuse to think it would cost over $3100 'totalled' amount of the car which I assume is the KBB value the insurance is going on? Kind of confused...

All help would be extermely appreciated. Thanks!

2/20/2007 1:01:24 PM

get a junkyard/aftermarket bumper assembly for 50-300 dollars, take 20 mins to put it on and $profit

[Edited on February 20, 2007 at 1:04 PM. Reason : ric0rparts]

2/20/2007 1:04:05 PM

zip ties and duct tape ftw! lol and take the full insurance coverage off now... not needed anymore. Do what igor said. They are pretty simple to take off. The fronts are a little more tricky, but you don't need to worry about that.

2/20/2007 1:07:50 PM

^^ is right

having worked on mostly honda's and acuras in the shop i used to, they are easy as pie to work on- the difference might be in the paint job though- we never took care of that (most assholes were fine having just primer colored bumpers and side skirts )

[Edited on February 20, 2007 at 1:10 PM. Reason : $]

2/20/2007 1:10:05 PM

there could be structural damage causing it to be totalled, i would say get a second opinion, but considering the insurance co already says total loss the there is only one real course of action. the car is totalled and she will get paid for it. now she can buy it back and pay to fix it, or she can let them take it.

2/20/2007 1:16:25 PM

Damn, this is good info - but I'm too much of a newb to know wtf i'm doing. So, you say do it yourself - but how? I mean I know nothing about putting these things on. Also, I've looked online for rear bumpers...I see the covers for like 150 bones and stuff like that but I'll need more than that right? I can't find the assemblies...etc... Do any of you work on stuff like that, would anybody be willing to do the work for the parts cost + labor?

Also, why would we get the insurance off the car if she is still planning on driving it?

lastly ^ yeah I know those are the only courses of actions but what I'm trying to find out is whether or not it is WORTH just taking the larger $ amt and letting the car go and buying a new one...or would it really be simple to fix and still pocket extra dough for nothing right?

[Edited on February 20, 2007 at 1:21 PM. Reason : --]

2/20/2007 1:19:07 PM

Take the $3100 and sell the car to me for $900. It's $200 easy profit.

2/20/2007 1:26:57 PM

well it's not about the money, the goal is to get it fixed...at least to pass safety inspections (does a screwed up bumper pass inspections?) until 2008 when we upgrade.

We're not exactly ready for a new car unless we have to basically. We want to find a way to get it fixed and thought maybe some of you would know how to do it or even willing to help and we'll certainly pay out. Not sure why i trust tww over auto shops but I do...it sounds relatively easy, but those guys like Tao will charge us all over the place. somehow the insurance companies think it's not worth fixing to the tune of costing 3100? Not sure how the hell they figure that....

2/20/2007 1:34:30 PM

in NC, legally a car has to be totalled if the damage exceeds 75% of the value of the car..

it could easily have a bent frame... but from what you're describing you'll need *at least* the bumper rebar, foam, cover, and paint...

why dont you just call the body shop and ask them for an itemized breakdown of what needs to be repaired?

2/20/2007 1:43:26 PM

I think the car will also get a "salvage" title after this, so that might be why they give you so much money.

2/20/2007 2:08:18 PM

how fast was this bitch going when she hit your girl's car?

2/20/2007 2:24:58 PM

3 car accident, and she was the 3rd car in the domino effect. The original biatch was going 45..my fiancee and the f150 in the middle were at a stoplight....it destroyed the f150 cab and sent something flying across the street, and his truck pounded in to the civic crunching the bumper.

a 'salvage' tag? That's not good is it?

2/20/2007 2:55:28 PM

^yea, it's hard to sell a car when it has a "salvage" title. It also diminishes the value of the car.

2/20/2007 3:09:30 PM

how does it diminish the value? a totalled car hasnt got much value anyhow!

2/20/2007 3:10:45 PM

parts car... or... or... Demolition derby!

2/20/2007 3:15:21 PM

that sucks they can do that with inconsequential fender dmg. Oh well, I suppose maybe the best thing to do is take the money and run. She wants a mini cooper, so she'll probably exploit that. DOH

2/20/2007 3:23:23 PM

I would take the $3100 and keep the car. I'm sure you can sell the car for more than $700.

2/20/2007 3:36:38 PM